Educational psychology service

An educational psychologist is a specialist psychologist trained to provide advice on how children learn, why they sometimes have difficulties learning, and how they can be helped to reach their educational potential.

All educational psychologists are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council. Only someone with the right qualifications and skills can call themself an educational psychologist.   Their role is to apply psychology and research evidence to improve the educational experiences and outcomes for  all children and young people.

Educational psychologists also work with education staff, parents, carers, social workers and health professionals to meet the needs of children and young people with additional support for learning needs and support them to achieve their potential.

The role of an educational psychologist can vary depending on the situation and a young person’s needs. In Dumfries and Galloway we are usually involved at primary and secondary school ages but we can be involved from the early years to the transition into adulthood.

Services we offer

• consultation and advice
• attendance at child’s plan meetings (CPM) or looked after reviews (LAC) as part of the team around a child
• assessment with a specific purpose, using existing information and additional assessment if required
• advice on what might be required to meet the educational needs of a child or young person in context
• advice on intervention or other help
• direct intervention, often by supporting others to deliver this
• monitoring and reviewing placements for children and young people placed by Dumfries and Galloway in private educational placements

Consultation

For young people who meet the service’s criteria a request for assistance (RFA) can be submitted following a consultation, usually by the named person for that child.  If the request is agreed we will allocate a named educational psychologist who will agree their role.

A consultation with an educational psychologist involves an adult talking through current strengths and concerns and what they would like to be better. The educational psychologist will listen, ask questions and assess the information provided. They will then work together with the person they are talking to and work out next steps or ways forward to make things better. An example might be a consultation with a primary year 3 class teacher who then uses different strategies or supports in the classroom to support a child. The child would not see the educational psychologist in this type of consultation.

Assessment

Educational psychologists aim to assess a whole child and whole situation picture of a child or young person’s strengths and needs in the least intrusive way possible. This means we will gather lots of information from their school, any other professionals involved and parents or carers.

An educational psychologist works collaboratively with teachers, parents or carers and other professionals to develop an understanding of a child’s needs. They and provide advice about how best those working directly with the child can help them learn, and reach their educational potential. Assessment involves consultation with teachers and colleagues from other agencies, and analysis of information to help understand difficulties and identify strengths which can be built on. It also involves developing an understanding of the context in which learning is taking place and identifying changes that may be helpful.

We aim to always include the child or young person’s view, but we do not always gather views directly. We might

• observe your child in person or virtually
• do a direct assessment with them
• ask other people to do assessment which we then analyse.

We follow the principles of the Educational Psychology Assessment in Scotland (2014) paper.

Assessment is a dynamic process which can also involve considering the effectiveness of any changes and interventions.

Services for schools and council teams

We offer the following services to schools and council teams to help them identify children and young people’s needs, and help them overcome barriers to learning:

• consultation and advice regarding children and young people’s needs, education and relevant development projects, for example supporting the design and implementation of the counselling in schools project
• professional development resources, training and coaching, for example if your child has experienced trauma we might train and support the staff to better meet their needs in school
• research, for example accessing young people’s views about the return to school after Covid lockdown
• improvement support, for example a school might want to improve their inclusion of those with complex needs or introduce whole school relationship-based approaches

Services for children, young people, their parents and carers

We offer the following services to children, young people and their parents and carers without the need for a request for assistance:

• telephone consultation for parents and carers of up to half an hour
• virtual or telephone consultation for lead professional or named person (or their delegate) with parental consent of up to half an hour

Contact us to ask for help. We aim to contact you within one week of your request:

telephone: 01387 273784
email: SupportingLearners@dumgal.gov.uk

How our involvement differs from child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS)

An educational psychologist is involved to help improve educational experiences and outcomes for children and young people as a result of education. These relate to academic learning and wellbeing in educational contexts.

Educational psychologists work for the local authority, not NHS Scotland. We specialise in child development, education, additional support needs and the development of potential. This does include emotional wellbeing and mental health, but we are not a mental health service.

We do work with health colleagues in supporting children and young people. This includes occupational therapists, physiotherapists, paediatricians, CAMHS and clinical psychology.

CAMHS practitioners are not always psychologists. Their role relates specifically to the mental health of children and young people. Referral to health services, including CAMHS and clinical psychology, is completely independent of our service.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism

ADHD and autism are medical diagnoses which are identified by medical professionals. An educational psychologist might be involved in gathering information which helps inform a diagnosis as part of a team around a child. An educational psychologist might provide advice to schools and educational settings about needs related to a diagnosis and how these might be met in the educational context.