What is an Educational Psychologist?

Educational psychologists are applied psychologists working both within the educational system and in the community. They are concerned with children’s learning, well-being and development. They have skills in a range of psychological and educational assessment and intervention techniques and methods for helping children and young people who are experiencing difficulties in learning or social adjustment.

They are involved in trying to help prevent children’s learning difficulties where this is possible and ameliorating them where it is not. They have a central role in the assessment and intervention work in relation to children’s difficulties from an early stage. They have a statutory role under current educational legislation in the assessment of children’s Special Educational Needs. Under Scottish legislation, educational psychologists also have a statutory role with respect to the Children’s Hearing System. They have a role and function in improving or optimising the learning and development of all children.

Much of the work of educational psychologists is with children and young people from 0-19 years in different educational contexts though they also work extensively with parents/ carers, teachers and other professionals. They offer a service to young people and adults in further and higher education.

Educational psychologists work with and within systems, applying different psychological knowledge and skills as appropriate at an individual, group or organisational level. Some of their work will be with individuals or with groups of children; other work is with adults in institutions and organisations.

Most educational psychologists in the UK work within the public sector and every parent/ carer and child and all state-maintained schools are entitled to access to their service. A number of educational psychologists work in private practice and take direct referrals from parents, schools, doctors and others. These educational psychologists usually work outside the school system as sole practitioners or as members of a private service. Although much of their work is with individual clients and families, educational psychologists offer consultation and research to groups and institutions, particularly schools. This includes staff training and development, systems analysis and evaluation.

Educational psychologists using the specialist term Chartered Educational Psychologist will have completed professional training on a Society-accredited postgraduate training course and be full members of the Division of Educational and Child Psychology or Scottish Division of Educational Psychology in accordance with current divisional membership rules.

Specialist Services Within This Broad Area

Pre-school/ Early Years

Educational psychologist work with under 5’s in different early years educational settings and in the home. They work with parents/ carers, other agencies and professionals in the public, private and voluntary sectors to assess and identify children’s educational and developmental needs.

School-aged Pupils

Educational psychologists are skilled in a range of educational and psychological assessment and intervention techniques. They work with individual pupils, their teachers and other school staff, parents/ carers, individuals and groups of other pupils, other professionals and agencies to promote learning and remove barriers to participation. Techniques include psychometric, curriculum-based and dynamic assessments, observational checklists and structured interviews. Educational psychologists may become involved with individual pupils giving cause for concern, to suggest, implement and monitor appropriate interventions and solutions, in consultation with teachers, parents and carers. A careful evaluation of a child’s strengths and weaknesses, together with context and environmental factors, may suggest the best solutions within the educational setting. Some educational psychologists are qualified additionally to offer individual therapy such as psychotherapy, hypnotherapy or family therapy.

Adult Learners

Some educational psychologists offer a service to adult learners in further and higher education. They may become involved in devising, implementing and monitoring programmes to improve adult literacy skills or advising on alternative examination arrangements for learners with disabilities, including dyslexia.

Groupwork

Educational psychologists sometimes work with groups of children and young people in school or educational settings. Groupwork sessions with pupils will be carefully monitored and evaluated. This work may be preventative or in response to a number of pupils experiencing similar difficulties. Educational psychologists may also work with groups of teachers and other school staff.

Schools

Many educational psychologists work with schools at an organisational level to help develop school policy and practice, for example in relation to Inclusion or School Improvement, target setting for learning, special educational needs/ behaviour management. They may become involved in issues related to staffing, communication, appraisal, management and school improvement and target setting related to local and Ofsted inspection.

Local Authority & Voluntary Organisations

Educational psychologists work within and with national and professional organisations, including voluntary agencies, offering psychological input, particularly research skills, to support planning, evaluation and development of services and provision. They also offer input to the development of service procedures, structures and systems, and to staff development.

Multi-Agency Working

Educational psychologists draw upon their skills, competencies and knowledge in the processes of communication, learning and organisation and application of information to support and develop multi-agency working.

Child Protection and Children Act Work

Drawing upon their knowledge of, and skills in relation to Child development and behaviour, educational psychologists can provide input to child protection and Children Act work.

Parents/ Carers and Families

Educational psychologist work with families and carers in the home, in schools and also in the community. Some educational psychologists can offer family therapy. Their focus will always be the optimal wellbeing and development and learning of the child.

Special Educational Needs

Educational psychologists work within the arrangements and procedures laid down by statute for assessing and meeting the special educational needs of early-years and school-aged children (1981 Education (Scotland) Act; Part IV of the 1996 Educational Act; 2001 SEN & Disability Act). They work with early years providers and schools as an external, specialist support agency within the institutions, graduated approach for assessing a child’s special educational needs and for matching special educational provision to those needs. They provide psychological advice as part of the statutory assessment of a child’s special educational needs. They can also be involved in the annual review of children and young people with statements of special educational needs.

Training and Development

Educational psychologists provide in-service training and development for teachers, teaching assistants, early years workers, health service personnel, schools and early years settings, local authority, voluntary, community agencies and other organisations. They offer a range of topics which might include: assessment and intervention with learning difficulties, behaviour management, effective learning, emotional literacy, inclusive educational practice, stress management, study skills, thinking skills Most educational psychology services or practitioners have a list of the areas in which they offer training. The length, style and details of actual training or development events are then usually tailored to meet the needs of the educational and other establishments.

Research, Evaluation and Project Work

Educational psychologists have a training and background in research methods. They are, for example, sometimes involved in evaluating the effectiveness of interventions or educational methods. They also undertake surveys to determine needs. They are often involved in projects that aim to implement and evaluate new educational practices. They plan and implement research and evaluation both in relation to the education service in general and in relation to provision for children experiencing special educational needs. Educational psychologists are familiar with a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods and a range of methods of data analysis.

Expert Witness and Court Work

Some educational psychologists work as expert witnesses in cases where the courts are being asked to provide judgement on issues around a child’s or young person’s educational, emotional, developmental or psychological needs.

Counselling

Educational psychologists have counselling skills which they use within work with children and young people of all ages, though more so with older children. They also undertake counselling work with adults, particularly parents and carers who are concerned about their children’s learning, behaviour or general progress.