How does the Educational Psychologist become involved with my child?
Educational Psychologists become involved with those youngsters who have the most significant and complex difficulties which affect their learning and development. There are usually a number of steps:
If your child’s teachers have significant concerns about progress or behaviour in school, they will have discussed these with you. They will also have drawn up what is usually called an Individual Education Plan (IEP). This will identify targets the school is working on with your child. It also summarises what the school, you and your child are going to do to work towards these targets. The school’s Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) draws up and monitors the IEP.
Your child’s progress towards the targets listed in the IEP will be reviewed regularly by school. If there are still concerns about the child’s progress, the SENCO may suggest asking for advice from the school’s link Educational Psychologist.
The next step will be for the SENCO to provide the Educational Psychologist with information about how your child is progressing in school. This will include details of strengths and successes, as well as information about what your child is having trouble with and approaches that have been tried. An Educational Psychology Service file will be set up and a date will be agreed for the Educational Psychologist to consult with staff in school about your child. The school will tell you about these arrangements and offer the opportunity for you to be involved in this consultation meeting.
The aim of the consultation meeting is to try and find a practical way forward. Correspondence from the Educational Psychologist, about your child, will be sent to you.
The discussion may result in a range of actions:
- Building on and developing any approach that has already led to some progress.
- Planning and trying out different approaches.
- Gathering more information to get a better idea of the nature of the problem.
- Asking for advice from other professionals (for instance, from the school doctor, or a member of the Specialist Teaching Service).
- Deciding that a more detailed assessment by the Educational Psychologist would be helpful
Whatever the outcome of the discussion, the school will keep records of any action planned to help your child.
Page Last Updated: 29 July 2009
