Educational Psychology Service

About the Team:

• The Educational Psychology Service (EPS) consists of a team of qualified Educational Psychologists (EPs). Each EP has a degree in Psychology and an additional postgraduate qualification in Educational Psychology. We have knowledge and expertise and the experience of working with children and young people in educational settings. All qualified Educational Psychologists are registered as practicing psychologists with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). The team also includes Assistant Educational Psychologists. The Assistant Educational Psychologists are Psychology graduates employed to assist the work of Educational Psychologists to gain relevant experience of the role. They work under the guidance of the Deputy Principal Educational Psychologist and the service's Educational Psychologists with appropriate supervision, in accordance with the HCPC's 'Standards of Performance, Behavior and Ethics' and the guidelines of the Association of Educational Psychologists (AEP). When the opportunity arises we offer, in partnership with Cardiff University, opportunities for Trainee Educational Psychologists who are Welsh speakers to complete a placement with the EPS during their Doctorate in Educational Psychology training. 

Who accesses the service?

• The EPS works with school staff to support them in meeting the additional learning needs of children and young people. This includes emotional, behavioral, wellbeing and mental health needs, specific additional learning difficulties, neurodiverse needs, children/young people on the autism spectrum, and more.
• The support is tailored to meet the specific needs of each school, whether that be at catchment area, individual or whole school level. Due to a reduction in the number of Educational Psychologists working in our service and national recruitment challenges, we have adapted our way of working. We now use a model of working consultatively with the entire catchment areas to ensure the continuity of the service to schools.

What does the service provide?

• Training at a school, area and authority level including:
  • ELSA Emotional Literacy Support Assistants, Growth Mindset, Mindfulness, Emotional Based School Avoidance (EBSA),  Anxiety, Whole School and more specific School Methods for Specific ALN, Attachment and Developmental Trauma, Communication and Interaction Difficulties.
• We hold group consultations with a catchment area of ​​schools in order to promote change and development for individuals or a group of children
• Where possible, consult with parents and key staff within the school at individual or group level to promote change and development
• Group/individual therapeutic interventions
• Conduct research projects
• Use Person-Centred Planning methods. 
• A designated Senior Educational Psychologist input for specialist areas
• Supervision of Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSA)

Who's in the team?

How to access the service

• Each school has a link Educational Psychologist, who operates at secondary school catchment level. The school prioritizes joint work with the psychologist in planning meetings at the beginning of the educational year in order to ensure that the input is used as needed. The emphasis is on working in a consultative manner as a group at the moment.
• The Educational Psychologists work closely with staff within schools, especially the Additional Learning Needs Co-ordinator (ALNCo).
• If you are a parent who is worried about your child, we suggest that you discuss these worries with the ALNCo at the school in the first place.
• The work that the Educational Psychologist does is carefully planned with the Additional Learning Needs Co-ordinator at the beginning of an educational year, to ensure that the input is used as needed.
• The Educational Psychologists work very closely with the other Teams within the ALN&I Integrated Service at an operational and strategic level

What is the role of the Educational Psychologist?

• Using psychology to ensure the best possible educational outcomes for individuals aged between 0 and 19.
• Providing a service that is of a high standard and in line with the standards of the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
• Work in an effective strategic manner to promote the development of the whole school in the way ALN and Inclusion is targeted

What is the role of the school?

• Prioritize work that is most suitable to discuss with the Educational Psychologist in the planning sessions. The ALNCo will have a good understanding of their pupils' needs and have the experience/ qualifications to make decisions regarding priorities
• Collect evidence of what is working/ not working and what needs to be addressed in order to discuss at the planning meeting
• Be a point of contact between the Educational Psychologist and the parents when organizing meetings and sharing information about the role of the Educational Psychology Service
• If parents have given permission for their child to be discussed in a group consultation, the ALNCo will be required to report back to the parents and reach an agreement on which strategies, of those suggested, to put on work as soon as possible.

The Consultation Model of service delivery:

• Working in a consultative manner offers a process of joint problem-solving with the role of the educational psychologist as a facilitator to discover more information about a situation from the client's point of view (young person, parent and school staff).
• Everyone who is part of a consultative process brings expertise to the discussion (with the psychologist bringing their expertise in psychology)
• It offers the opportunity to explore different perspectives, in order to understand the situation in a way that allows change to occur
• The model offers the opportunity to examine the situation in detail considering behavior in the context of an environment.
• It offers the opportunity to explore strengths and skills as well as barriers to development
• The process draws on several psychological paradigms (e.g. Solution Focus, Personal Construct Psychology, Interactional Psychology)
• The joint planning and consultation process eliminates the need for referrals into the service, thus ensuring there are no waiting lists.
• Following consultations there will be a period of implementation and review, emphasizing the assessment of a child's or young person's progress over time in response to specific strategies used by the school. When any assessment is carried out by a member of the team, this should be within the context of this partnership work, and their professional opinion that it is required in order to implement the appropriate strategies. 

Providing support following trauma  

• How trauma can affect you (English) 
• How trauma can affect you (Ukrainian)
• Strategies to support people following a traumatic event (English) - Resource created by Educational Psychology Service, City of York Council
• Strategies to support people following a traumatic event (Ukrainian) - Resource created by Educational Psychology Service, City of York Council