Division of Educational and Child Psychology

Educational psychologists work with children and young people aged 0 - 25 with a range of different needs.

In addition educational psychologists support schools and local authorities to help them improve and develop their systems for supporting children and young people. 

Educational psychologists look at how children and young people experience life within the context of their school and home environment and how different factors in these environments interact with each other.

We then work collaboratively with parents, schools and other professionals to identify strategies to support children.

Much of an educational psychologist's work is focused on supporting children and young people in educational settings however educational psychologists can also offer support to parents to help meet their children's needs at home.

If you are a parent and think your child may need support from an educational psychologist it will be helpful to speak to your school's special educational needs coordinator and to look at the Local Offer on your local authority's website.

All educational psychologists are practitioner psychologists registered with the Health Care Professionals Council.

• Check if an educational psychologist is HCPC registered 

Educational Psychologists support young people and children with their:

• concentration difficulties
• emotional and behavioural needs
• learning needs
• physical disabilities
• sensory needs such as problems with eyesight or hearing.
• social skills difficulties

The ways in which Educational Psychologists support their clients include:

Consultations

Meeting with parents or carers and other professionals to discuss a child or young person’s needs and how best to help them.

Multi agency work

Leading and/or participating in a range of multi-agency and multi-disciplinary panels and child-centred planning meetings.

One to one and small group interventions

Educational psychologists may deliver one to one or small group interventions to promote learning and emotional wellbeing.

They may also train and supervise school staff to enable them to deliver these interventions.

Psychological assessments

Visiting educational settings to gather information about a child or young persons needs using methods such as observation, pupil interviews and one to one assessment. 

Research and evaluation

Designing and carrying out research to enhance practice and improve outcomes.

Strategic work

Educational psychologists support schools and local authorities to improve all children’s emotional wellbeing and experiences of learning.

Supporting parents

Jointly identifying strategies to use at home, setting up and running training, delivering therapeutic interventions to help support parents' relationships with their children.

Supporting staff development

Examples include delivering training, staff coaching and providing professional supervision for specialised interventions.