Educational Psychology Service

The Educational Psychology Service consists of two teams of educational psychologists (EPs) and SEND inclusion practitioners (SENDIPs) led by a principal educational psychologist who reports to the head of SEND. Each team is managed and supervised by a senior educational psychologist. The teams are co-located with the Family Early Help Service and SEND teams in locality bases across Southwark.

All Southwark’s educational psychologists:

•  Have undertaken postgraduate professional training in educational psychology to either masters or doctoral level and are employed by Southwark Council.

•  Are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and bound by their standards of conduct, performance, ethics and proficiency, as published by the HCPC .

• Are required to undertake continuing professional development activities and maintain a log of evidence.

• Are appointed by interview and have been subject to safeguarding (enhanced DBS) and medical checks.

The teams provide a direct service to all maintained schools and settings in Southwark, and to non-maintained schools and settings who purchase educational psychology services from Southwark EPS.

All schools maintained by Southwark are allocated a named ‘link EP’, whose input to an individual academy, school or setting is determined by the setting’s level of need. The link EP provides consultation, assessment and support to establish evidence-informed interventions at system, group and individual levels.

Non-maintained schools and settings can purchase educational psychology services from Southwark, either via a one-year service level agreement agreed in advance or at a higher daily rate, purchased as required where service capacity allows.

The educational psychologists and SENDIPs also support early years providers, children’s centres and other settings as required, particularly when pupils transition from one setting to another.

The service is for Children & Young People 0-25, who live in Southwark or attend Southwark schools.

The EPS works with families, schools, post-16 provision and early years settings to explore issues and resolve problems that can affect learning and well-being. The EPS also provides additional support to settings in the event of a potentially traumatic event.

Southwark’s EPS follows the Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years (January 2015).

The service is free at the point of delivery to children and parents.

Educational Psychology involvement is sought by a school or setting where they have identified pupils making less than expected progress given their age and individual circumstances.

Usually the school and family will have worked closely together to remove barriers to learning and put effective provision in place but where a pupil continues to make less than expected progress, despite evidence-based support and interventions matched to the pupil’s area of need, the school can consider involving specialists, including the educational psychologist.

Schools can choose to involve the educational psychologist at any point to advise them on early identification of SEN and effective support and intervention. Parents should always be involved in any decision to involve the educational psychologist and written parental consent will be required.

SENDIP involvement can be requested by the school via their link EP or early years setting, where support is required for planning and preparation for the transitions between phases of education.

Southwark’s Educational Psychology Services are usually accessed in schools and other educational settings, but in some circumstances a home visit can be arranged, or a meeting held at council offices. Interpreting and translation services can be arranged where needed.

Educational Psychologists apply their psychological skills and knowledge to carry out statutory and non-statutory work relating to the SEND Code of Practice and provide advice about the psychological aspects of learning and child development, social, emotional and mental health and behaviour.

They also advise on psychological interventions that focus on narrowing gaps in attainment and improving academic progress, developing particular skills or addressing social, emotional and mental health needs. This may be done:

• at the individual level – e.g. providing support with or attendance at Team Around the Child/Family (TAC/TAF) meetings, consultation about planning and writing delivery plans/individual education plans, consultation with parents and school staff about issues arising from individual interventions, consultation on strategies for working with individual learners, and individual assessment linked to statutory work;

•  at the group and class level – e.g. joint problem-solving and support for groups of staff, parent workshops, and work with groups of pupils; and,

• at the strategic, systems and organisational level – e.g. policy development, research, in-service training and other developmental work and whole school teaching and learning.

The SENDIP role includes:

• supporting the educational transition of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND);

• delivering information and training around SEND processes; 

• implementing support to children identified through the Health Notification process;

• supporting early years settings in developing effective practice and applying for additional support, such as Early Years SEN Funding and EHC Plans;

• supporting families of children and young people with SEND who have newly arrived in the Local Authority; and,

• promoting effective partnerships between children and young people with SEND, their parents/carers and practitioners who work with them, in order to achieve positive outcomes.

Families can talk to their child’s class teacher, SENCo, Inclusion Manager or Head Teacher about their concerns in the first instance. A joint decision to involve the educational psychologist would normally arise out of the school’s Assess-Plan-Do-Review cycle of SEN support in school.

Parents have a specific right to ask the local authority to conduct an education, health and care needs assessment for a child or young person aged 0 to 25. If the local authority agrees, an educational psychologist will provide psychological advice about the pupil’s special educational needs as part of that assessment.

Southwark’s Educational Psychology Services is part of the Council’s Education department and sits within the SEND team. It is free to parents, children and young people at the point of access.

All schools maintained by Southwark are allocated a named ‘link EP’, whose input to an individual academy, school or setting is determined by the setting’s level of need. The link EP provides consultation, assessment and support to establish evidence-informed interventions at system, group and individual levels.

Non-maintained schools and settings can purchase educational psychology services from Southwark, either via a one-year service level agreement agreed in advance or at a higher daily rate, purchased as required where service capacity allows.

Southwark’s Educational Psychologists:

• maintain confidential reports and documents in a secure location in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2003.

•  are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and bound by their standards of conduct, performance, ethics and proficiency, as published by the HCPC.

• adhere to the BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct (2004)

Email: SEN-EducationalPsychologist&EHO@southwark.gov.uk
Telephone: 020 7525 5798

Principal Educational Psychologist: Emma Pearl/Hanna Hancock