Every school has an educational psychologist linked to them and will have a support and planning meeting at least once a year with their educational psychologist. The work that the educational psychologist will do is agreed with a member of staff from the school, usually the headteacher or SENCO.

The Educational Psychology Service can work with children and young people aged 0 to 25. While working together with parents and carers is an essential part of their work, the focus is on supporting the child within the educational setting.

What does the service do?

Educational psychologists aim to help children enjoy their time in school, participate in all aspects of the school life and make the best progress possible. They do this by trying to understand any issues or problems that impact the child and helping to remove any barriers.

They aim to be flexible and responsive, recognising that one size doesn't fit all. Educational psychologists use principles of applied psychology, work collaboratively with those involved with the child/young person and put their needs at the heart of our work.

The ways in which the educational psychology service works include:

consultations, meeting with the adults around the child or young person to jointly discuss ways forward
direct work with a child and observation
intervention work with a child or young person
training school staff on a wide range of topics
The Derbyshire Behaviour Box
ELSA (emotional literacy support assistants)
Annual EPS Conference

Derbyshire Educational Psychology Service have developed three training videos for welcoming children and young people back into school. These videos cover the effect of stress and trauma, how to thrive in these circumstances and whole school recovery. You can watch the videos on the services for schools website.