The Educational Psychologists Service is part of Local Authority Inclusion Services.
Educational Psychologists work in partnership with families, schools, settings and other professionals to achieve positive outcomes for children and young people aged 0-25 years where there are potential barriers to learning. Sometimes a school or nursery or college setting might ask an Educational Psychologist to become involved to support children and young people who have needs in any of the following areas:
- Play and/ learning;
- Speech and language (communication);
- Social interaction (social skills);
- Emotional development/mental health needs;
- Physical (fine/gross motor, medical conditions);
- Sensory needs (hearing, vision, sensory sensitivities).
Educational Psychologists (often known as EPs) aim to help others meet children and young people's needs in an informed and inclusive manner. We usually work through cycles of Assess-Plan-Do-Review.
Bury Educational Psychology Service (EPS) is currently working in partnership with Salford EPS and Tameside EPS. Educational Psychologists from these three services work across all areas, to share good practice and project work. The profiles of the team members currently working in Bury can be found in the Files section below.
Information about how the EPS support children and young people in Bury is explained in the EPS Guide for Parents and Carers and in the handout How educational psychologists support children and young people with SEND.
What is the role of an Educational Psychologist in the Education, Health, and Care Needs Assessment?
If a child or young person has significant difficulty with learning and/ or social and emotional development, they may require an Education, Health, and Care Needs Assessment. Educational schools and settings can make a formal request to the local authority and demonstrate the action they have taken through the child or young person's individual support plans (parents/carers can also make a request, but it is usually completed by the school or setting).
If the local authority agrees to the Assessment, then the EP (Educational Psychologist) will be requested to provide information and advice, alongside other professionals such as Speech and Language Therapists, Community Paediatricians and Social Care to help the local authority decide whether an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) is required. When providing their advice, the EP will consider what psychological assessment information is already available about the child or young person and then decide whether additional psychological information is needed, so as not to duplicate or repeat work alread completed. As detailed in How educational psychologists support children and young people with SEND, EPs use a range of Assessment approaches and work in collaboration with parents/carers, setting staff and other professionals
