Information for parents and carers

Helping parents and carers to understand the role of Educational Psychologists

What is an Educational Psychologist (EP)?

Educational Psychologists (EPs) work with children, families, and schools. They use their knowledge of psychology and research to support with learning and other areas, such as how children feel, behave, and get on with others.

Why would an EP be involved?

There are many different reasons why EPs might be involved with your child. Examples include:

  • Helping your child to understand themselves better, e.g. what helps them to learn, or manage their worries, and then sharing this with you and school staff.
  • Supporting teaching staff to think about helpful changes they can make in school.

When do EPs work with children?

A member of school staff, often the SENCo, will contact the EP where they think that this could help a child or young person. They will always ask you first, to check that you are happy for the EP (or a supervised trainee EP) to become involved. If you agree, you will be asked to sign a consent form before any work takes place.

What do EPs do?

As each child or young person is different, the EP (or trainee EP) will plan to work in whatever way they believe is most likely to be helpful. This might include listening to you, your child, and key members of school staff about:

  • What is causing concern and what you have already tried
  • Goals and hopes for the future
  • Strengths, interests, and what currently helps.

This might be through a face-to-face meeting in school, a home visit, or a video call. It might also include a classroom observation, or working directly with your child using activities that help the EP to understand more about how they learn. This will usually result in a plan of actions, which is put in place by the school, and might include a summary report (where agreed). The EP might be asked to have further involvement, e.g. being part of review meetings to see how the plan is going.