Photograph taken by Martin Gaskell

Educational Psychology Service

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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

Contact Details

Telephone Number: 0161 253 6406
Email Address: edpsych@bury.gov.uk

Location

Local Offer

SEN Provision Type

targeted

Details

Local Authority Projects

Co-production of Bury's Graduated Approach Toolkit

In September 2021, the Inclusion and Educational Psychology Services launched a project to co-produce Bury's Graduated Approach Toolkit to support settings and schools in Bury to confidently identify and support children and young people with SEND

Please visit the Inclusion Service page for information about how to get involved (see the section on Do you want to be part of Bury's SEND Transformation?). The Toolkit is due to be launched in Autumn 22

Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) Support

Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) describes children and young people who have trouble attending school due to anxiety and emotional factors, often resulting in absences from school. Information and resources to support children and young people who experience EBSA can be found on the Bury Directory. This includes future training dates for school staff and information about Bury's EBSA Pathway Support for Children & Young People | The Bury Directory

A recording of the parent/carer information session, delivered in December 2021 by Bury EPS and CAMHS (Child adn Adolescent Mental Health Service), can be accessed here

Wellbring for Education Return

During 2021 Bury EPS delivered the Wellbeing for Education Return programme, a Department for Education (DfE) funded project to support wellbeing in schools and colleges during the COVID-19 pandemic. More informaiton about this project and other mental health and wellbeing resources can be found on the Emotionally Friendly Schools Website: https://www.emotionallyfriendly.co.uk/resources

The Right to Play Project

Children's right to play is enshrined within the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). As part of the Wellbeing for Education Return programme, the Educational Psychology Service has developed a one-hour whole school staff training session, which involves thinking about what play is, its link to the UNCRC, and the benefits and barriers to play. It focuses on three interdependent aspects of good play provision (time, space and permission) in order to reflect on and plan opportunities to best support all children’s access to play in school. Sessions have been developed for primary and secondary schools, including specialist settings. Schools can be further supported through development work which may focus on a particular aspect of play access, e.g. developing play policies, playground provision, and alternatives to play withdrawal. Please see attached position statement outlining our commitment as an EP service to promoting children's access to their right to play.