Educational psychologists support children and young people in educational settings.
Educational psychologists work with children and young people who present with needs across a range of areas within the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Code of Practice (COP):
- Communication and Interaction Needs
- Cognition and Learning Needs
- Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs
- Sensory and/or Physical Needs.
- Educational psychologists may provide support through the use of observation, consultation, assessment and advice through the delivery of training.
Educational psychologists may provide support through the use of observation, consultation, assessment and advice through the delivery of training.
Your request is returned (via phone call or email).
The request and nature of educational psychology support is discussed.
If involvement is agreed, the RTE service description is shared, and a planning meeting is arranged between the educational psychologist and school.
At the planning meeting, the nature of the work is finalised. If this includes individual work, a referral (parental consent) form will be issued, to be completed by the school and family prior to arranging any dates for educational psychology support.
Educational psychologists all work in different ways.
With RTE you can usually expect that the educational psychologist will:
- Meet and talk with the family and staff who know the student well (more information about consultation can be found here)
- Observe the student in class and/or at breaktimes
- Meet with the student to complete some individual assessment or activities to find out about their strengths and any needs or concerns they may have
- Produce some form of written report/advice which will be shared electronically with the school and family
- Support the school to review the student’s progress, six to eight weeks after initial involvement.
Please note that if the work takes place during the school holidays, a home visit may be suggested.
The educational psychologist will produce some form of written feedback outlining the nature and outcomes of work completed.
Any data regarding schools and individual students is stored confidentially and securely, in accordance with data compliance legislation.
For further information, please see the RTE Privacy/Cookie policy.
If you have any concerns regarding the service, these should be raised with the educational psychologist in the first instance. At this time, you can request a copy of RTE’s complaints procedure.