If you feel like your child isn’t doing as well at school as they should be, lacking self-esteem or struggling to develop emotionally at the same speed as their peers, an educational psychologist might be able to help. But what exactly do they do, how can they help support your child’s experience of learning – and how can parents get the ball rolling? We spoke to educational psychologist Amanda Benbow to find out…
What is an educational psychologist? What do they do?
An educational psychologist works with children, parents and schools to try and improve a child’s experience of learning – through promoting their academic, social and emotional development and outcomes. As psychologists, we use our knowledge of child development and our deep understanding of psychology to work out the barriers a child may be experiencing with learning – and help to generate solutions to reduce them.
How did you get into educational psychology? What is a typical day like?
After three years teaching at a primary school (following a degree in psychology and a post-graduate certificate in education), I went back to university to do a masters in educational psychology. I started out working for a Local ÍÑ¿ã°É Authority in London, where I worked with pupils in nursery, primary, secondary, mainstream and special schools. I now work privately – and focus on primary-aged boys and girls. I specialise in working with autistic children and those with social communication and behavioural challenges.
A typical day usually involves working with pupils; completing assessments or helping them to develop specific skills to assist them in managing day-to-day problems. I might also spend time observing in the classroom and talking with staff and parents to help build up strategies to support the child. I usually spend the second half of my day writing up reports, checking in with parents, teachers and other professionals and preparing for future sessions with children.
What do educational psychologists diagnose – and what do they not? How do you help children with these difficulties?
I prefer to use the word ‘identify’ rather than ‘diagnose’ (which suggests there is something wrong with the child). We are able to identify dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, and play a crucial part in the identification of ADHD, autism, dyspraxia and other mental health difficulties – but these are all still considered ‘medical’ conditions and therefore a medical professional such as a clinical psychologist, paediatrician or psychiatrist also needs to be involved.
Much of what we do is to help empower children through helping the adults who are most involved in the child’s life and education to develop their understanding of the situation. I support those working with a child to put action plans in place, or I might link them up with another professional such as a clinical psychologist or a speech and language therapist. I also provide one-to-one sessions to help with social communication, emotional and behavioural areas, such as anxiety and friendship issues. We might chat through the main issues and develop coping strategies – something that many teachers don’t have the time, or bandwidth to do themselves.
My child’s school is telling me they’re doing fine, but I’m concerned. How far should I trust the school to identify problems and when should I take matters into my own hands?
If you are worried about how your child is doing academically, emotionally, socially or behaviourally, their school should always be your first port of call. They know your child best – and educational psychologists certainly aren’t there to take any power or responsibility away from the school. We’re waiting in the wings to offer additional support if needed – and I would never work with a child unless the school is aware and fully on board.
In some cases, teachers and SEND teams may seek further advice – and 99 per cent of the time, my work is instigated by the school in consultation with the parents. But if you feel you aren’t being listened to, it’s important to voice your concerns – and it could be a good idea to consult with an EP to see what your next steps might be.
How does an educational psychologist fit into an SEND team?
Private educational psychologists are not part of a SEND team. In the independent system, an educational psychologist’s work is commissioned – and paid for – by parents themselves. In the state system, all schools have access to an educational psychologist and the school determines who is prioritised for their support. As you can imagine, there are tight financial constraints in the state sector – and often only the most needy children will reach the benchmark for an assessment. It is in instances like this that the school may say the child is fine when they could benefit from support – and this is when it might be worth parents seeking private advice.
What does a typical assessment involve?
It varies depending on the child’s needs. Assessment may involve observation of the child in class or other situations around school such as breaktime. It will always include talking to the child and the significant adults in their life. Part of the assessment may involve looking at areas such as self-esteem, resilience, anxiety, concentration and social skills, and part may involve more formal evaluation of cognitive skills.
A ‘traditional’ assessment generally lasts between 2.5-3 hours and involves asking the child to complete a series of activities using standardised tests to gather information about their cognitive skills (thinking, memory, processing, non-verbal reasoning and so on) and their academic skills (literacy and numeracy). Some educational psychologists will complete this in one go and others will do so over a series of sessions, depending on the child’s age and ability to focus.
Is there an ideal age to bring in an educational psychologist?
We tend to work with children from birth to 25 years old. For younger children, much of our work is about planning and preparing for their education where there are clear barriers from an early age – such as deafness, Down's syndrome or autism. For older children and young people, it is about supporting their current educational experience and/or planning for transition to the next stage or phase of education.
There is no perfect age to involve an educational psychologist, it is whenever the young person is experiencing difficulties that the school feels unable to support from within their own resources and expertise. We generally become involved when there is an obvious impediment to the child’s success and happiness in school and/or an apparent difficulty in specific areas such as literacy, processing, or other aspects of learning. We tend not to do more formal assessments until a child is at least eight years old as this is when children tend to level out, and when slow starters get going – allowing us to be more conclusive about any challenges a young person may have.
A significant proportion of a traditional educational psychologist’s work is in relation to key exam points within a child’s life – such as Common Entrance, GCSEs or A-levels, in terms of confirming what exam arrangements they are eligible for.
Do I have to share my child’s educational psychologist report with their prospective senior school? Won’t it have a negative impact on their chances of securing a place?
If a school reads your child’s EP report and decides it’s not the right place for your child, then they will have reached that conclusion for a reason. There is no point making a child furiously pedal their way through school if they are going to struggle to keep up.
So, yes, be transparent and share the report. Technically, you don’t have to if you’re not asking for anything specific like extra time or the use of a laptop in exams, but you won’t be doing your child any favours. And don’t panic – there’s certainly no longer any stigma about using an ed psych like there once was and more often than not, the secondary school values the detailed information about the child.
Do you often encounter parents wanting to buy another fashionable service because they’re scared their child will miss out – or who want an excuse for their children not hitting the academic heights?
Some parents think that involving an educational psychologist might secure their child extra time in their exams – but this isn’t often the case. I will only work with a child if the school feels there is a real need for my input and the young person is clearly experiencing difficulties in comparison to their peers. I’m there to help set realistic goals and expectations.
Parents are under huge pressure: school places are often highly competitive and heavily oversubscribed and children are being tested at an increasingly young age, but involving an educational psychologist is not necessarily going to solve these concerns. Don’t listen to the dinner party chat, don’t send your child to a particular school because that’s where everyone else is going or that is where their father went – instead, think about your child’s emotional wellbeing, their interests, skills and strengths. If your child is happy and confident and not desperately trying to live up to your aspirations, they will thrive – regardless of the academic prowess of the school they end up in.