Division of Educational & Child Psychology

Find out more about what the DECP does.

What do Educational Psychologists do?

Educational psychologists work with children and young people aged 0 - 25 with a range of different needs. In addition educational psychologists support schools and local authorities to help them improve and develop their systems for supporting children and young people. 

Educational psychologists look at how children and young people experience life within the context of their school and home environment and how different factors in these environments interact with each other. We then work collaboratively with parents, schools and other professionals to identify strategies to support children.

Much of an educational psychologist's work is focused on supporting children and young people in educational settings however educational psychologists can also offer support to parents to help meet their children's needs at home. If you are a parent and think your child may need support from an educational psychologist it will be helpful to speak to your school's special educational needs coordinator and to look at the Local Offer on your local authority's website.

All educational psychologists are practitioner psychologists registered with the Health Care Professionals Council. You can check if an educational psychologist is HCPC registered by clicking the following link. http://www.hcpc-uk.co.uk/

Educational Psychologists support young people and children with:

• learning needs
• emotional and behavioural needs
• physical disabilities
• sensory needs such as problems with eyesight or hearing.
• social skills difficulties
• concentration difficulties

Ways in which Educational Psychologists support children and young people include:

• Consultation — meeting with parents or carers and other professionals to discuss a child or young person’s needs and how best to help them
• Psychological assessments— visiting educational settings to gather information about a child or young persons needs using methods such as observation, pupil interviews and one to one assessment. 
• One to one and small group interventions - educational psychologists may deliver one to one or small group interventions to promote learning and emotional wellbeing. They may also train and supervise school staff to enable them to deliver these interventions.
• Supporting staff development – examples include delivering training, staff coaching and providing professional supervision for specialised interventions. 
• Supporting parents - jointly identifying strategies to use at home, setting up and running training, delivering therapeutic interventions to help support parents' relationships with their children.
• Research and evaluation— designing and carry out research to enhance practice and improve outcomes
• Multi agency work—leading and/or participating in a range of multi agency panels and child centred planning meetings. Educational Psychologists work closely with other professionals.
• Strategic work- educational psychologists support schools and local authorities to improve all children’s emotional wellbeing and experiences of learning.

Training

To become an educational psychologist you need to have the following:

• Usually two years experience of working with children and young people
• A good undergraduate psychology degree that provides eligibility for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership or
• An accredited Masters conversion course that provides eligibility for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership
• A professional Doctorate in Educational Psychology

Training takes at least seven years, including relevant work experience