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Family Services Directory - 0-19

Educational Psychology Service (EPS)

What is the EPS?

 

The Educational Psychology Service (EPS) at Bracknell Forest Council is a small team of Educational Psychologists who have knowledge in child development, learning and psychological wellbeing. We work collaboratively with children, young people, their families and the professionals who support them, in a range of settings to apply psychology to bring about positive change, progress in learning and emotional wellbeing.

 

Who are we?

 

At Bracknell Forest EPS, we are a dynamic, creative and friendly team. The team includes:

 

▪ Ann Ricketts – Principal Educational Psychologist

▪ Catherine (Katie) Reynolds – Senior Educational Psychologist

▪ Denita Whitelock – Senior Educational Psychologist

▪ Michelle Hahn – Educational Psychologist

▪ Alice Winchcombe – Trainee Educational Psychologist

▪ Amelia White – Trainee Educational Psychologist

▪ Heidi Mitschke - Business Support Officer

 

Who to contact

 

Email  educational.psychology@bracknell-forest.gov.uk  

Telephone is 01344 354015

 

What services do we provide?

 

On behalf of the local authority, we fulfil a statutory duty, which includes completing Psychological Advice for children and young people as part of the Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment process. When requested by the local authority, we can provide input to the monitoring of children with an EHC plan.

 

Support is available to all education settings in Bracknell Forest, free of charge, should they require support following a critical incident or sad event.

 

We offer a traded model of service delivery which means that settings can purchase a range of educational psychology services. Each Educational Psychologist has a patch of settings and acts as a ‘link’, to negotiate and agree upon how best to use the traded time. Our full range of activities may include, but are not limited to:

 

▪ Solution focused conversations

▪ Person centred planning meetings

▪ Specialist, universal and bespoke training

▪ Individual and group supervision and/or coaching

▪ Work informed by therapeutic approaches

▪ Psychological assessment, monitoring and review

▪ Transition support

 

We are commissioned to provide direct advice and support by a number of Bracknell Forest Services:

 

  • Early help
  • The Virtual School
  • Children’s Social Care
  • Early years

 

We aim to be available to all parents/carers in our community by providing universal access:

 

  • We offer educational psychology based consultations for parents/carers, with schools/settings, to book slots to talk through their concerns

Educational Psychologists (EPs) have expertise in child development, learning and psychological wellbeing. We work collaboratively with children, young people, their families and the professionals who work with them in a range of settings to promote positive change, progress in learning and emotional wellbeing. We work with parents, teachers and other professionals to agree and evaluate appropriate forms of support. We can also work with children and young people on an individual basis by carrying out individual assessment or therapeutic work. 

We are also involved in the Educational Health and Care (EHC) Needs Assessment process and are required to provide a report which gives psychological advice for any child or young person who has an EHC assessment. Decisions about these assessments are made by a panel of education and Special Educational Needs professionals.

Requests for Educational Psychology support are made by schools and settings who have purchased time from the Educational Psychology Service, usually via their Special Educational Needs/Inclusion Co-ordinators.

Who to contact

Contact Position
Principal Educational Psycholgist
Telephone
01344 354015
E-mail
Educational.Psychology@bracknell-forest.gov.uk

Where to go

Name
Educational Psychology Service
Address
Time Square
Market Street
Bracknell
Berkshire
Postcode
RG12 1JD

Other Details

Availability

Referral required
Yes

Local Offer

Local Offer Record
Description

Who are we?

Bracknell Forest Educational Psychology Service is part of the Children Young People and Learning (CYPL) department.

SEN Provision Type: Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs / Cognition and Learning Needs

All Bracknell Forest Educational Psychologists are registered with the Health Care Professional Council and have Postgraduate qualification at Masters level or above which are recognised by the British Psychological Society (BPS).

What is our role?

Educational Psychologists apply psychology (evidence based theory and research) within the education system and community in order to improve outcomes for vulnerable children as well as working with others to create environments where every child can achieve. We work with school staff, parents and carers and other professionals to support children’s learning, development and emotional well-being. We also have a statutory role in providing Psychological Advice (in the form of a report to the Local Authority) as part of any Education Health and Care Plan assessment process undertaken for a child.

We carry out our work in a variety of contexts:

At an individual level by seeking to promote an understanding of the needs of individual children. Such work may involve individual observation and assessment and would aim to facilitate an understanding of the views of the child as well as identifying means of improving outcomes.

At a systemic level by working with and supporting teams who work with children and young people within our communities. Such work may be undertaken for example when schools experience challenging or crisis situations.

At an organisational level, for example by providing psychological input into the development of Local Authority Policy.

 

 Work within schools

  • Consultation via Link EP

 All schools currently receive a basic package of Educational Psychology Support via a service level agreement where each school has a Link Educational Psychologist who provides regular consultation sessions throughout the year for key members of staff.

 School staff decide what concerns/issues they wish to raise for discussion during these consultations and this can occur without the identity of a child being shared.

  • Monitoring and review of children with Statements (and Education and Health Care Plans (EHCP) going forward) within mainstream schools. This involves scheduled consultations involving school staff and parents for key transition year groups (2, 5 and 8) in order to highlight progress, any issues which may require specific interventions as well as ensuring practice is guided by clearly identified outcomes and person centred planning.
  • In-depth work

As part of our core function a certain amount of time is set aside for us to work within schools so that more complex situations (at an individual or group level) can be considered in more depth.

Schools are asked to submit requests for direct involvement to the Educational Psychology Service by a deadline each term so that they can be considered collectively by the whole team.

Schools can request involvement according to a variety of activities (e.g. in depth consultation, observation of individual or group or individual assessment). Click here for a copy of our request for involvement form.

In our work within schools we seek to work collaboratively with others to facilitate a problem solving process which involves gathering evidence from a variety of sources, identifying appropriate interventions and reviewing them.

Parents/Carers

Parents/Carers are encouraged to discuss any concerns they have about a child’s learning and/or behaviour with their child’s teacher, SENCo or Head Teacher.

A school may then decide to consult with their Link Educational Psychologist for advice on how to manage the situation.

If concerns remain a school may then seek permission to request further involvement from the Educational Psychology Service and submit a request for involvement form. 

Statutory work

­­Requests for statutory advice as part of an Education and Health Care plan assessment are made by the SEN department.

 

Work with other agencies

Our service works with a variety of agencies within the Local Authority in order to support teams in implementing psychological approaches as part of their work across our communities. This bespoke work is purchased by each service and tailored according to service needs.

What we believe in

The importance of a commitment to inclusion based on the assumption that everyone can learn if an environment is appropriately adapted.

Approaching our work in a client centred manner so that we aim to ensure everyone we work with feels respected and equal in status.

Supporting change by aiming to develop a shared understanding of presenting problems through the application and facilitation of careful listening to a range of associated perspectives.

Transparency in communication and approach through use of accessible language so that the people we work with feel part of the process, understand why we are involved and how we will work.

Providing high quality assessments based on authentic observations, the gathering of evidence from a range of sources making clear reference to relevant psychologies.

The notion that all behaviour has a purpose/function.

The importance of completing assessments and intervention in the least intrusive and most highly effective manner.

Approaching our work according to an assumption of the positive intent of others (unless collected evidence contradicts this assumption).

Contact Name
Ann Ricketts
Contact Email
Educational.Psychology-Service2@bracknell-forest.gov.uk
Local Offer Age Bands
Primary (4-10 years)
Secondary (11-16 years)
Junior (7-11 years)
SEN Provision Type
Behavioural, Emotional & Social Difficulties

General Provider response 

Funding
Charges
Last Update: 29/02/2024

Please note that the Bracknell Forest Services Directory includes some information and links to third party internet websites which are controlled and maintained by others. Bracknell Forest Council is not responsible for the accuracy of the information in the services guide and cannot be responsible for the linked external sites. Bracknell Forest Council does not represent or warrant that its web site or any other web site accessible via the Bracknell Forest Services Directory is virus free.
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