Principal Educational Psychologists Research Articles

Scottish Educational Psychology Services: What does an optimal working environment look like, 2023 onwards? Exploring the national context of hybrid and blended working models for Educational Psychology Services in Scotland

A hybrid/blended working approach (a mixture of office working, home working, and working from other locations) can optimize the benefits of working from home (WFH) while also ensuring access to opportunities for face-to-face interaction which are important for collaboration, innovation, effective service delivery and staff wellbeing (Brown et al., 2021). As Educational Psychologists (EPs) returned to offices following the easing of COVID-restrictions, we aimed to explore Scottish Educational Psychology Services’ (EPS’) experiences of hybrid/blended working and identify necessary pre-requisites for effective service delivery and staff wellbeing within such a model. A mixed-methods methodology was adopted. An online survey was distributed to all EPS in Scotland. Focus groups were also conducted at a meeting of the Association for Scottish Principal Educational Psychologists (ASPEP). Results provide the first Scottish overview of work-style trends for the profession, insight into the unique benefits and challenges of hybrid/blended working for EPs and identifies necessary pre-requisites for effective service delivery and staff wellbeing within such a model. Results identify a need to balance individual flexibility alongside the wider needs of the EP service. Additionally, clear operational service guidance is required with predictable face-to-face time as a core element of any hybrid/blended model to support professional development and staff wellbeing. A blended working checklist is provided to support organisational planning and evaluation.

Leadership supervision for managers of educational psychology services

ABSTRACTA growing body of literature surrounds the development of effective supervisory practices for practitioner and trainee educational psychologists. To date, none of this has addressed supervision for managers of UK educational psychology services, despite evidence that they may be under increasing pressure to make difficult decisions, respond to changing economic and political contexts and experience greater scrutiny in relation to service performance. In this study, 10 principal educational psychologists (PEPs) took part in a focus group to explore the supervisory needs and experiences of service leaders. Emergent key themes revealed differential patterns of entitlement and support, with PEPs often reporting innovative practice in order to access supervision. Supervision often had a duality of purpose, with PEPs advocating and promoting service delivery, rather than seeking personal support, potentially eroding the notion of supervision as a “safe space.” Implications for future practice are discussed and a potentially supportive leadership supervision framework proposed.

Towards a community psychological service

David was Principal Educational Psychologist in 1970–1991. He led the development of the Psychological Service, building upon the earlier work which had transformed the child guidance clinic into a child guidance service, which included a limited schools psychological service as well as child guidance clinic. In the 1970s David was an inspirational PEP who appointed other progressive, creative educational psychologists who together developed a forward looking service which sought to go beyond the clinic, into schools, and to become a community psychological service. The aim was to go beyond applying psychology with a focus on problems, ill health and special educational needs. In addition to these important areas of work, the service sought to apply a psychology to improve the health and wellbeing not only of children and parents but also schools and the wider community.This chapter was originally written by the late David Loxley around 1995, with small additions to clarify chronology in the text.

The Sheffield Psychological Service in the new ERA

In this final chapter I consider the period of the early 1990s, during my period as Principal Educational Psychologist (PEP) from 1991, up to the time I left the service, after 23 years, in 1995. At this pointI took up the inaugural chair in Educational Psychology and Special Needs Education at the University of Warwick. I shall address the development of an explicitly determined ‘quality psychological service’ and reflections on the period from the 1970s on which this development was founded.

Transition towards a psychological service

By the late 1960s the balance between child guidance and educational psychology was beginning to change. The Child Guidance Clinic had changed to Child Guidance Centre, and although much of the work was still clinic based, the time spent by psychologists visiting schools had changed little from the 1950s - on average one day a week. However, pressures were increasing for a more school focused service. The Summerfield Report on the role of Educational Psychology was published in 1968. The profile of educational psychology was developing, and with the retirement in 1970 of Noel Whilde, the Principal Psychologist and head of the Child Guidance Service since 1940, the stage was set for major changes.Judy Bennison, who joined the service in 1967, and Kathleen Cox who joined in 1969 bridged the period of rapid change when David Loxley arrived as the new Principal Educational Psychologist in 1970. He had been appointed by the Chief Education Officer, Michael Harrison, to develop a broadly based Psychological Service, applying psychology not just to schools, but to the whole education department. This was a time of major upheavals in Sheffield schools as Sheffield became one of the first LEAs in the country to complete the move to a comprehensive secondary sector.First, Judy Bennison recalls her time in Newbould Lane, and the pervasive influence of Jungian psychology with its emphasis on the spiritual rather than the material, with a disinterest in the immediate environment in terms of comfort and aesthetics. The goal of Jungian analysis was to reconcile personal experiences with the collective unconscious to attain wisdom.

Consolidation and development

The 1950s were a period of consolidation after the upsets of the war years, and the continuing staff shortages up to the end of the 1940s. In 1952 the section of the Annual Report of the Chief School Medical Officer on child guidance in Sheffield was for the first time attributed to the Psychologist in Charge, Mr N. Whilde who had occupied the post since 1940. He notes that the referrals to the service had settled down to a pattern that changed little from one year to the next - boys were referred more than girls, a ratio of around 2:1; schools referred more than 50 per cent of cases and in terms of difficulties; Intellectual and behavioural difficulties accounted for around 80 per cent of referrals. The report also notes that for the first time in many years the service had a psychiatric social worker. The 1953 report notes that for the first time since 1945 the service was fully staffed. However, this was short-lived as two educational psychologists and a social worker resigned at the end of the year. For most of 1954 the service was one psychologist short and had no social workers. There was a vacancy for a senior psychologist, but with no suitable applicants, an assistant psychologist was appointed.At a national level in 1950 the government had commissioned a committee to look at treatment and provision for maladjusted children. Under the chairmanship of Dr Underwood, the committee produced their report that was published in 1955 (Ministry of Education, 1955). The committee consisted of 17 members, mainly medical doctors working in school medical services, a few head teachers and just one psychologist. Dr Alexander, Sheffield’s Chief Education Officer (see Chapter 1) gave evidence to the committee on behalf of the Association of LEAs, and Mr N. Whilde gave evidence on the incidence of maladjustment in the area covered by the Sheffield clinic (Sheffield, West Riding, Rotherham and Doncaster). Sheffield was well represented.Amongst its many recommendations, the Underwood Report recommended that all LEAs should have a child guidance clinic with an educational psychologist, psychiatrist and a social worker, and that each should have a school psychological service. It also wanted child guidance clinics to accept referrals of all individuals up to the age of 18, whether or not they were in full-time education. The report suggested that across England and Wales 280 educational psychologists would be needed to work in child guidance clinics, as well as those posts within school psychological services. They noted the need for an expansion of training in psychology at undergraduate level as well as in the postgraduate training of educational psychologists.The staff shortages in the Sheffield child guidance clinic and school psychological service described above continued throughout the 1950s. An advertised post for a senior psychologist in 1954 failed to attract any suitable applicants, and instead a newly qualified psychologist, Peter Portwood, was appointed as assistant psychologist. Peter remained in the service until 1959 when he moved to Cornwall to become the senior psychologist there, and eventually Principal Educational Psychologist, taking up some important posts in the BPS Division of Education and Child Psychology. His account of the Sheffield Service was written in the 1990s and appears below. Peter died in 2005.

Mind the gap: Where educational and clinical psychology meet!

Rebecca Ashton is Principal Educational Psychologist in Blackburn with Darwen and practising child neuropsychologist. She has recently won the Division of Neuropsychology award for ‘Outstanding Practice; Pre-Qualification’ (Qualification in Clinical Neuropsychology/QiCN). Rebecca balances her time between local authority work and private work as a Child Neuropsychologist for Recolo (Neuropsychological Rehabilitation Service for children, young people and their families). She also teaches on courses at UCL and Manchester University. Rebecca is extremely passionate about EPs becoming more involved in the area of neuropsychology. The following interview explores the relevance of neuropsychology to educational psychology practice and the routes into becoming a practitioner Child Neuropsychologist:

Effective delivery of therapeutic interventions: findings from four site visits

This project follows a survey into the role of UK educational psychologists (EPs) in delivering therapeutic interventions to children and young people. Four educational psychology services (EPSs) that identified themselves as providing effective therapeutic practice were selected on the basis of their qualitative responses to the survey. Site visits included analysis of service documentation, an interview with the Principal Educational Psychologist (PEP) and focus groups with EPs and with stakeholders, multi-agency partners and commissioners of EPSs. Thematic analysis yielded a number of key themes. Those relating to how the service context can support the delivery of therapeutic interventions included: contracting and promoting; leadership; opportunities to practice; supervision; time and resources; and training.

Is the restructured initial professional training in educational psychology fit for purpose?

Following changes to educational psychology training, the research aimed to examine whether the new training is considered “fit for purpose”, using a mixed-methods design. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected via semi-structured online questionnaires completed by recently qualified educational psychologists (RQEPs) who completed training programmes in 2009 and 2010, and principal educational psychologists (PEPs). 64 RQEPs and 15 PEPs responded to the online questionnaires distributed through the Educational Psychology Network (EPNET) and the National Association of Principal Educational Psychologists (NAPEP) forums, as well as via all initial professional training providers in the UK (excluding Scotland). Frequency counts were calculated for quantitative data. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the qualitative data. Findings suggest that RQEPs gain skills and competencies that are used and valued by services, specifically, professional and interpersonal competencies to face demanding roles. Gaps were identified in relation to providing RQEPs with therapeutic competencies that they and PEPs would value. Discrepancies between the training provided and the realistic educational psychologist (EP) role were highlighted, in addition to the impact these seem to have on RQEPs. Facilitators and barriers to implementation of training were identified. The restructured initial professional training appears to have provided RQEPs with relevant training that is used and valued by services. It seems that some level of “mismatch” in training and job requirements will remain until a consistent educational psychology identity can be formed, either through the profession itself or due to enforced Government changes to the role. Recommendations for RQEPs, Educational Psychology Services, including PEPs, and future programme providers are presented.

RESEARCH SECTION: Nurture groups: a large‐scale, controlled study of effects on development and academic attainment

Nurture groups have contributed to inclusive practices in primary schools in the UK for some time now and have frequently been the subject of articles in this journal. This large‐scale, controlled study of nurture groups across 32 schools in the City of Glasgow provides further evidence for their effectiveness in addressing the emotional development and behaviour problems of vulnerable children. In particular, Sue Reynolds, Principal Educational Psychologist, Maura Kearney, Senior Educational Psychologist, both working in Glasgow City Council Psychological Services, and Tommy MacKay, Professor at the University of Strathclyde and Director of Psychology Consultancy Services, suggest that is the first study to report quantitative gains in academic achievement when the progress of pupils in nurture groups is compared with that of matched children in mainstream classes. This highlights the importance of providing a nurturing context as a basis for promoting children's learning.

Educational Psychologists’ Contribution to the Every Child Matters Agenda: The parents’ view

In the DfES review of the role and contribution of educational psychologists (2006) the views of a range of different stakeholders were surveyed about the work that EPs do. As part of this process, questionnaires were devised and sent out to 300 parents, 30 from 10 local authorities (LA), distributed by the principal educational psychologist in each LA. Thirty per cent of parents completed the questionnaires and their responses indicated that they valued highly the contribution made by EPs to the outcomes for their child. Their responses also illustrate the broad range of work in which EPs are involved and the multiprofessional nature of support that is available. In this paper, the main findings from the survey are discussed and consideration is given to their implications for the future development of EP services.

Scoping the Profession: Evidence of changing times for educational psychology, 2002 to 2006

This paper describes two surveys of how Educational Psychology services in the UK were responding to Government initiatives. The first was conducted in 2002 and the follow-up in 2006. This paper reports how Principal Educational Psychologists and Services were reacting to different funding streams. The authors endeavoured to find out the impact of such changes upon the structure of services, posts created, and in general the changing shape of the Educational Psychology profession. The initial questionnaire was sent to 174 Local Authority PEPs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a response rate of 55 per cent. The results confirmed that the shape of services was indeed subject to significant change. A follow-up opportunistic survey of 13 Services was carried out in July, 2006, which indicated significant variation in practice among services and continuing change.

A unique programme for Principal Educational Psychologists: PEPs need support and training too!

A unique programme for Principal Educational Psychologists: PEPs need support and training too!

Workload, Job Satisfaction and Perceptions of Role Preparation of Principal Educational Psychologists in England

This article describes the results of a study which investigated workload, job satisfaction and perceptions of role preparation of Principal Educational Psychologists (PEPs). A questionnaire was sent to all PEPs in England. One hundred and twelve responses were received, giving a 76 percent response rate. Results indicated that PEPs have a generally positive attitude to the profession and express overall job satisfaction. PEPs managing large and/or complex services expressed greater overall job satisfaction and greater satisfaction with role clarity than PEPs managing small and/or compact services. There were indications that less experienced PEPs are more satisfied with aspects of their work than more experienced PEPs and have more positive attitudes to the profession. Less experienced PEPs also felt better prepared for certain aspects of the job. Despite the overall satisfaction, PEPs found the job stressful and were particularly dissatisfied with time constraints relating to administration. PEPs cited funding as a particular challenge to the service and reported feeling particularly ill-prepared for dealing with financial matters. Change, recruitment and retention, and ensuring and maintaining quality were also areas of concern. On the basis of the findings, implications for leadership and management development of PEPs are discussed.

From Scotswood Road to Alexandra House

Chris Marshall graduated in psychology at the University of Durham in 1964. After teaching in Croydon he was appointed an assistant educational psychologist (EP) in Newcastle upon Tyne, subsequently doing his formal EP training at Birmingham University. Some research on seven–year–old readers led to an M.Ed. from Newcastle upon Tyne and in 1970 he returned to Durham as a lecturer in the Institute of Education, tutoring the one–year diploma course in remedial education. In 1976 he became principal educational psychologist of Northamptonshire. He was also involved in part–time teaching and tutoring for the Open University, including the course on the teaching of reading. In 1978 he was appointed HMI, where he remained until his retirement in 2001. He became leader of the special needs team in 1984 and in 1987 the professional head of the Assessment of Performance Unit. He subsequently acted as adviser to the DfEE on assessment, and on appeals and complaints in relation to the 1981 Education Act. He was involved in the setting up of the SEN Tribunal. The final part of his career from 1996 was again as the special needs team leader for HMI, now part of Ofsted.

A possible method for operationalising the British Psychological Society Division of Educational and Child Psychology quality standards:A case study in one Educational Psychology Service and an evaluation

AbstractIn June 1999, the principal educational psychologist of one London service invited two trainee educational psychologists to ‘inspect’ the service using the British Psychological Society (BPS) Division of Educational and Child Psychology quality standards for educational psychology services. In order to do this, a rating scale was devised, using the BPS framework, and three judgement categories: fully met, partially met and not met. Studies of service documentation and a questionnaire to a small number of staff followed. Finally, the service was rated in respect of each BPS standard, namely: guidelines for professional practice; induction; continuing professional development; supervision of educational psychologists in training; appraisal – performance review; supervision of educational psychologists. Areas of strength, weaknesses and further development were identified, which proved to be very helpful indeed to the service in preparing for an OFSTED inspection. The BPS standards do appear to be capable of being operationalised realistically into a system which services could use for self-evaluation.

Educational Psychology Services and their futures — some responses to the DfEE Working Group Report

In this short article, a group of educational psychologist representatives on the DfEE Working Group on the future role and training of educational psychologists and their Services, consider some of the outcomes of the ‘Role’ Report. They describe the positive aspects of the Report, especially its ambitious description of what educational psychologists can do to make a difference. They also describe some of the problems of impact and implementation associated with the report. Rob Stoker is Principal Educational Psychologist for the London Borough of Westminster and a Director of Applied Psychology Associates; Glenys Fox is an HMI; Irvine Gersch is Professor and Director of Professional Training in Educational Psychology at the University of East London; Jackie Lown is Specialist Senior Educational Psychologist in York, and is also seconded to the University of Sheffield, where she works as an academic and professional tutor; and Sue Morris is Director of Professional Training in Educational Psychology at the University of Birmingham.

Patterns of Service Delivery in Educational Psychology Services: Some implications for practice

This article describes research into models of service delivery for Educational Psychology Services in England and Wales. Questionnaires completed by Principal Educational Psychologists (PEPs) during 1998 reveal trends in the way we commonly engage with schools. In particular, aspects of practice associated with consultancy models of service delivery are explored and the extent to which they are employed is examined. Some links with other organisational artefacts, such as supervision and appraisal, are also discussed. The research provides an illuminative study of current service delivery practice and suggests some conclusions about the way we deliver services to schools, the cultures within EP Services and the frameworks we draw upon to inform our practice.

The Role of Educational Psychologists in Child Protection

This study explores the current involvement of educational psychologists (EPs) in child protection issues and practice. Three sources were surveyed by postal questionnaire and semi‐structured interviews. Phase A of the study involved surveying 100 principal educational psychologists. Phase B involved interviewing 19 EPs with specialist responsibility for child protection. In Phase C, 11 senior social workers and 11 senior educational welfare officers were surveyed. The results indicate that EPs are becoming increasingly involved in the area of child protection and in developing multi‐disciplinary links. There is an increasing expectation from both social workers and educational welfare officers that EPs do have skills, although insufficiently utilised, to offer in this area.

Autism outreach services – influencing inclusive practice?

This paper outlines the key findings of a national survey carried out in England and Wales during 1998 as part of a larger research project. A postal questionnaire was sent to all principal educational psychologists. The survey aimed to determine the presence of autism outreach/advisory services. An outreach service can be defined as one that has staff with specialist knowledge, skills and experience in a specific area. It offers support to a number of recipients, such as pupils, their families and school-based staff. Based on a return rate of 81 questionnaires (53 per cent of LEAs surveyed), this revealed that 24 (30 per cent) of local education authorities (LEAs) had some form of structured outreach/advisory services specifically catering for pupils with autistic spectrum disorders. A further 20 (24 per cent) of returns indicated emerging or informal services were in existence. Approximately a third of the autism outreach/advisory services were based in a special school. Only a very small number operated from a mainstream school. Approximately half were based on an autonomous site. The characteristics of the services varied along a number of dimensions, but a common aim was to facilitate inclusion for a group of pupils within the autistic spectrum.