Expert Educational Psychology Support for School Anxiety, Autism, ADHD, Learning Difficulties, Friendships or Emotional Needs

Within school, with permission from school staff. In exceptional circumstances, a home visit may be arranged. 

Once an assessment has been I agreed, I will send you referral form to complete and you will need to email it back to me before I meet your child.  

The assessment will depend on the nature of the child's difficulties.  

For young children or children with significant difficulties with language or communication, the assessment may be play based, or based mainly on observations and discussion with staff and parents.  

For older children, I will generally observe then in school, talk to staff and parents and ask the child for their views about their difficulties. Some standardised assessment may be used, chosen to investigate specific hypotheses. 

Please note: I do not typically do cognitive assessment unless there is strong evidence of difficulties with learning.  

Teaching staff usually have accurate up-to-date information about skills in reading and maths and so I do not usually undertake standardised assessment in these areas.  

You will receive a detailed report the outlines your child's strengths and needs, as well recommendations for suggested outcomes and provision needed to achieve these outcomes.   

A detailed assessment usually costs £1,200. The exact cost will depend on how long the assessment takes.  

Yes, I have a lot of experience in writing these kind of reports both from when I worked at a Local Authority (LA) and through locum work at a different LA. 

If the LA has agreed to  an EHC Needs Assessment, your child will be assessed by a LA Educational Psychologist as part of the process. 

It may be reassuring for parents to know that when I worked at LAs, no pressure was every put on me about the kind of provision I could recommend. LA educational psychology reports are usually thorough and an excellent quality. 

However, I know that due to demand, there are now long waits for a LA educational psychology assessment and some parents may wish to speed up the process by commissioning an independent educational psychology report. 

If this is something you are interested in, please get in touch for a (free no obligation) 15 minute chat, so I can understand a bit more about your child's circumstances and we can identify potential next steps. 

Unfortunately, I do not currently offer this service.  

Unfortunately not.  I do not currently offer the kinds of assessment typically used to diagnose children with dyslexia or dyscalculia.  

The consultation will start by me asking what you and your child's teacher want to get out of the consultation and what area you want to prioritise.  It is helpful if you have given this some thought before the consultation. 

I will already have an overview of your child's difficulties through the referral form you have completed. 

Through questions and reflections, we will aim to get a shared understanding of why your child is experiencing difficulties in this area. 

The focus will then move onto problem solving and identifying possible next steps. 

Realistically, 60 minutes gives enough time to explore one area in depth. Talking about lots of different issues can mean there is not enough time to understand any of them properly. 

Common topics for consultation include difficulties with emotional regulation, worries about attending school, friendships, self-esteem, confidence and learning. 

The focus should be on difficulties experienced at school, not home. 

60 minutes is enough time to explore one area in depth and to identify possible next steps related to this concern.  Focusing on lots of different areas of concern can mean there is not enough time to really understand what is going on with any of them.

It is helpful if prior to the consultation, you and your child's teacher can identify one main area you want to explore in the consultation.  This is likely to the area causing you, your child or your child's teacher the most concern. 

Absolutely!  Consultations work best if you and your child's teacher are both able to attend.  This means they can be actively involved in thinking through what support your child needs.  

When you receive your email invitation to your consultation, feel free to forward it onto your child's teacher. 

Please let me know if your child's teacher is planning to attend. 

Yes.  When you contact me to book a consultation, I will ask you to complete a referral form that provides me with background information about your child's needs. 

It is helpful if you and your child's teacher complete the forms together, although I understand this is not always possible. 

The more information I have before the consultation, the more time can be spend in the session on problem solving instead of information gathering. 

You and / or school staff are welcome to take your own notes during the consultation. 

If you would like a written report of what is discussed during the consultation, this can be provided at additional cost. 

The consultation will happen over Teams.  I will send you a Teams invite at least 48 hours before the consultation. 

If you wish your child's teacher to attend the consultation, you will need to discuss this with the school.  You will need to forward the email invitation to your child's teacher. 

The consultation will last 60 minutes. 

A consultation costs £150. 

A written report of the consultation can be provided at an additional cost. 

Consultations are a cost effective way of getting educational psychology input related to a specific area of need.