About the Educational Psychology Service

We demonstrate openness, accessibility, and transparency by listening, sharing, wondering aloud, and working collaboratively with our stakeholders in all our work. We understand that needs and solutions arise from the interaction between the child or young person and the environments in which they learn and live. 

We show respect by being non-judgemental and by being mindful of the impact of our communication and actions now and in the future. We work together with families, school staff and professionals from different disciplines to develop a shared understanding and co-create plans that promote positive change. We focus on identifying and highlighting individual and systemic strengths and abilities to empower children, young people and those supporting them.

As reflective practitioners we engage in self-reflection and we demonstrate how research and evaluation informs our practice on an individual, service wide, and strategic level. We evaluate our actions, decisions and experiences to gain insights and to improve future practice. 

We endeavour to practice with bravery and integrity, demonstrating that our responsibility is first and foremost to the child. We hold children and young people at the centre of all aspects of our work and focus on approaching and supporting them with empathy and adaptability. 

We strive for excellence, both in outcomes for children and in our professional practice by engaging in continuous improvement. We seek to integrate high-quality research evidence with our individual expertise and incorporate individual preferences, concerns and expectations to make informed decisions and effect positive outcomes. 

We endeavour to promote equality and equity so that the needs of every child and young person are served in a fair and equitable manner. We seek to ensure that diverse needs, backgrounds and abilities are valued, respected and supported. We seek to foster a sense of belonging and remove barriers to participation.

This theory suggests that human development is shaped by the complex interaction between an individual and their surrounding environments. It highlights that development is shaped by our surroundings from those immediate, such as family, school and peers, to the broadest context, including cultural values, customs and economic systems. 

We apply this model to ensure a holistic approach that can improve interactions within and between different levels of the system, foster resilience and highlight the impact of systemic factors. 

This model considers the complex interactions between biological, environmental, cognitive, behavioural and affective factors. It provides a means of considering all the factors that may be affecting a child or young person’s development, wellbeing and access to learning and social opportunities. 

We use this model to guide the information that we gather, to help us identify underlying factors impacting a child or young person’s presentation and to aid formulation. This enables us to go on to identify effective, evidence-based support strategies.

This refers to the study of how people grow and change physically, cognitively, emotionally and socially throughout their lives. There are specific theories related to each developmental domain. Piaget mapped four stages of cognitive development. Vygotsky highlighted the importance of social interaction and culture to development. He introduced the ‘Zone of Proximal Development’ (ZPD and defined the role of a ‘More Knowledgeable Other’ (MKO). Sheridan mapped child development from 0 to 5 years with this work being updated by others on a regular basis. Others have mapped play stages, social stages and neurodevelopment. Our understanding is ever increasing. 

We use our understanding of human development across all domains to help us identify potential difficulties and provide support. These models of development help us to ensure that support given matches cognitive, social and emotional needs and is developmentally appropriate to the child or young person regardless of their age.

This theory, first postulated through the work of Bowlby and Ainsworth, proposes that the bond between babies and their primary caregivers provides the foundation from which a child explores the world and a safe place to return to for comfort. Our earliest relational experiences create ‘internal working models’ that influence later relationship patterns, the way in which we perceive ourselves and how we interpret the world around us. 

Later work by people like Bomber and Hughes, helped develop our understanding of the impact attachment styles may have in the classroom and develop strategies to support at all levels of the system. 

We use this work to help create secure, consistent environments and promote relationships that foster improved engagement and emotional regulation through creating feelings of safety, security and belonging. We understand behaviour as communication of unmet need. We use attachment theory to guide tailored support strategies rather than diagnose attachment difficulties.

Maslow proposes that human motivation is driven by a pyramid of needs ranging from basic survival needs through to seeking personal growth, realizing personal potential and being motivated beyond our own personal needs. While not entirely rigid, Maslow proposed that basic needs must be met before moving up to more complex, higher-level needs. 

We use this model to promote readiness to learn through ensuring that needs are met at each stage of the hierarchy before trying to attain the next level. This can vary extensively, for example, through ensuring physiological needs are met by promoting well-being checks, ensuring safety needs are being met through predictable, consistent routines or by promoting connection and relationships to meet belonging needs.

The work of Dr Bruce Perry provides a neurobiological framework to understand, assess, and support those who have experienced trauma, neglect or chronic stress. This work has helped direct a move from purely behavioural interventions to brain-based, developmental approaches that foster resilience. It highlights the importance of ‘regulation before education’. 

We use this approach to inform the recommendations made for all children and young people who experience dysregulation. We highlight that learning and reasoning follow regulation and connection. Importance is placed on creating safety through predictability, structure and access to safe spaces and on adults utilising their calm presence and capacity to co-regulate. It allows us to tailor interventions and recommendations based on functional developmental stage.

In the 1970’s/ early 80’s, Shazer and Berg developed a future-oriented, goal directed therapeutic approach that focuses on solutions through recognising strengths and identifying ‘exceptions’- times when the problem is absent. This approach underpinned the later development of solution focused consultation processes such as Solution Circles or Farouk’s group process consultation model. 

We use solution focused models to aid consultation, assessment and formulation. This helps us to identify existing resources and individual patterns of strength that can support small, manageable steps for change.

Carol Dweck defined the belief that capacity and abilities can be developed through effort, learning and persistence. This approach embraces challenges, fosters resilience and sees failures and mistakes as learning opportunities. It highlights the power of yet- ‘I can’t do that (YET)’. The learning process is valued as it is recognised that the brain grows stronger and creates new neural connections through active learning. Effort is seen as the necessary process that turns underlying potential into attainment and accomplishment. 

We use this model to foster resilience, motivation and improved academic outcomes. We encourage process-oriented feedback, we promote the power of ‘yet’ and we teach brain plasticity to normalise challenges as essential learning opportunities. The aim is to move the focus from getting the right answer to enjoying the process of learning.

The Educational Psychology Service (EPS) continue to offer supportive early years community clusters within some locality areas. The cluster groups generally meet a few times each year and have included a mix of training, discussion, information-sharing and complex case discussion. 

Staff have worked collaboratively with EA and Health and Social Care Trust (HSCT) colleagues to develop and provide timely, responsive training that meets the needs of the cluster group. 

It is hoped that the Early Years Community Clusters model can be extended in the future with ongoing collaboration with Early Years IMPACT team.

The Educational Psychology Service (EPS), in collaboration with the EA Local IMPACT teams, have been supporting a range of pre-school and school settings through the provision of regional online solution-focused hubs (SFH). 

The solution-focused hubs provide setting staff with the opportunity to engage in a supportive, reflective professional discussion with a small multi-specialist team. 

Settings are provided with an action plan that summarises the co-created strategies and resources discussed. 

Settings meet with the facilitator and co-facilitator for further discussion/review around six weeks after the initial meeting. 

Project Aims:

To provide knowledge and support to schools through evidence-based training that focuses on promoting the emotional health and wellbeing of all staff.

To support schools to create a positive and nurturing school culture, develop a user-friendly staff wellbeing policy, and use peer supervision and support strategies.

This has been achieved through the delivery of training to school staff and facilitation of cluster meetings. It has made a positive contribution to school policy development and culture around staff wellbeing.

Project Aims:

• To provide knowledge and support to schools through evidence-based training that focuses on promoting the emotional health and wellbeing of all staff.
• To support schools to create a positive and nurturing school culture, develop a user-friendly staff wellbeing policy, and use peer supervision and support strategies.

This has been achieved through the delivery of training to school staff and facilitation of cluster meetings. It has made a positive contribution to school policy development and culture around staff wellbeing. 

The Special School group has sought to ensure that all special schools across Northern Ireland have access to support from our service. The work of the group includes:

• Solution focused consultations
• Development and delivery of training relevant to most pressing needs
• Facilitation of cluster groups
• Attendance at multi-disciplinary meetings
• Collaboration with Trust and other EA services
• Delivery of training to other EA services
• Peer supervision and CPD sessions for members of our team who support their local special schools
• Development and delivery of training to early career teaching staff

The work of the group has been received positively and is valued by special schools, and it has been noted that, “This model of EP support and provision has been invaluable in helping us build capacity, upskill our staff and make more effective provision for our pupils”.

Aims:

• To develop and extend a strong research culture within our service
• To promote opportunities for staff to engage in high quality research projects and practices
• To promote the dissemination and recognition of good practice already happening in our team. 
• This is being achieved through:
• The development of a consistent set of pre- and post-training evaluation questions
• Literature reviews to inform strategic decision making
• Collaboration with QUB to promote research ideas and priorities from within our service
• Development of a research mentor team for Trainee Educational Psychologists

The nurture team works in collaboration with our colleagues from the Nurture Advisory and Support Service to provide cluster group meetings to schools that have a Department of Education funded nurture provision. 

These cluster meetings can include solution focused discussions, dissemination of relevant resources and the delivery of relevant training to the staff who work in nurture provision.

EPS are working in collaboration with EA LIT and SDS staff to address the gap in current provision in training and resources to support those experiencing maths difficulties because of:

• Dyscalculia
• Language Processing 
• Working Memory 
• Visual Spatial Processing
• Executive Functioning
• Maths Anxiety

We aim to:

• Develop and deliver training to support schools in understanding, identifying and addressing these needs
• Compile a bank of evidence-based tools that will help remediate or compensate for skill deficits
• Promote the benefits of incorporating a growth mindset when teaching maths
• Support schools in developing a unified ‘maths language’

Our service delivers a core psychology service to children and IME settings across preschool, primary and post-primary phases. This core delivery includes consultation, assessment, intervention and training as needed. 

Specific pieces of work in recent years have included:

• A literature review of biliteracy, and, a statistical analysis, in 2020, of referrals to literacy provision for children from Irish medium schools, with a comparison group from English medium schools. 
• A survey was carried out with IME schools about their views and needs in relation to the EPS. 
• CPD has occurred within the EPS for those supporting or interested in IME settings. This CPD has included understanding bilingualism, EA policy and adaptations within EP work for robust and ethical practice. Sharing good practice, informal peer support and dissemination of translated documents (e.g. leaflets for CYP) has also taken place.
• Dissemination to the EPS has taken place of IME information, for example, sharing newsletters and publications from Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta. Members of the EPS have attended IME conferences, including sessions as Gaeilge, and a symposium in Stormont for the release of key research.
• Other sources of information useful to IME work have been promoted, including external websites (e.g. COGG, Gaeloideachas) and the resources from within the EA services (e.g. Cúig in Airde, Croí na Gaelscolaíochta, the LIT c2k Teams site Gaeloideachas).  
• An audit of language skills across the EPS took place and contributions were made to related policy (e.g. EA language policy). An appreciation for Irish as a language has been informally promoted colleague to colleague in complement to duties and roles. 
• Research in the area of IME has been followed with a summary bank of this available to the EPS. Specific research links have been made, for example, with psychologists in training carrying out IME related thesis and a current in-house project called Scoil Dar Linn gathering the views of children with SEN in gaelscoileanna.
• Promotion of IME has taken place within the psychology profession via a presentation at the Association of Education Psychology Conference in 2023. The EPS has also presented on psychological needs and support with IME to the EA's Board in March 2024.