Educational Psychology

About the Service

The Educational Psychology Service (EPS) supports the psychological and educational development of all children and young people in Doncaster who encounter barriers to effective learning. It provides a service to children, young people and their families, as well as to schools.

Educational psychologists seek the views of children and young people, their parents or carers in all advice provided on meeting their needs. The service also provides training and professional support for staff in schools, early years settings and for school governors, as well as workshops for parents and carers.

Educational psychologists are qualified and experienced teachers who have additional qualifications in psychology and work closely with local schools. They work across the full age range 0-19 years although the majority of their time is focused on the years of statutory education in years 5-16.

Access to the Educational Psychology Service

All schools, mainstream and special schools, have a named educational psychologist who works closely with key staff members, most often the Headteacher and the school's Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator(SENCo). The majority of time available is spent on school-related work including providing psychological advice, attending school reviews and planning meetings with staff and parents, where appropriate. 

Concerns about children and young people's learning, development or behaviour should be discussed first with school staff. The SENCo within all schools and many early years settings co-ordinates arrangements for meeting pupils' additional special educational needs, and are able to contact an educational psychologist if necessary.

In addition, the EPS can be contacted by any agency, with parent/carer permission, or directly by families themselves, for advice on matters of children's development where these are not school-related. Please use the contact details at the top of this page.