The role of educational psychologists (EPs) in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people is increasingly being recognised in light of pressures on support services, and the identified importance of school-based provision. At the same time, EP practice has benefitted from psychological practice frameworks which support…

The current research aimed to explore the extent to which school professionals and local authority staff perceived that there was a role for educational psychologists in the processes involved in implementing, monitoring and offering support to young people for whom a managed move was being arranged. The study was conducted in one English local…

The aim of this study was to identify support strategies used to promote "social inclusion" and "academic progress" of Key Stage 3 and 4 Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) pupils. The study used an interpretivist approach, incorporating an embedded single case study with several participant groups, namely GRT pupils, GRT parents,…

Psychologists working in education in Aotearoa/New Zealand work in diverse educational environments making day-to-day decisions informed by evidence-based practice. As a relatively small professional group with a complex work programme, they contribute to the assessments and decision-making processes of children and young people across multiple…

Evaluation is a central feature of educational psychologists' (EPs) work. Different evaluation tools have been used in the published literature but a consistent approach is yet to emerge. Informed by Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, this research asks what information EPs find meaningful when they evaluate their work. Six EPs working in a…

Since the 1990s many strength-based assessments (for example, inventories, checklists, interview schedules) have been developed for use with children and young people, but these have offered a limited appraisal of the contexts in which strengths are present. In this study a new form of contextualised strength-based assessment was used within the…

Outcomes of interviews with seven educational psychologists, focused on issues of epistemological and ontological positioning, are reported. The interviews were conducted within a qualitative, biographical research paradigm which examines the ways in which a person's meaning-making is impacted upon by all aspects of their life experience. Thematic…

The evidence base that explores Black African parents' experiences of an Educational Psychology Service (EPS) is limited. This article describes an exploratory mixed methods research study undertaken during 2009-2011, that explored Black African parents' engagement with a UK EPS. Quantitative data were gathered from the EPS preschool database and…

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…

This study explores the process of reintegration into school for children with an acquired brain injury (ABI) and considers the role of the educational psychologist (EP) in supporting these children. Interviews were conducted with a range of professionals in two specialist settings: a specialist rehabilitation centre and a children's hospital with…

An exploratory survey of Assistants in Scottish educational psychology services (EPSs) was undertaken, guided by four questions: Who are Assistants? Why are they employed/not employed? What do Assistants do? How are Assistants supported and supervised? Twenty-one Assistants and 15 managers were interviewed. It was found that Assistants worked…

There has been a noted growth in the number of teaching assistants (TAs) in mainstream schools. Research is inconclusive about their efficacy at changing outcomes for children and has proposed more training for TAs. Generic training models have suggested that enhancing self-efficacy in turn improves performance. This exploratory study investigated…

This article explores teachers' perceptions of the effects of high student turnover in international schools in the UK. The research used a "grounded theory" approach for qualitative data collection and analysis, based on interviews with eight teachers in four international primary schools. The results of the grounded theory suggest that a process…

The aim of this study was to investigate how bullied schoolchildren experience solution-focused brief therapy support groups, and to examine how members of the support group experience their participation in the group. An explorative qualitative design, with individual and focus group interviews, was used. The sample consisted of 19…

In this article, the author reflects on findings from research on the role and impact of teaching assistants and experience of working as a special educational needs (SEN) officer. Research evidence suggests the reliance on teaching assistants to include pupils with Statements of SEN in mainstream settings masks a collective, though unintentional,…