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Educational Psychology Advice
Published
Gloucestershire County Council is pleased to provide an update on the Educational Psychology advice for Education, Health, and Care Needs Assessments (EHNCA).
We understand how important these assessments are for your child's education and well-being. To to improve our Service, we are:
Improving Employment Terms: Making Gloucestershire an attractive place for Educational Psychologists to work.
Hiring Locum Educational Psychologists: Recruiting agency Educational Psychologists to help reduce the backlog.
Increasing Trainee Places: Offering more Trainee Educational Psychology (TEP) places to encourage trainees to return to Gloucestershire once qualified.
Developing an Assistant Programme: Creating an Assistant Educational Psychologist (AEP) programme to provide a year of learning and development, encouraging AEPs to return to Gloucestershire when qualified.
In addition, we are now offering remote Educational Psychology Assessments. These assessments will be conducted by qualified Educational Psychologists via virtual meetings (e.g., Microsoft Teams). They meet professional standards set by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and are conducted by professionals registered with the Health Care Professionals Council (HCPC).
During these virtual assessments, there will be meetings with your child, you, and their educational setting. All relevant information will be considered for the EHCNA, including the views of you and your child on their needs, outcomes, and provision.
You can opt out of remote assessments and request a face-to-face assessment, but this may take several months due to the current backlog.
If an EHCNA leads to an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP), any associated resources will be backdated to the 20-week due date. Schools will determine how these resources are used. They may already be providing support based on your child's needs or may use the resources for catch-up support. Please talk to your child's school during this waiting period to ensure they are receiving the necessary support.
We appreciate your understanding and patience as we work to improve our services and reduce delays. Our goal is to provide your child with the best possible support and ensure their educational needs are met.