What We Do
Core Values and Vision
Children and Young People
Parents and Carers
Schools and Practitioners
Have Your Say on the Service
Useful Links
Contact
 

 What Schools Can Expect From The Service

Tameside Educational Psychology Service is an evidence based  consultation service. 
This means that our work starts with collaborative and empowering conversations in the hope of bringing about positive change for children, young people, school staff and families. 
Tameside Educational Psychology Service was co-produced with children and young people across Tameside therefore what is important to children and young people is at the forefront of our service delivery model. We currently provide services online and face-to-face where appropriate.
 
The exact nature and time required for our work will be determined at the planning meeting. Possible ways in which schools often use Educational Psychology time include:

Virtual Consultations

For the academic year 2024/2025 we are going to trial virtual consultations for schools who buy in our service as a way to be more responsive to need. It is a solution focused approach similar to the current consultations we run in person. Consultations use a plan-do-review framework, whereby together we will come up with agreed actions. It is collaborative and is inclusive of teachers, parents/carers and pupils. All participants will be working towards positive outcomes for the pupil, so we ask that mutual respect is maintained throughout. 

• Schools Guide for Virtual Consultations
• Parent Carer Guide for Virtual Consultations

 

Support and Resources

Tameside’s Graduated Approach

Tameside’s Graduated Approach resource is designed to support anyone working with children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). It shares helpful guidance and proven strategies for supporting children from early years through to post-16, with the aim of improving the support they receive. To make sure all children’s needs are understood and supported, schools use a graduated approach. This means trying different types of support over time, as it can take several steps to fully understand what works best for each child. ‘Where a pupil is identified as having SEND, early years’ settings, schools and colleges should take action to remove barriers to learning and put effective special educational provision in place’ (DfE, SEND Code of Practice, 2015, p.100). The SEND Code of Practice promotes the use of the ‘Assess-Plan-Do-Review’ Cycle to support this process. This works by revisiting, refining and revising our understanding of a child’s needs and what works to support them. This means our understanding of the child’s needs should become clearer over time and build a better picture of the provision they need to make progress. Building a picture over time is especially helpful when considering longer term planning and the provision needed to make a successful transition to a setting/school or between schools. A good SENCO will support a family through cycles of Assess-Plan-Do-Review and will try to understand any differences in opinion or experiences a child has across different environments and make sense of them to understand the child’s needs and inform the support plan.

Over time, and typically after several cycles of this process have been implemented and when a child or young person is not making expected progress, Educational Psychologists (EPs) may become involved to offer additional consultation, assessment and recommendations. EP involvement can support a deeper understanding of a child’s needs and help to further refine provision. 

For more information, please visit: Welcome to Tameside’s Graduated Approach - Tameside SEND Local Offer. For a PDF version please, click here. 

 

Dyslexia identification pathway

This document outlines Tameside’s dyslexia identification pathway.
 
The aim of this document is to promote a shared rationale and understanding in the identification, assessment and support for pupils with dyslexia within the local authority.
 

 

Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA)

The aim of this document is to promote best practice in supporting children, young people and their families who are affected by difficulties with attending school due to emotional factors, including anxiety. It can be used by school staff and other professionals.
 

 

Assistant Educational Psychologists

The service has begun an initiative to enhance our offer to schools through the recruitment of Assistant Educational Psychologists.  These professionals have the prerequisites to apply for the doctoral training in Educational Psychology. They assist the service through conducting and supporting many of the functions of an Educational Psychologist including basic assessment work, information gathering, group work, individual intervention and training. Your named Educational Psychologist will advise you of activities that might be better supported or delivered by an Assistant. This will help to meet the needs of your school and the families you support.

 

Ethical Trading

The service operates an ethical trading policy. This means as an LA service we don’t operate as a regular business might (e.g. on a first come first served basis). We feel that we have a duty of care across the borough and try to prioritise areas of highest need while maintaining service access borough wide. It is also essential that the Educational Psychology Service makes a contribution to the education and outcomes of all children and builds capacity through project work and research rather than limiting access to individual children. We prioritise contracts that are likely to support us to do this.