A Career in Educational Psychology in Scotland.

What is an Educational Psychologist?

Educational psychology is concerned with the application of psychological theory to support the development, learning and wellbeing of children and young people in educational and early years settings.

Educational psychologists work with children and young people aged 0-19 years (but this can be up to 24 years of age) and the adults who are key in supporting them such as their parents/carers, teachers, early years practitioners and pupil support assistants. This can involve:

·   Facilitating consultation meetings and providing advice

·   Direct 1:1 assessment, classroom observations and conversations with young people

·   Designing and delivering training, carrying out research projects and evaluations as well as

·   Contributing to strategic policy and guidance within a local authority setting.

 

Educational psychologists work as a part of a team of psychologists, and alongside professionals within education, social work and health.

As well as an understanding of relevant psychological theory, educational psychologists are expected to have excellent communication skills, both in terms of their written reports and their ability to listen to, and tailor their spoken language to a wide variety of audiences, including children and adults with additional support needs. It is also expected that educational psychologists are able to prioritise and plan their time effectively by being able to remain calm under pressure to meet deadlines, handle stressful situations and importantly, look after their own wellbeing by attending supervision sessions.


Postgraduate Training at the University of Dundee


Anyone interested in training to become an Educational Psychologist in Scotland must complete the MSc in Educational Psychology at the University of Dundee, which is currently the only course of its kind in Scotland. The MSc is a two-year Master's course comprising of both university and placement days e with a local authority educational psychology service.



Qualifications

The minimum requirements of potential applicants are:

 A 2.1 honours degree in Psychology

OR

2:2 honours degree in Psychology, plus a relevant Masters Degree eg. Developmental Psychology or Research Methods

OR

An Honours degree plus a postgraduate conversion course which is accredited by the BPS  (this can be either a PG Diploma or Masters).


The University of Dundee advise that you must be a UK citizen, or an EU citizen with settled or pre-settled status.

Experience

Successful applicants usually have at least 2 years experience of working with children and/or young people (aged between 0-24 years) and/or families (paid or unpaid). 

Previous roles held by some of our own Educational Psychologists include 

Following the successful completion of the MSc in Educational Psychology, candidates would then be required to complete the Qualification in Educational Psychology - Scotland (Stage 2) which is a doctoral level qualification accredited by the British Psychological Society. This is completed whilst working as a Trainee Educational Psychologist in a local authority educational psychology service.


The final stage after successful completion of the Qualification in Educational Psychology - Scotland (Stage 2), is for Educational Psychologists to apply for registration as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). They can also apply for Chartered Membership  of the British Psychological Society if the choose, though this is not compulsory.


Next steps

Aberdeen EPS Internships

In 2021 & 2022 Aberdeen EPS offered research internships to students at Aberdeen University, Stirling University and other partners. These internships were all virtual due to the context of the Covid19 pandemic and involved supporting our service to undertake  research based tasks linked to development areas in our Service Improvement Plan. Due to the sensitive nature of the work of the EPS, the research involved either literature reviews or the analysis of anonymous ELSA data. 

The EPS is keen to support those who would like to learn more about the profession, and so annually we link with Aberdeen University to share information about careers in Educational Psychology at their psychology careers event.

Due to the private information & vulnerable groups we work with we regret we cannot offer shadowing opportunities to students or other groups. 

Aberdeen EPS Job Opportunities

Vacancies for all roles within our Service and other local authorities in Scotland will be posted on www.myjobscotland.gov.uk/  Sign up for alerts!