Working Together with Families

Early Intervention Consultations (EICs) are one of the most common ways that the EPS provides support for learners in Aberdeen City. EICs are a Universal Level support available to all Education staff, Health Visitors, and Social Workers in Aberdeen City. EICs provide a space for reflective and collaborative problem-solving around a topic/area for individual learners (Individual EIC) or groups of learners or professionals (Systemic EIC).

Parents and carers are not invited to EICs as the EPS is a support service for schools and the majority of our work is delivered to school-based staff. EICs are designed to provide an opportunity for professionals to access support from the Service in a quick and efficient way. Because EICs only require verbal parent/carer consent, support can be offered in a timely way. Working in this way allows us to impact positive change for a greater number of learners and their families through involvement at this Universal Level. We also work on the value of being most effective, whilst using the least intrusive methods which means that often, it is in the best interest of the learner and their family to support staff at the Universal level through EICs.

As Systemic EICs provide support to professionals around groups of learners or training needs, and not individual learners, you may not be informed of these taking place in your child's school. 

As a parent or carer, you are not invited to Individual EICs about your child. However, you can expect to be involved in the process in the following ways:

The EPS provides training on a range of topics for professionals (usually education staff) across Aberdeen City. Here you can find information relevant for parents and carers about each of these training offers.

If you would like to explore information and resources around these topics for parents and carers, please visit our Topics section by clicking here.

Targeted Case: Following an EIC, a role for the EPS with a learner may be identified at a Targeted Level. This would require the Service to open a targeted case file for the learner. At this stage an Educational Psychologist (EP) will identify a clear psychological role around which their work will be carried out over a short-term period (typically between 3 months - 9 months). 

Consent: Involvement with the EPS is voluntary. This means that before we carry out any targeted work, we must gain informed consent from the learner's parents or carers evidenced in writing. Once consent is gained, the EP will contact parents or carers to introduce themself, discuss the role of the Service, and answer any questions parents or carers may have. 

Collaboration: The EP will usually facilitate a Consultation Meeting involving the learner, their family and key partners. There may be a role for Assessment, Intervention, Training or Research following this. The EP will seek to understand your views and experiences as a parent or carer and you will be encouraged to collaborate with the EP and relevant professionals to identify next steps for your child. 

As part of our work at a Targeted Level we would usually facilitate a Consultation meeting. 

A Consultation meeting is used to create a supportive and transparent space where those who know the learner best can share their ideas on what is working well and where the challenges may be. The focus of the discussion will be linked to the psychological role that was identified for the Educational Psychology Service. 

Consultation meetings will almost always involve the learner, parents/carers, Class Teacher and a member of the school leadership team. Other professionals such as Speech Therapists, Health Visitors, and members of outreach education services such as Autism Outreach Teachers may also participate. Children and young people have a choice on how they may participate in their Consultation, and the Educational Psychologist (EP) will explore this with you and the professionals working with your child. There are many creative ways in which we can share a learner's views at a Consultation.

Consultation meetings differ from school review meetings as the EP will use psychological frameworks to structure the meeting, where most school reviews will be based around the Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) indicators. Common theories we draw upon include solution focused psychology and positive psychology.

Consultation meetings typically take place in your child's school, but they can be hosted at other venues or online if preferred. They tend to last for 60-90 minutes. As the parent/carer your preferences for how the EP will facilitate the meeting will be sought.

After the Consultation meeting you will receive a record of the discussion and agreed actions. This may be in a written format, pictorial format or an audio/digital format depending on the preferences of those receiving copies. Outcomes and next steps from Consultations will be fed into your child's learning plans (e.g. Individual Education Plan or Child's Plan).