Professional Consultation is the first step within our process of assessment and intervention.

A Professional Consultation is a problem-solving discussion with an early years professional, a teacher or other professional.  We might meet to discuss an individual, a group, a class or an issue at school level.  Together the professionals will identify strategies and solutions that can be used within their setting. 

The aim of a Professional Consultation is to support the professional; therefore no child's name is disclosed, no case-file is opened, and no information is stored by the Educational Psychology Service. In many cases the discussion is enough to move things on and there will be no further involvement of the Educational Psychology Service.

In some cases, there will be a need to have a more in-depth exploration of the concerns and a Formal Consultation will be arranged.

Before arranging a Formal Consultation, the school will always obtain permission from parents/carers for an Educational Psychologist to be involved and will have completed a request for service/Educational Psychology involvement form.

When a request for Educational Psychology Involvement is completed, information about our Consultation meetings and what to expect is sent out to parents. If a child or young person is happy to attend their Consultation then they will be supported to feel comfortable about sharing their views. Some children may prefer not to attend their meeting, and they will be given the option to speak to a parent or a member of school staff who will collect and share their views using one of the Child's Voice tools. 

• Click here to find out more information for children/YP about Consultation meetings.

• Click here to view tools to support the gathering of Children/Young People's views.

A Formal Consultation is a collaborative meeting facilitated by the Educational Psychologist. The Educational Psychologist will then provide a record of their assessment and the agreed action plan.

Consultation is our principal tool for assessment and intervention and the aim of the consultation is to create a shared understanding of the child’s strengths, additional support needs and ways to support these needs.  During the Consultation the psychologist will draw on their psychological knowledge and skills, to help all involved have a deeper understanding and help to come up with a realistic action plan.

Consultation is the least intrusive approach to assessment.  More direct forms of assessment/intervention such as observation or direct work are only used when the information cannot be obtained from those who know the child best.

More information about what you can expect when attending a Formal Consultation can be found by clicking here. 

A Formal Consultation Follow-Up usually takes place between 6 weeks and 3 months after the Formal Consultation.  The purpose of this meeting is to review and evaluate the actions agreed at the Formal Consultation.

Next steps will be agreed at the Follow-Up meeting.  This may be the end of Educational Psychology involvement, or it may be agreed that the Educational Psychologists will contribute to future single or multi-agency Child’s Planning meetings.