National Educational Psychological Service Presentation for Workshop IPPN Conference February 4 &

NEPS Feb Mission Statement Our mission is to work with others to support the personal, social and educational development of all children through the application of psychological theory and practice in education, having particular regard for children with special educational needs

NEPS Feb Planning Group for NEPS Executive Agency of DES 200 psychologists in system (184 in NEPS) [currently 128] 10 regions [currently 8 regional offices, 10 local offices] Ratio of 1:5,000 Expansion over 5 years (1999 – 2004)

NEPS Feb Main Achievements Service to 60% of schools and 74% of pupils Model of Service [leaflet for schools] Consultation and Casework (target 65%) Staged Model of Assessment Support and Development Work (target 35%) Response to critical incidents [resource pack] SCPA Support for DES and its agencies e.g. special education

NEPS Feb The NEPS Model of Service to Schools A Consultation Model “Consultation is a voluntary, non-supervisory relationship between professionals from differing fields” Conoley and Conoley 1982

NEPS Feb NEPS Model of Service to Schools What is the consultation about? 1. Consultation and casework (including assessment) in relation to individual learners 2. Consultation about the needs of schools – support and development

NEPS Feb What is assessment? Assessment is part of a dynamic process of intervention that is designed to promote learning. It involves a wide variety of means by which the strengths and needs of a learner are identified. The Individual Education Plan is itself a vehicle for assessment.

NEPS Feb What is assessment? Cont’d Assessment is mainly carried out by teachers who have responsibility for the child “Assessment encompasses the diverse aspects of learning: the cognitive, the creative, the affective, the physical and the social”. It includes self esteem, interpersonal and intrapersonal behaviour, and the acquisition of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values (Primary School Curriculum 1999)

NEPS Feb Purpose of Assessment To generate understanding of what is happening, who is concerned, why there is a problem and what can be done to make a difference to the situation

NEPS Feb Assessment is not: Synonymous with testing A static once-off event

NEPS Feb Assessment Informal tools Teacher observation Curriculum based assessment Homework School reports Interview with children Formal tools Checklist Diagnostic test Standardised tests

NEPS Feb Principles of assessment Qualitative and quantitative In partnership with parents/guardians Involve the child/young person Happen in different contexts Holistic Dynamic Reliable and valid Communicated clearly Formative

NEPS Feb How the Consultation Model of Assessment is applied in NEPS The staged model of assessment is a graduated problem-solving model, consisting of three distinct school-based stages. It provides a framework to enable schools to meet their statutory obligations in relation to identifying, assessing and making provision for their pupils.

Staged approach to assessment and intervention

NEPS Feb Three Stages, One Process Stage 1Stage 2Stage 3 Class- room stage School support stage School support plus (consultation/ assessment stage) Parents Teacher (s) Child Parents Subject/class Teacher (s) Child Support teacher Parents, Teachers, Child, EP, Other professionals

NEPS Feb Stage 1 – Classroom support stage Concern expressed by parents and/or teachers re learning or behaviour Learning plan drawn up and implemented for at least one term Review and either Finish and return to normal programme Continue and plan for a further period of time Move to Stage 2

NEPS Feb Stage 2 – School Support Stage Class teacher informs parents, principals and school care team of continuing concerns Revised learning plan drawn up by appropriate teachers and parents and implemented for at least one term Review and consultation Finish and return to normal programme Return to Stage 1 Continue with plan for further period of time Move to Stage 3

NEPS Feb Stage 3 – School Support Plus Formal request for NEPS involvement Plan for intervention collaboratively drawn up and implemented for at least one term Teachers and parents review plan and either Return to normal programme Return to Stage 2 Continue and plan for a further period of time Adapt the plan to include more support Request a Section 4 assessment

NEPS Feb Types of support in schools Learning support Other support staff and services Consult with NEPS psychologist Home school liaison teacher Mentoring programmes Buddy systems Paired/shared reading approaches Drama therapy, art therapy Homework clubs, breakfast clubs

NEPS Feb Recent examples of Support and Development Work – NEPS Training of teachers with autistic children in their class Workshops on art therapy for inner city schools Incredible Years project In-school seminars on aspects of special education e.g. IEPs

NEPS Feb This model represents value for money Problems can be addressed at an early stage Skills gained by teachers can be generalised Demand for individual psychological assessments reduced Note: the psychologist is available for consultation at every stage but will only meet the individual learner at Stage 3.

NEPS Feb What is adequate progress? NB Not all children will progress at the same rate Gap between learner’s progress and that of peers has not grown wider Improvement in rate of progress Improvement in capacity to access full curriculum Improvements in social and personal skills Improvement in behaviour Progress similar to that of peers starting from the same baseline

NEPS Feb Does every learner have to go through the staged process? In some cases, the learner’s difficulty is of such a serious and complex nature that it is immediately clear that the resources of the school will not, or are unlikely to, meet their needs. A detailed assessment may already have been carried out prior to entry to the school. NB These are rare cases (?2%)

NEPS Feb Scenario 1 School Principal requests Section 4 assessment (EPSEN Act)

NEPS Feb Questions which will be asked Have you Followed all NCSE guidelines? Provided Stage 2 assessment and intervention? Provided evidence of inability to arrange Stage 3 assessment? Provided evidence of complex and severe needs?

NEPS Feb Scenario 2 A parent requests an assessment under Section 4

NEPS Feb Questions to ask yourself Has the learner had a school-based assessment that supports the request? Has the learner been assessed by a professional from outside the school? Has a NEPS, or any other, assessment been carried out in the past year? Do available assessment reports provide a statement of the services which the learner will need?