Educational Psychologists (EPs)

About the Educational Psychology Service

We help children and young people in Jersey understand how they learn, grow, behave and feel. Our aim is to make sure children and young people across the Island are understood and valued.

Our educational psychologists (EPs):

work with children
support school staff
take part in projects that help make schools inclusive and caring

Watch the Educational Psychology Service video in English

Watch the Educational Psychology Service video in Portuguese

Watch the Educational Psychology Service video in Polish

Watch the Educational Psychology Service video in Romanian

Educational Psychology Service in Jersey booklet

Where educational psychologists (EPs) work

EPs work in places such as:

playgroups and nurseries
mainstream schools, including specialist support
specialist schools
family homes
clinics with other health professionals

Wherever a child learns or receives care, we work with the adults who support them.

How we work with children

We use different strategies to work with children.

These include:

consultations, assessments and evidence based support
working with parents, carers, teachers and other professionals
helping schools improve wellbeing, behaviour, inclusion and learning
providing training and whole school support
taking part in research and help improve services across the Island
offering support during difficult or urgent situations

Consultations

We meet with parents, carers, teachers and other professionals to discuss concerns and understand a child’s strengths and needs. Together, we create clear and personal plans to help a child make progress.

Assessments

We use observations, discussion and different assessment tools to understand how a child is learning and developing. This helps families and schools know what is working and what extra support may help.

Interventions

We design and support interventions that help build:

learning and thinking skills
confidence and motivation
emotional wellbeing
resilience

We also help adults use these interventions well.

Get help from an educational psychologist

If you're worried about your child’s learning or wellbeing at school:

speak to your child’s teacher or the school’s Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO)
the SENCO will contact the EP if they think this would help
the EP will talk through the concerns with the school during their regular visit
if the EP is going to work directly with your child, the school will ask for your permission first

If you have questions about the Educational Psychology Service, contact the Education Welfare Team.

How we support the whole school

We support whole schools by:

leading improvement projects
delivering training
supporting inclusion and wellbeing programmes
helping staff create positive learning environments

Research and service development

We also take part in research and support evidence based practice.

We listen to children and families, help schools improve and share their knowledge to support long term change.

ELSA quality mark

Jersey has been awarded the ELSA quality mark. This recognises the high quality delivery of the Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) programme across the Island.

The ELSA Quality Mark shows that:

ELSA training and supervision meet national standards
schools get guidance from qualified educational psychologists
ELSAs use evidence based emotional literacy interventions
children receive consistent, well structured emotional wellbeing support