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Case study: Educational and Child Psychologist

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Personal details
Name	Nick
Department	Psychology & Education
Academic status	Postgraduate Research
Course title	Doctor of Educational and Child Psychology
Nationality	UK
Year of graduation	2011

Further study details
Employment details
Type of job	Health, social care and psychology
Name of organisation	Staffordshire County Council
What does my organisation do?	Local Government Authority. I work for the Educational Psychology Service which supports children and their families by applying psychology and our understanding of child development to find sustainable solutions.
Main responsibilities	To provide a professional psychology service to the Local Authority, schools, children and their families. This includes systemic and multi-agency working. I apply strategies and interventions which have a psychological evidence base. The focus is to promote inclusion and maximise children’s well-being and achievement which includes emotional, behavioural, social and educational. I also have a range of statutory duties as well, such as providing psychological advice to the Local Authority when parents or teachers of children who may have a Special Educational Need apply for a Statement of that need under the Education Act 1996. I am also expected to work in line with National policy and guidance. I have to manage a group of schools, usually as part of a geographical ‘patch’ of schools. So, building relationships with teachers and other professionals is a crucial part of the job. I complete research duties which may range from small scale evaluation of interventions to County-wide initiatives and new ways of working. A proportion of my time is used for admin tasks such as keeping accurate records of visits and work being implemented.
Typical day	There really isn’t one! Which in many ways is the attraction of the job. Like a lot of EPs I work a flexi-day, which means I have to do a seven and a half hour day in-between set times (for me that’s between 7am and 7pm Monday to Friday). So, I will typically start my day at 7.15am and do an hour of admin duties which is anything from answering email queries to filing, or writing reports to planning for systemic changes within my service, my geographical ‘patch’ of schools, or the local authority. I might also spend some of this time writing up research which I have been engaged in during my day-to-day work. I usually make my way to my first visit as soon as schools and other services open. If the visit is to a school, it might include consulting with school staff, meeting parents, working directly with children and young people to carry out assessments of their learning and/or to elicit their views about their current circumstances. I might complete observations or attend multi-agency meetings too. If it is a nursery visit I might work directly with the child or work with a member of staff to set up play opportunities for me to assess the child’s cognitive, social, emotional, physical, language and behavioural needs. I’m likely to consult with staff and review provision plans they have created for the child, advising where they may want to make amendments to enhance the child’s well-being and development further. I might also attend multi-agency meetings to develop systemic services to children and their families. I might spend some time generating new ideas and trying to get those ideas into a workable and mutually beneficial action plan. I might even work with groups of Head Teacher’s and other senior managers to help them overcome difficulties within their school and community.
What do I enjoy about my job?	Much of what I have already mentioned above, it really is a great job. Specifically, I love making a difference. There is nothing more satisfactory in a job than when a child leaves smiling from a piece of work you have done with them or an intervention you have recommended. I usually become involved in situations which have become very complex overtime, so being able to move people forward is always a great feeling. The profession is very creative and you have the flexibility (generally) to work how you want to as long as you are working from an evidence base. The profession is very supportive. There is also a lot of opportunity to learn from others both formally and informally.
Challenging aspects	I think the narrow perception of others as to what it is Educational Psychologists do is a real challenge. For example, many people think our role is ‘the assessment of children with special educational needs’. And although this is part of our work, it’s not all of it! Although a lot of our work is completed through schools, the focus is not necessarily on learning. As a profession we offer consultation, assessment (of learning, but also emotional, social, behavioural needs), research, training and intervention. There is so much variation within the profession – it’s actually a very dynamic, creative and enthused place to be! I prefer to refer to myself as an Educational and Child Psychologist, as I think simply ‘Educational Psychologist’ can be misleading. The level of report writing can be very frustrating at times. This can create high levels of workload and stress. These reports can take a very long time to write and more often than not, there is a general feeling that the time could probably be better spent supporting children and young people directly. There can be quite a lot of travelling depending on where you live and work. Because everyone is often very busy, the job can be quite isolating sometimes and you can go a few days or week without seeing a colleague which can feel quite lonely at times.
Why did this area of work appeal to me?	I have a passion for psychology and have always enjoyed working with children and young people. This career allowed me to apply psychology to help solve some very complex problems. It allowed me to have a helpful impact on the lives of children and young people and the communities in which they live. I like the variety of the work and how every day is very different from the last. It’s by no means a 9-5 job and you can make it into what you want overtime. This means, developing your own specialist interests, engaging in research and having the opportunity to teach, train and support others.
Skills/qualifications I use in my job?	Everything I have learnt I use! It’s important to be a reflective practitioner, for example reflect on what you have done in the past, what was good about it and what you would change to make it better. So, it’s important for me to draw on all my experiences from all of my studying to ensure that what I am offering is the most relevant and constructive way forward for that particular situation. I use all of my ICT skills from specific research management packages to more generic ICT applications (i.e. Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, etc.). I also use a lot of specialist tools which relate to my specific interests such as video recording and editing packages for interventions such as Video Interactive Guidance or to add something a little more engaging to a training package I have designed. I use Forum Theatre from my Masters in Performance Practice, puppets and storytelling. I also use more traditional psychological techniques which I have learnt such as psychometric assessments, solution orientated consultations and observation techniques.
Training I receive as part of my job	When you’re in the job you get regular CPD opportunities, which can be anything including reading articles or books and reflecting on them, writing journal articles, attending or presenting at conferences, and engaging with supervision and attending team days within the service. But when you first go into the job you’re expected to have enough experience and training to be an autonomous professional. Prior to going into the profession I needed to have a degree in Psychology, a doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology, and at least one year’s experience of working with children and young people in any setting. In reality you need all of the above and more. I had around six years experience of working with children and young people in a whole range of settings including education. I was never a teacher, which a lot of my colleagues were. I don’t think this is an issue as you will be trained as (and are expected to practice as) an ‘applied psychologist’ and not as a ‘super teacher’. But, having some working knowledge of the education system is essential really, as you will need an awareness of how you might apply your psychology to it! My experience was a real mixture of part-time and full-time paid and voluntary work. It was of a very high quality, such as working within an Educational Psychology Service for a year and often meant getting lots of work experience alongside my studying.
Current situation
My current situation
Other information
Brief history since leaving University	I have the following qualifications: BSc (Hons) Psychology with Criminal Justice Studies MA Performance Practice Doctor of Educational and Child Psychology Trainee Educational Psychologist (as part of my Doctorate) Research Assistant (bursary) – Educational Psychology Service Project Manager (voluntary) – MIND Therapeutic Arts Project Project Manager/Associate Lecturer – Specialist Communication Skills University Module Graduate Support Assistant – Creative Partnerships Project Manager and Workshop Facilitator – Primary School Anti-Bullying Arts Project Touring Actor and Scene Manager – for a Social Theatre Company Workshop Assistant (drama) – for a Social Theatre Company with Looked After Children Children and Families Support Worker (voluntary) – NHS, Clinical Psychology Teaching Assistant (voluntary) – Secondary School Arts Department Department Assistant (voluntary) – Children and Families Social Work Trainee of Drama and Psychotherapy Techniques (voluntary) - Dramatherapist Assistant
Where do I see myself in the future?	That is quite a difficult question to answer, simply because the whole provision for children and young people is under review as part of the Coalition Government changes. However, I would like to be involved in training and supporting undergraduates and graduates in psychology – perhaps teaching psychology in some capacity or offering career support for those wanting to train as Educational and Child Psychologists. I would like to be engaged in research alongside this, so perhaps attached to a university department for at least part of my working week would be brilliant. I would like to be doing this training work alongside working as a Senior Educational Psychologist either within a traded or local authority controlled service (depending on which direction the Coalition Government’s plans send the profession). I am ambitious, but above all want to maintain the healthy work-life balance I have (most of the time!).
My piece of advice to students	Be creative and realistic. I did a lot of work experience in all sorts of places before I found what I wanted to do. I think this gave me an edge over some of my peers who I was competing against. Don’t narrow your options on one career – think about inter-linking services or organisations where you may find getting work experience more readily and then find the links back to your dream career. For example, I wanted to be a psychologist, but finding work alongside psychologists was virtually impossible; but by working in other organisations I was able to demonstrate how I could apply psychology in different contexts which eventually led me to a psychology team who welcomed me aboard for a year’s internship. Making the contacts and spending time networking and offering your time voluntarily can pay off in the end.

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