Click here to access the CLPL Inclusion and ASN Programme 2021-2022, delivered by Educational Psychology Service. The programme includes a range of training sessions and resources which will help education staff to support the progress of all children and young people, and to meet the needs of those with additional support needs.

The programme includes information about the aims and outcomes of each of the training sessions and resources, the timescale, target audience, and details of how to access them. Requests from schools and staff will be negotiated and prioritised over time.

Over the summer, the Healthier Minds Website has been updated to further support young people’s, parents’ & professionals’ wellbeing. Watching our short video is a great way to help you navigate the site and make fuller use of the various resources.

Watching our short video is a great way to help you navigate the site and make fuller use of the various resources.

The Service has developed a comprehensive package of information, resources and guidance aimed to enhance the support you offer to children, young people, families and colleagues who have, or are experiencing, bereavement or loss.

To get the best from these resources we advise that you take some time to familiarise yourselves with the information, make relevant documents visible and readily available to children, young people and families and display posters in your establishment.

A couple months after the launch of the Healthier Minds Framework, life for everyone changed significantly as a result of the pandemic.   After meeting with Children, Young People and Professionals, we were able to listen to some of their experiences of lockdown (both positive and negative),  what they have missed while not at school and what would help to make the return easier.

As Children, Young People and Staff will all bring their own unique experiences of Coronavirus with them in the return to school, this video aims to provide advice, strategies and sign-positing  to support this transition.  The 5 principles of recovery are: Safety, Reconnection, Self-Regulation, Individualised Responses and Resilience.

We have now created our East Renfrewshire Educational Psychology Service Position Paper May 2020.  This paper details: how research can inform practice, evidence-based recommendations for effective transition and recovery planning and the role of Educational Psychology Service in transition and recovery planning.

Returning to School during Covid-19 Transition and Recovery 19-EPS Position Paper May 2020

We are currently living in unprecedented times, but East Renfrewshire Educational Psychology Service are continuing to support the wellbeing of children and young people, their families and professionals that support them. One of the ways in which we are doing this is by creating and collating resources and advice that are accessible online.

Our Healthier Minds site has lots of information and guidance about building resilience and supporting mental wellbeing. There is also advice for maintaining a healthier mind while online, which is particularly useful at times like these, when we can feel overwhelmed by information or find ourselves spending more time on social media.

We have recently added a new tab specifically about coronavirus; how to talk about it with children and young people and how  children and young people, their families and professionals that support them can maintain positive mental wellbeing during this time. We are continually updating this, so please keep referring back to it, as well as our Twitter page, for the most up-to-date information and resources.

The Healthier Minds resource for Professionals, Parents, Carers, Children and Young People was launched on the 5th of February 2020.  After working with many agencies and professionals, an East Renfrewshire framework containing helpful information and practical advice to support children and young people manage life’s challenges was created.  Visit the website to find more excellent resources and download the Professionals and Parents and Carers Guides.

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/er/healthierminds/

We are now on Twitter. Please visit our page for the latest news.

Our latest service newsletter covers latest changes in our team, Family First project, developments of the National Action Enquiry programme and some new projects that the Educational Psychology service has been involved in! You can find it here.

This website for parents, professionals and young people provides an understanding early child development and  has a range of resources to promote children and young people being as independent as they can be. We have had great feedback from parent who have found this site helpful.

http://www.nhsggc.org.uk/kids

Everyone knows how hard it can be to stay focused on a boring task. It is even harder to not get distracted with all the distractions around us. How often do you find yourself checking social media or news websites when just 15 minutes ago you sat down to do some important work? Now imagine how difficult it would be if you were a young child.

A recent study by Rachel White and her colleagues found that children pretending to be a fictional character are better at resisting distraction and staying on task. They asked children aged 4 to 6 years to complete a boring, slow but supposedly important computer task. It involved pressing the space bar whenever the child saw a picture of cheese or not pressing anything when the screen showed a cat. The children were encouraged to stay on task, but they were informed they could take a break whenever they wanted and go play a game on the iPad, which was left nearby.

Results showed that six year olds spent more time on the task when compared to the four year olds. However, children, who were told to imagine themselves as Batman and were even given a Batman’s cape to wear, spent more time working on the task regardless of their age. This might be explained by the created feeling of self-distance from the task, which has been known to help people prioritise longer-term goals and resist distractions.

You can read the full article here.

Welcome back to all the pupils and teachers in East Renfrewshire! We hope that everyone had a nice summer and are feeling refreshed before getting back to hard work.

During the summer there have been some changes made to our team. We had to say goodbyes to Julie Hughes and Carolynne McKendry, who both took new positions. Our trainees Jennifer Norval and Claire McCluskey have also left. Our team would like to thank for their work and wish them all good luck in their futures.

Some changes have been made to the Educational Psychologist school allocations but you can find the updated information here.

If you have any queries or concerns please do not hesitate to get in touch at ps@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk or call 0141 577 8510.

Ainsley McGoldrick worked alongside Education staff and charities such as Child Bereavement UK to develop guidelines for school on supporting children who are affected by bereavement, loss and grief. There guidelines have now been launched at a recent training event which was very well attended by most school in East Renfrewshire. This training was positively evaluated and there is a plan to have a second day next year for those that could not attend. The guidelines provide schools with guidance on how to respond when a bereavement happens in the school community and has information on a number of resources to support this. Leaflets for parents/ carers and children / young people were also produced. There are going to be a number of themed workshops throughout the year to follow this launch. The guidelines and leaflets are now available on our website.

We all know that good quality sleep and limited TV time is important for young children’s development. Recently published US research paper looked at the link between early childhood routines and self-regulation and their relationship with weight problems in later years.

The study evaluated three household routines: regular bedtime, regular mealtime and television and video watching limited to an hour or less daily. Parents were asked to evaluate their children’s self-regulation when they were 3 years old. Researchers then studied children’s routines and self-regulation ability in relation to their levels of obesity at 11 years old.

When children were 3 years old, 41% of them had a regular bedtime, 47% had a regular mealtime and 23% were limited to an hour or less daily of TV and videos. Results reported at 11 years old found about 6% of children obese.

You can read more about this study here.

We are delighted to share our Validated Self Evaluation report! The team worked extremely hard alongside partners to effectively identify our strengths and areas for improvement. We will be using this information to create an action plan which we will share with you soon. You will find all the details of our VSE on here.

Our latest service newsletter covers latest developments of the School Improvement Partnership programme, updates on Parent Workshops and some new projects that the Educational Psychology service has been involved in! You can read all about it here.

These days you will hear many different opinions about allowing your children to play with your phone, iPad or other digital media devices. While it can be a useful tool for many parents, it is important to pay attention not only to the amount of time children spend in front of the screen, it is equally important how, when and where the devises are used. American Academy of Pediatrics has recently updated the guidelines advising on the role of digital media in child development. You can read more about this here.

We are happy to announce that Siobhan Wilson has successfully completed her studies and has been appointed as a Probationer Educational Psychologist.

Due to this and other developments in our team, some changes to school allocations have been made. You can find the updated list of our psychologists by establishment here.

If you have any queries or concerns please do not hesitate to get in touch at ps@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk or call 0141 577 8510

Recently published research from Finland found that school burnout predicted later excessive internet use and early digital addiction predicted school burnout in later years. Furthermore, findings showed that school burnout and excessive internet use can lead to development of depressive symptoms.

Click here to read the full article.

The newsletter keeps you up to date with the latest projects, activities and research work being carried out by the service. To view our March 2016 newsletter please click here.