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

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

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 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.

Last year Gillian Thorburn helped to run the Let’s Play project in the local community of Neilston. The project was set up to provide parents with information on the benefits of interactive play with their children and development of nurturing approaches.

Click here to learn more about the project and its outcomes.

The Scottish Government has launched a website dedicated to supporting everyone worried about child sexual exploitation. The website contains information for children, young  people, friends and families. Please see the link below.

http://www.csethesigns.scot/

We would like  to wish you all a relaxing break over the holidays and wish you all the best for 2016!

Yvonne Coyle and Siobhan Wilson attended the S4 curricular evening for parents at Mearns Castle High School on Wednesday. This was to introduce the mindfulness project that is going to be carried out in the school. Mindfulness has been defined as “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of experiences moment by moment” (Kabat-Zinn, 2003, pg 145).The growing body of evidence suggests that mindfulness interventions can ‘improve the mental, emotional, social and physical health of young people’ by reducing stress, anxiety and improving sleep and self-esteem, bringing about increased calmness, relaxation and emotional regulation (Weare, 2012). 

Staff from Mearn Castle also displayed a sand mandala (shown in the pictures below) which is an Tibetian tradition involving the creation and destruction of a mandala made from colored sand.

Click here to view the Educational Psychology Service 3 year improvement plan.

The Sydenham’s Chorea Association are a small charitable organisation linked to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children (Yorkhill) in Glasgow. They have prepared an information leaflet which can be acessed below. They aim to educate people about this condition, and to support the young people and families living with the condition.

Sydenham’s Chorea Information Leaflet

We had some exciting news over the summer as one of our Educational Psycholgists got married in Florida! Vicky Murray is now Vicky Flores! Congratuations Vicky!

Welcome back to all East Renfrewshire pupils today!

The 2015- 2016 school allocation is now available. To find out who the Educational Psychologist is for your school please click here.

Please note this allocation will be subject to change in October due to staffing changes. Information will be distributed through schools and updated here.

We have recently appointed a new Assistant Educational Psychologist, Kristina Azubalyte. Kristina will support Psychologists in interventions, research, training and assessment as well as a specific role in early intervetion work within the early years establishments.

The Psychological Service March newsletter is now available. Please click the following link which will take you to all the newsletters.

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/er/PsychologicalService/service-information/information-2/