Parents & Carers – Glasgow Educational Psychology Service

Information for Parents and Carers

Glasgow Educational Psychology Services (GEPS) are part of Glasgow Education Services. Educational Psychologists provide consultation, assessment, support and advice regarding children and young people. Parents and carers can contact us directly but we would encourage you to discuss your concerns with school staff initially so that we can work together to improve the situation. Health professionals and Social Workers can also ask for our help, but always after talking to parents and carers about their concerns. The Reporter to the Children’s Panel may also ask for our advice and input.

You can find out more in our GEPS video.

What might the Educational Psychologist do?

An Educational Psychologist may contribute to the assessment of your child’s educational needs by:

Indirect and/or direct assessment
Consulting with your child and seeking their views
Consulting with you and seeking your views
Consulting with other professionals who are involved with your child

Promoting wellbeing and good planning for children through consideration of the wellbeing indicators – Safe, Healthy, Active, Nurtured , Achieving, Respected, Responsible and Included (SHANARRI) – is central to our work.

We also provide training for teachers and other groups on a wide variety of topics relevant to children and young people’s learning. For example:

Promoting positive relationships
Supporting language and communication needs
Promoting resilience
Supporting progress in learning

We aim to work in partnership with the people who are most involved with children and young people on a day to day basis such as school staff, parents, social workers and any other relevant professionals. By working with and through those who know the young people best, we can effect change in the most effective and least intrusive way.

What kind of issues do Educational Psychologists deal with?

Educational psychologists offer consultation and support around areas that may be a barrier to children and young people’s learning in school. For example:

learning and teaching
emotional regulation
trauma/loss
Visual or Hearing Impairment
language and / or communication needs

What happens if my child has been referred to an Educational Psychologist?

All schools and early years establishments managed by Glasgow City Council have their own systems in place for monitoring and reviewing children’s progress within a Staged Intervention Framework. As part of this system they may wish to consult with the Educational Psychologist, with your agreement. Your permission will always be sought before any assistance from an Educational Psychologist is taken forward. This may just be a one off discussion or a series of discussions. If it is then agreed that there is a role for the Educational Psychologist to become more fully involved then a consultation meeting will take place with parents and carers.

The consultation meeting will cover:

What is getting in the way of this child’s or young person’s wellbeing?
Do I have all the information I need to help this child or young person?
What can I do now to help this child or young person?
What can my agency do to help this child or young person?
What additional help, if any, may be needed from others?

This infographic outlines what you can expect when attending a consultation meeting with an EP.

Confidentiality:
All information we hold about your child will be completely confidential. The information held about your child will be open to you, but will only be shared with other professionals with your consent.

Resources for parents and carers

We have grouped videos and resources that may be helpful for parents and carers. Please visit the Resources for Parents and Carers page to access these.