Barnsley Education Inclusion Services

About us

We're professionally trained educational psychologists with experience of working with children, young people, schools and families. We've done so in a wide range of contexts. We work with others to build capacity and bring positive change for children and young people.

We have a duty to make sure our practice is compliant with the Health and Care Professionals Council regulatory body. Our practice is underpinned by our service values and beliefs.

Our values and beliefs

Our values

  • Collaborative working
  • Evidence-based practice
  • Transparency
  • Person-centred
  • Open and honest communication
  • Respectful engagement

Our beliefs

  • Equality
  • Empowerment
  • Inclusion
  • Strengths-based
  • Building inclusive environments

Meet the team

We have a breadth of knowledge and specialist expertise to help you meet the needs of children and young people with emotional or behavioural issues.

Our team is made up of:

  • Principal Educational Psychologists:
    • Joanne Patterson
    • Dr Naomi Robinson
  • Educational Psychologists:
    • Dr Sam Edwards
    • Lesley Godson
    • Dr Louise Hender
    • Dr Debra Marriott
    • Dr Hannah Munroe Burrows
    • Dr Beth Thompson
    • Jo Wong
    • Dr Richard Gregory
    • Dr Emily Hattersley
    • Judy Kelso
    • Leanne Ghent-Clark
  • Specialist Educational Psychologist:
    • Emma Stokes

 

How we work

We're often 'indirect agents of change' - working with and through the people who support children and young people every day. This means the majority of our work is with the adults who know the child best.

Our psychologists will:

  • Identify strengths within the child or young person and the education setting in order to build on what is working.
  • Actively apply psychological theory to understand needs.
  • Apply research and evidence-based practice to identify strategies and approaches that best meet need.
  • Co-construct and agree outcomes based on the aspirations of the child or young person and their family.
  • Seek and engage the child or young person’s views. Enable their voice to be heard and inform decision making.
  • View the situation differently and promote the possibility of change to allow the removal of barriers to inclusion.
  • Promote problem solving through conversations where we listen, empathise and positively reframe challenges.
  • Reflect on purpose of our involvement to ensure that decisions in relation to ‘assessment’ are child centred and based on information gathered.

Our offer

Our service model has been developed to support the delivery of a fair and equitable service that meets the needs of our most vulnerable children and young people. It supports settings to prioritise children and young people for educational psychologist involvement.

An allocation formula has been used based on data which includes:

  • the number of pupils on role
  • pupils at SEN support
  • pupils with an EHCP
  • pupils who are eligible for free school meals.

The formula is used to inform service planning.

The model prioritises different types of work within a three-tiered system. Work will be agreed through regular planning meetings with the SENCO and can be reviewed at any point. The tiered system enables schools to prioritise our involvement for those children and young people who've been identified through the graduated approach as having the highest level of need in their school.

To have optimal impact on supporting schools and settings to achieve positive outcomes for children and young people with SEND, our support is best targeted through the work delivered within tier 1 and 2 of our service model.

Tier 1 - Building capacity

  • Regular planning meetings with SENCOs to agree priorities for educational psychology work.
  • Centralised training offer. A range of free training packages developed and delivered by us.
  • Emotional literacy support assistants (ELSA) training and ongoing supervision.
  • Action research to inform practice and provision.

Tier 2 - SEN support 

  • Children and young people at SEN support who aren’t making progress within the graduated approach. Particularly for those children and young people for whom an Education Health and Care Need Assessment (EHCNA) request is being considered.
  • Children and young people at SEN support whose SEN is a barrier to attendance.
  • Children and young people who are at risk of exclusion due to having SEN or a possible unmet SEN.
  • Vulnerable children and young people identified by Virtual School or Youth Justice Service

Tier 3 - Statutory SEND

Psychological advice for children and young people in your school/setting:

  • for whom an EHCNA has been agreed.
  • for those identified through annual review where a change in need is identified that requires updated assessment information to inform provision and placement.
  • as needed for tribunal (SEND).

 

Early years offer

Our service model has been developed to support fair and equitable access to our service for all early years settings in Barnsley.

We offer regular Educational Psychologist (EP) consultation surgeries to support settings to build on their graduated approach to further understand and meet the needs of children with special educational needs.

The consultations will offer the chance to work collaboratively with EY settings staff and parents/carers to further understand and meet the needs of children with SEN. Early year SENCOs should access consultations jointly with parents and carers. The consultations will be to discuss children whose needs are being supported at SEN support but who aren’t making progress within the graduated approach and for whom settings may be considering submitting an EHC needs assessment request.

See the dates and how to book to attend a consultation.

Training offer

Barnsley Educational Psychology Service model includes a complete centralised training offer that Barnsley educational settings and services can access free of charge. The training packages will be planned and reviewed annually, informed by schools, settings and shared local authority agendas.

Details of the training can be found on our events page of the website and can be booked on via POD.

Resources

Type/source of resource Title

Ethics and conduct

Guidance

Safeguarding

Websites

What our schools say

  • Go beyond merely communicating to 'connecting' with people
  • The support that we receive from the educational psychology service is efficient and effective. Their training, support, advice and information have helped us to unlock barriers to learning for the pupils and offer strategies for staff in managing certain behaviours. An invaluable service for us in this setting.
  • The educational psychology package we've bought in over recent years as part of the traded services on offer has, undoubtedly, allowed us to enhance the provision we have available for some of our most vulnerable learners. The consistent personnel this has provided, both in school and across feeder schools, has developed positive and productive relationships between the educational psychologist and school staff, learners and parents alike. A key feature of the offer has been the flexibility the service offers in tailoring the support provided to include individual work, group work, programme development, staff training and supervision for staff dealing with complex learners on a day to day basis.
  • We have received a wealth of services from the educational psychology team. At a systemic level, you've provided training around the identification of, and strategies to support, limited working memory capacity, and supported us with the development and implementation of new SEN support plans in order to improve provision and documentation of needs, thus supporting any potential EHCP applications. You've also had a direct impact on the provision of specific children, through consultation, observation and report, and design and delivery of targeted interventions.