The Role & Function of Psychological Services

There is a statutory duty on every education authority in Scotland to provide a psychological service for their area.

Glasgow Psychological Service is the largest service in Scotland and possibly in the whole of the UK.

It operates within the poorest council area with known links between poverty and adverse outcomes in terms of physical health, mental health, educational success and employment.

This presents Glasgow Psychological Service with some unique challenges as well as the potential to make a large-scale impact on a substantial population.

The service operates at three levels

1. Child and family
2. School /establishment , Learning Community or Local Improvement Group (LIG)
3. Education Authority or Council

The core functions of the Service are:

• Consultation
• Assessment
• Intervention
• Training
• Research

Consultation

The Psychological Service provides a wide range of appropriate advice and consultancy to all service users and these are provided to educational establishments as an integral part of the portfolio of core services. We advise and support education management in relation to children and young people with additional support needs and other appropriate areas. All advice and consultancy provided are relevant to the context and are designed to empower service users in developing solutions to the issues in question.

Staff provide advice and consultancy on the basis of knowledge and experience of children's learning, behaviour and development. There is a range of specialist skills and expertise within the Service in relation to all aspects of additional support needs.

Assessment

Assessment by an educational psychologist is a process which involves the gathering of information from a variety of sources in a range of settings over a period of time. Its purpose is to inform future interventions and it therefore encompasses cognitive, social and emotional factors not to identify deficits but to attempt in a collaborative context and staged process to identify ways to promote effective learning and development.

An educational psychologist's contribution to the assessment process may be based on direct or indirect involvement with the child or a combination of both. Information gathered from others may be supplemented by approaches including classroom observation, analysis of work, questionnaires, curriculum-based assessment and measures of factors using recognised assessment materials as appropriate.

Glasgow educational psychologists operate in accordance with current practice in educational psychology assessment as summarised in the ASPEP (Association of Scottish Principal Educational Psychologists) and SDEP (The Scottish Division of Educational Psychology - A division of the British Psychological Society) position paper on assessment (2014).

Intervention

Educational Psychologists offer a wide range of appropriate interventions to all service users in relation to children and young people with additional support needs. We foster collaborative working and the sharing of professional skills for effective intervention. Intervention methods selected are based on best practice.

Similarly, interventions conform to the Code of conduct, ethical principles and guidelines of the British Psychological Society and to best professional practice. The aims, nature and duration of interventions are fully discussed with all service users, are seen to be relevant to their needs and are designed to support and empower them in developing solutions.

All interventions are carefully planned and implemented on the basis of agreed action plans, and when required make use of staff with appropriate specialist skills. Interventions are designed to be effective but also minimal, unobtrusive, efficient and equitable, and are fully coordinated with the work being done by other professionals.

Research

Research and development opportunities are negotiated with educational establishments and other users as part of service delivery. The research and development programmes of the service can provide assistance to establishments in taking forward policies and objectives.

The service also has its own programme of research and development, which is closely linked to the service development plan and this is monitored by the Research Consultative Group.

Training

Psychological Service staff have a wide range of general and specialist knowledge and skills which may be utilised in providing a high quality of staff development and training. The service has a portfolio of staff development and training opportunities it can offer to professionals, educational establishments and other service users, tailored to the needs and contexts of individual establishments and users.

There is also a well-developed continuing professional development programme for Psychological Service staff based on service needs outlined in the development plan and individual needs identified through on-going professional review. Current and recent areas for professional development include Video Interactive Guidance (VIG), Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) Solution-Oriented approaches, Restorative Approaches, Video Enhanced Reflective Practice (VERP), Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PAThS) and Nurturing approaches.