Services
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1st Class (Children’s Learning Assessment and Support Services) Assessments provides a select range of services in discussion and agreement with schools and parents. Services will mainly be in the form of learning assessments and consultations with parents and school staff to discuss the outcome of assessments and how the child’s learning and progress can be optimised. Visits can be any length of time, for example:
- a 1-hour review of a child’s progress,
- a 1½ hour assessment and feedback session,
- a half day (for example, classroom observation followed by one-to-one assessment with a child), or
- a full day (for example, classroom observation, assessment, lunch break and assessment scoring, and finishing with a 45-minute to 1-hour assessment feedback and consultation meeting with staff and parents).
Clearly, the more time used within a day, the more cost-effective it will be for a setting, therefore if multiple activities are required, it is advisable to use a half-day or full-day rather than several visits. This is particularly where forward planning is most beneficial, to arrange for several children’s assessment work to be carried out consecutively.
After reading through the services available, please see the end of this page for a link to the 1st Class referral form. Once downloaded, the PDF form can be completed on screen using the Adobe Reader Fill & Sign function.
Assessments
- Cognitive assessments – these evaluate the skills that underpin learning, such as processing, reasoning, working memory and verbal comprehension. Identification of a child’s strengths and needs can help staff plan for the child’s future teaching and learning, curriculum access and any necessary adaptations. Assessments can also take place for children who are high achievers, to identify specific areas of skill and how they can be supported to reach their potential.
- Attainment assessments – these can help determine the stage a child has currently reached in their learning, for example in literacy (reading and comprehension), mathematical skills, and their language comprehension skills. Information can be obtained such as standardised scores and age equivalents. This information can be used to plan for future progress and support packages. It may be that you want information about the achievements of an individual pupil, or a cohort of pupils to form a baseline with further assessments to monitor their progress over time.
- Speech and Language – whilst not taking the place of an assessment by the Speech and Language Therapist, I can provide assessments which can supply information about language and communication, verbal comprehension, and receptive and/or expressive language skills.
- 11+. As Lincolnshire is an area that utilises tests for grammar school places, assessment can help parents and/or schools obtain a profile of a child’s abilities to determine whether they believe sitting the tests will be appropriate for their child. Consultations can take place on how best to support any needs in school.
- High Achievers, High Learning Potential (More able, “Gifted & Talented”) – through experience of local authority Educational Psychologist work, I know that children who are high achievers rarely make the priority list for EP involvement, and when they do it is usually because teachers have identified a different need to be assessed (eg. they believe they may have ASD or formerly Aspergers). However, some Gifted and Talented children do not have other needs, but their learning profiles are just as important especially if they are not making the progress parents or teachers think they should, or if they are beginning to withdraw their engagement with classroom learning. Therefore it can be important to test their abilities and achievements to see exactly where their skills lie and how to extend them, and identify areas for support or catch up. By not being tied to local authority work and priorities, I have the availability to work with high achievers.
Consultation and Research
- Feedback / Consultation – this is a very important and vital part of the involvement with a child’s learning as it is where parents and staff (and the child themselves, if they are able) can share information about the situation, the child’s strengths and needs. My experience of child development and psychological approaches provides a problem-solving and solution-focused approach which enables schools to make action plans about how to further improve the child’s access to learning in school. Follow-up meetings can be arranged to review the progress and determine further actions where needed.
- Social and emotional needs – as part of a consultation approach, I can discuss difficulties that children may be having with social and emotional needs, meeting with the young people themselves and parents/carers and relevant school staff. There are some questionnaire-based assessments that can help identify particular areas of strength and needs. A whole-school approach can be used to determine appropriate reward systems for promoting positive behaviour across the school, ensuring children are encouraged to demonstrate positive behaviour rather than attending school in fear of sanctions and detentions (as can particularly happen at secondary school level).
- Observation – this is another very informative aspect of the process. Observation of a child in their setting provides a lot of useful information, such as how a child is managing to access learning in the classroom and how they are interacting during lessons.
- Research – having carried out research at a masters and doctorate level, as well as having worked for a local authority research and development team, I am ideally placed to plan, design, carry out and evaluate independent research investigations or surveys on any education/school related topic. This may include applying appropriate methodology to provide the information required, using existing or new data, evaluating the responses or outcomes, and linking research findings to school development.
Performance
I am passionate about music and drama and believe in the broadness of education: the importance of art, drama, music and other wider aspects of the curriculum being vital to children’s learning and experience of school. Taking part in drama activities or performances assists children to expand vocabulary, improve confidence and engage in creative expression. This is why I am keen to work with schools on helping children develop the confidence to become involved in music and/or drama performance opportunities.
EHCP requests: As I am no longer working for the local authority, if you are hoping or intending to request an EHCP for your child or pupil following my assessments, you will need to check with your local authority whether or not they will accept the assessments. If, during our discussions on the work to be carried out, we agree that I will contribute to an EHCP request, it would not be to complete the Educational Psychologist’s report, but rather to provide the school with a summary of my assessment findings which can be used in their evidence pack for the EHCP submission. It is my assumption that, as my assessments will be similar ones or the same as local authority and other independent EPs, the information gathered in my assessment findings should be sufficient to demonstrate a child’s strengths and needs for the purposes of an EHCP submission. After the assessments have been done, the local authority may then require the assessment findings to be incorporated into an EHC advice section prepared by an Educational Psychologist contracted by the authority. It may be that your pupil has had prior EP involvement but you just need updated assessments in order to complete an EHC assessment request.
There are so many scenarios with regard to prior, current and future EP involvement with potential EHCP cases that it is best to contact me to discuss your particular circumstances. Please note, I do not offer Tribunal services.
I have an Enhanced DBS certificate and subscribe to the Update Service, therefore I can provide details of this during the process of arranging visits to schools. I am happy for settings to request an enhanced DBS certificate for their particular school prior to any visits, if they wish; please see the Terms and Conditions section. I am covered by Professional Indemnity Insurance and follow GDPR in line with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). For further details, see the Privacy section or contact me.
Expertise in providing evidence for EHCP assessments, reviews, and information to assist local authority placement decisions
Over the years of being an independent Educational Psychologist, one of my most commonly requested services is to provide assessment information to help schools and parents provide evidence for EHCP requests, needs assessments, reviews, transition periods and to help inform local authority decisions regarding a pupil's placement. I enjoy working with children, families and schools to provide this evidence and it has become a well-regarded and widely-requested service.
An Educational Psychology assessment examines the underlying cognitive and psychological processes that influence learning, including reasoning ability, working memory and processing efficiency, executive functioning, the cognitive profile, and the interaction between cognition, emotional factors and environmental demands.
An Educational Psychologist's report is very important in statutory processes and the assessments and information provided form an influential part of conversations around EHCP provision and placement suitability. Educational Psychologists have experience in interpreting in-depth assessment findings, producing a psychological analysis of cognitive processing, and integrating this information with other data sources in order to clarify a pupil's provision needs.
Whilst I don't attend tribunal hearings or provide reports specifically for a tribunal, I often provide assessment information and reports which are used by schools and parents when submitting evidence in the tribunal process to demonstrate a child's needs and support requirements. I also provide detailed assessment findings for schools and parents when a child's placement is being reviewed by the local authority and information is required to fully describe the child's cognitive, learning, social and emotional needs with respect to placement considerations.
For a discussion about arranging visits for any of the above services, you can contact 1st Class by phone, email or web contact form. Click here for the 1st Class Assessments referral form for the information that is helpful for me to receive in advance of any visits. Please read the FAQs and Terms and Conditions pages before sending in a referral form, especially with regards to parental consent.
Let's Talk
For any of the above services, please email or phone 1st Class Assessments, or use the Web Contact Form.
