Aims of session: Reflect on current role of EPs in Children s Centres To share a piece of work To use this process and outcomes of this work to inform

Transcription

1 Exploring the Educational Psychologist's role in Children s Centres Lucy Farnworth, Brighton and Hove EPS Leanne Toon, Northamptonshire EPS

2 Aims of session: Reflect on current role of EPs in Children s Centres To share a piece of work To use this process and outcomes of this work to inform a discussion about the future role of EPs in Children s Centres

3 Group Discussion Think about the Children s Centre and other childcare providers you work with. How do EPs in your authority currently work with these settings. Have the needs / demands changed?

4 Children s Centre Project Work Project work summary How the piece of work came about What we did Results / impact

5 Summary of project Collaborative Action research focusing on children s behaviour (children who were attending wrap around care). Involved parents, staff and children. Observations and focus group methods. Fed back to Children s Centre leading to change and continued action research.

6 How it came about Consultation with Nursery Manager about individual pupils. Suggestion of more systemic work. Joint observations with Nursery Manager to shape project.

7 What we did Initial joint pilot observation with Nursery Manager (and two EPs) leading to discussion to decided structure of project. Clarification of aims of project what were the children s experiences over the course of a day? EP observations in setting from 8am- 6pm Focus group discussion with staff

8 Findings The role of adults Professional vs Nurturing I have to try and tell myself not to get too close to a child. I have to say to myself sometimes, you re not the mum and it s hard Level of stimulation Constant activity and lack of relaxation They are on the go all the way through till they go home at six o clock because of that stimulation

9 Findings Behaviour and social relationships Within group interactions between children Patterns and timing of behavioural difficulties You don t see the day care and sessional forming relationships Changes and transitions Adult, children and parental changes. Activity transitions Lots of people coming in and out

10 Impact Giving adults a voice/forum to discuss ideas Increased awareness of the children s experiences. Broadening of hypotheses linked to behaviours Clarity of some of the key issues and the needs of adults and children Consultation model gave Children Centre staff to ownership of next steps

11 Developing ideas for EP working in Children s Centres and childcare settings Activity In groups, share or form ideas about ways in which EPs are or could be working with Children s Centres of childcare settings.

12 References Articles exploring EP work in early years settings: Dodd, L. (2009) Therapeutic groupwork with young children and mothers who have experienced domestic abuse. Educational Psychology in Practice, 25, 1, Fallon, K., Woods, K., Rooney, S. (2010) A discussion of the developing role of educational psychologists within children s services, Educational Psychology in Practice, 26, 1, Medhurst, B & Clay, D. (2008). The Thomas Outreach Project (TOP): an early years intervention for children with an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), Educational Psychology in Practice, 24, 1, Medhurst, B & Beresford, J. (2007). THOMAS Training: An early years intervention for children with an autistic spectrum disorder, 23, 1, Shannon, D & Posada, S. (2007). The educational psychologist in the early years: Current practice and future directions, 23, 2, Thomas, N & Smith, C. (2004) Developing play skills in children with autistic spectrum disorders, Educational Psychology in Practice, 20, 3,

13 Contact Lucy Farnworth Brighton and Hove Educational Psychology Service Leanne Toon Northamptonshire Educational Psychology Services

14 Managing Change DECP Annual Professional Development Event January 2012 Dr. Michael Hymans. C.Psychol C.Psychol.,., AFBPsS., ACMI Chartered & HPC Registered Educational And Child Psychologist, And Associate of Chartered Management Institute ( ) M H Psychological Services (MHPS) - working with an open mind 1

15 The change cycle M H Psychological Services (MHPS) - working with an open mind 2

16 The change roller-coaster Defining problems Identifying solutions Implementing solutions M H Psychological Services (MHPS) - working with an open mind 3

17 The change roller-coaster M H Psychological Services (MHPS) - working with an open mind 4

18 Emotional Responses to Negative Change M H Psychological Services (MHPS) - working with an open mind 5

19 Why is change resisted? 1. Lack of will to change 2. Lack of incentive 3. Misguided perceptions 4. Threats M H Psychological Services (MHPS) - working with an open mind 6

20 How can you facilitate change? 1. Focus on the positives of change. 2. Explore the miracle question. 3. Check your perceptions about change with the facts overcoming cognitive dissonance. 4. Treat threats as challenges and look for ways of overcoming these. Dr. Michael Hymans. C.Psychol., AFBPsS., ACMI Chartered & HPC Registered Educational And Child Psychologist, And Associate of Chartered Management Institute ( ) M H Psychological Services (MHPS) - working with an open mind 7

21 Engaging with ethical and moral dilemmas in the new market place Tara Midgen, Warwickshire EPS

22 If an agency or profession cannot examine, regulate and enhance its own ethical maturity/health, can it be entrusted to manage the psychological well-being of its clients? Bracher & Hingley, 2002, p81

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24 Ethics is that branch of philosophy which addresses questions about morality Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions and actions between those that are good (or right) and bad (or wrong). Wikipedia Ethics can be defined as the science of morals or rules of behaviour (BPS, 2009, p6)

25 Mindfulness is an attentive awareness of the reality of things (especially the present moment)...the practice of mindfulness supports analysis resulting in the arising of wisdom. Mindfulness is a psychological quality that involves bringing one s complete attention to the present experience. Wikipedia

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27 Some things to consider.. Ethical mindfulness Ethical principles Ethical decision making Ethical organisations

28 Codes of conduct BPS Code of Ethics & Conduct 4 ethical principles Respect Competence Responsibility Integrity HPC standards of conduct, performance & ethics 14 standards including You must act in the best interests of service users (1) You must behave with honesty and integrity and make sure that your behaviour does not damage the public s confidence in you or your profession (13)

29 Warwickshire context Significant budget cuts & restructure in process EPS: Local authority & semi-traded Annual subscription model (sessions per Annual subscription model (sessions per year) with option to purchase PAYG

30 The impact of decision making... The power of finance Time is money, does the power lie with the purchaser? Some schools had unrealistic expectations (pressure) Some schools wanted to choose their EP Some schools wanted to safeguard time EPs did not want to turn down business (fear) EPs did not allocate sufficient time for admin (stress) Some schools did not want follow up, reports...etc (risk of malpractice) The relationships with some schools changed

31 Allocation of resources Some schools purchased a large subscription Some schools did not purchase any service Some schools requested services on a PAYG basis resulting in competing demands (prioritisation?) Some responsiveness was achieved through the use of associate EPs EPs needed to carefully balance competing statutory and traded priorities

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33 Principles for the Delivery of Publicly Funded Educational Psychology Services (AEP 2011) Access to the Service should be free at the point of delivery to children, young people and families (1) In what ways does payment influence or affect the relationship between clients and educational psychologists? What are our ethical responsibilities to each of the parties involved? (Fisher, 2009) How can services enable public funding (regardless of source) to be spent prudently in a way that safeguards the needs of the most vulnerable? How does being a traded service impact on parents accessibility to services? What routes and safeguards are there for parents to access services?

34 There should be equality of access for identified service users within a local authority area with clear prioritisation of work with children, young people and families who are most in need (8) How does your service enable equality of access for identified service users? What guidance does your service have for the prioritisation of work with children, young people & families? How can we enable services to reach the most vulnerable? What principles should we use to prioritise requests for pieces of work? What helps to provide equitable services?

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37 References Association of Educational Psychologists (2011). The Delivery of Educational Psychology Services. Bracher, D. & Hingley, P. (2002). Ethical maturity and organisational health: some implications for educational psychology services. Educational and Child Psychology, 10, 1, The British Psychological Society (2009). Code of Ethics and Conduct. Fisher, M.A. (2009) Replacing Who is the Client? with a different ethical question. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 40, 1, 1-7. Franey, J. (2002). Ethical mindfulness and professional development in local education authority psychology services. Educational and Child Psychology, 19, 1, Health Professions Council (2008). Standards of conduct, performance and ethics.

38 Thank you for listening