How to get referred to an educational psychologist?

[GrapefruitMoon]

If a school says they have "used up" their budget for this or there are "worse" cases which take priority is there any other route?

Or any idea how much it would cost to do this privately?

Don't want to go into details but asking for someone else....

Ask your Gp to refer you to Child and mental health services or ask to speak to the school paediatrician for advice.

Thanks - will suggest she tries the GP route. has seen a paediatrician via the school but he didn't there was anything wrong. But from what she has told me and I have observed something is not quite right iyswim...

I suspect that private will be your friend's only route, as if the paed didn't think there was an issue it is very unlikely the GP would refer. Nothing wrong with asking of course, and possibly a second opinion from a different paed might be different. EPs are very expensive, and referrals are made via a panel so a good case has to be made that there is a significant problem. Private EPs can be accessed directly. We had one via the Dyslexia Institute and our assessment (for dyslexia unsurprisingly) cost £400, plus some booking fee.

Your dc will only be referred through school, if really bad. In theory if you ask for one, you are supposed to be entitled to one by law (ha ha). However no schools will comply as it costs money

I had my ds done privately and it cost £380. It was really worth having it done as it made everything much much clearer.

Even if you get referred it is usually quite a wait.

Thanks for all the replies - I do agree about going down the private route but she would struggle with the cost.

I think the referral to the paed was to rule out ADHD but not sure he would have looked for other things iyswim (didn't even check hearing...). It seems clear that the school does think there is a problem but it is a question of identifying what it might be....

I think if she can't fund privately then what she needs to do is go back to the GP and get another referral to a Paed.

If the Paed has simply assessed to rule out ADHD then she can request another referral, citing further difficulties/symptoms.

How old is the child?

I think a discussion with the GP is in order if there is a concern, I just think its unlikely they would make a referral direct to an EP if it is not clear what is wrong. Has the child had their health check yet (not sure what age this child is)? Our school nurse was great, fast forwarded ds to the community optometrist, and had him referred to OT and physio. They also do the preliminary hearing check. If this is a worry the school nurse or GP can make a referral to an audiologist. Paeds in my experience have quite a limited range of interest (behavioural and development stuff being the primary focus). Certainly in our experience they weren't very helpful, as all they did is ask us questions, it seemed to us they hardly looked as ds at all (he was only 5, but still!). The other thing to ask is whether the parents have asked to have a meeting with the child's teacher and the school SENCO to find out specifically what the school's worries are and what they are doing about it.

I don't think it sounds like the paed did a good job. When my DS was referred, the paed referred him on to the OT, SALT, hearing specialists and clinical psych - the job of the paed was to find out what the issues were and not really to deal with the problem.

I would ask the school nurse or the SENCO to write to the GP asking for a referral so he knows it is a serious problem. Children do change and I think, certainly round here, if you feel there is still a problem or if you think the problem has changed over time then you can get another referral.

You can apply directly yourself to the LEA in writing to request an assessment, they then have 6 weeks in which to agree or not. I would have thought if the school won't do it then it might not get you anywhere but may be worth a try before you start spending lots of money. If you go to the IPSEA website (you'll have to google, I can't do links!) they have template letters you can use to do this.

bigcar - that's for the full stat assessment - suspect that if school and paed aren't playing ball it's not even worth the stamp.
am slightly baffled though - does the school/ preschool really get billed by the LEA for an EP visit? they are paid a regular wage like everyone else, and i thought they just saw kids on a priority system? I know the school might not want to fork out for additional TA etc from their sn budget, but do they really get billed for asking the ep to carry out an assessment? we are talking the ep visiting school and watching for a day, rather than the long drawn out sux-monthly stat assessment aren't we? i'm thinking there may be crossed wires - apologies if they are mine!

six-month stat assessment process...

Schools are assigned an EP. The EP has a set number of hours for each school. This time includings assessments, writing reports and meeting with parents etc. Schools have to decide who needs seeing and then prioritse according to needs. Doubt an EP would sit and watch for a day. Usually carry out specific assessments rather than observing behaviour.

Oh ok, - ours only ever pops in to watch and see how she's doing and write up, but i'm obv aware that they do carry out set assessments... but do they really only have a set number of hours per school? that's totally bizarre - what happens when one school has eight kids turn up in yr r with no dx, and the school down the road doesn't have any? does the EP just sit and twiddle thumbs when they've done four as that takes up the school limit? (i am clearly being facetious - they are obv as run off their feet as everyone else in the underfunded sn system) what happens when all 8 parents request stat assessment? (aware that would come off a diff budget but it can't be economical in the long run) - surely the EP is a cross LEA asset rather than shared out on a literal basis piece by piece whether required or not?
(i'm not arguing btw - genuinely interested - we've never had a problem with EP coming when req'd... but maybe another example of postcode lottery)
ours only visits for half a day max tbh - was just using 'a day' as an example - but here they would always come in and observe before deciding whether to proceed to formal assessment...
v interesting - you learn something every day!

Like many schools, my school never has a shortage of children to assess! Surprised your EP comes to observe/follow up to be honest . Prioity lists drawn up on a school by school basis, ie the school prioitise their children to be seen in the set time they have assigned.
Dont forget that it doesn't just have to be an EP who can assess children. For example, if the child has literacy difficulties the specialist teacher assigned to the school will assess, devise program and also deliver aspects of it (this is how it works in our authority anyway). The EP will only get involved when statementing is an issue, and there is a real reluctance to give children statements. For ADHD/ADD, the school doctor gets involved. The EP is the final assessor down a long route of assessments (if you get my drift!)
Can't answer what would happen if a school didn't have any one to assess- never come across it!

What is a lea and how do I get in touch with them please

Ring the education authority directly. Ask to speak to educational psychology, they should just put her through also ask to speak to the schools education welfare officer.

My son is 14 and just done a qb test which came back showing he has adhd but the assessor says she’s not confirming it yet as she wants the educational psychologist at school to see him 1st does anyone know how long this will take , I’ve been fobbed off since he was the age of 4 I was telling doctors and school that something was wrong but they thought they knew best secondary school brushed it all under the carpet aswell until know he’s became a lot worse and they can’t handle him so I told them to get the senco to sit with him which took me a while as they just ignored me constantly had phone calls off school everyday saying he’s done this he’s done that I was at my wits end until finally they got senco to sit with him that’s where they 1st realised an issue they keep threatening with exclusion but since his qb test at the hospital Friday 20th September I asked the assessor about this and she’s told me by law there not allowed to exclude him on the information they have on him and if they have an issue with him to ring her 1 less stress Thank god