do you have any tips for getting the best out of an ed psych report?

[fridayschild]

DS2 has seen a paediatrician who has recommended he see an educational psychologist. DS2 is at a prep school where the SENCO support is pretty poor frankly - I did know some private schools were not good at special needs before we went private and I appreciate we might well have got better support from the state sector. However we are where we are and our school's idea of helping us with this is to give us a list of ed psychs people have used before but disclaiming all responsibility for their list. That is worthy of a thread on its own, frankly, perhaps some other time.

So... I can ring or email these various people for availability and prices. I can ask my mates for recommendations. How else should I pick one?

So far a friend has suggested I be really clear with the ed psych what I am hoping to gain from the report. This seems like good advice. Any other suggestions, anyone?

You also need to try (I appreciate that this is easier said than done) to get the school to commit to going through the report and acting on what it says. This could involve making some adjustments to the way they teach, additional support or extra time in tests etc. if they are unwilling to entertain the prospect that they may need to support your DS in a different way, then you might want to start thinking about what your alternative options are.

Can the school show you any previous reports , anonymously of course, that they might have found particularly helpful ? When discussing it be yu should be very clear what you want out of the assessment. Is it for a particular reason ie. exam access arrangements , to get a better understanding of how his brain works or not, to get a diagnosis if there are suspicions of a specific problem, to get ideas for learning support ? Do you want a home visit, school visit, contact with teaching staff, observation? How many hours/visits would be required (small child probably can 't focus long enough for just one, ds was 10 and it took at least 4 hours of one to one ) , how long a timescale to wait for assessment (even private lists can be months long) and then to produce the report. Do you get a draft report which you have the opportunity to read, feedback and discuss the details before finalisation. How many copies and to whom ? Each of these are likely to affect the cost.

Bear in mind that each assessment is good for max 3 years so if you have an issue around extra time in exams for example it will need re-evaluating at additional cost to cover entrance tests and GCSE/A level depending on the timing now. Do they offer a package so you aren't starting from scratch and paying the full price each time.

tbh this is a bit of a double edged sword. You may want/need to find out more now but in turn that information may result in a prep school saying they cannot support his needs or discourage applications to specific senior schools. Good luck

I'd suggest you pick one that at least has an NHS practice as well then you at least have some chance of getting your report accepted by a state school if/when you choose to move him.

I would have very little faith in a prep school without a special needs remit offering much extra support ( at least not without extra charges) it is clear that other parents have paid for time and attention for their kid and for this to be diverted to support your child would result in uproar.

AS the previous poster said the school might say they can't support his needs and he needs to move. I think this is something it's better finding out sooner rather than later and also hoping they are honest about. THe worst outcome for your DS would be that they agree a plan to help him and fail to deliver it.

Hope all works out.

You can look up details:
www.achippp.org.uk/ and
www.bps.org.uk/bpslegacy/dcp

thank you all, that is very helpful.

The best case is that he stays where he is, as he is a shy kid but in a small school where he knows everyone and some of the teachers are really good. it's just the SENCO who rather lets the side down. That said, I agree that if the school can't or won't support him he needs to move. He is in year 5 now and in theory the school will keep him till year 8. However if that's not going to work the end of year 6 is a logical move point, so he can start the next school at year 7 with everyone else.