The Educational Psychology Service

The Educational Psychology Service has a range of duties in respect of children and young people in the age range 0-19 years, including those who have, or may have, additional support needs. The work includes individual assessment, advice and support for parents, consultancy advice to schools, participation in multi-professional assessments, inter-agency liaison, direct support for individual children, training and research and development activities. The Educational Psychologist will advise on the type of provision a child requires but they are not responsible for allocating resources to schools.

The main aim of the Inclusion and Support Service is to provide an integrated range of education and social work services to children of school age who experience serious social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. These services are provided within schools by teaching staff and others with additional support provided through a team of outreach staff. In addition, the Inclusion and Support Service has two specialist centres in Elgin where more individual help is provided to children who have particularly challenging behaviour.

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This peripatetic service covers the whole of Moray and the work involves young children with pronounced learning and communication difficulties. The Service includes children with autistic spectrum and complex communication disorders within its remit.

The Early Years work covers pre-school children in the age range 3-5 years who have significant learning and/or communication disorders. A strong emphasis is placed on support for parents and the work includes pre-school home visits.

The Language Support Service covers children in the early years of primary school and the focus is upon specific language and communication problems rather than general learning difficulties. Supporting the transition into primary school is an important part of the remit. It is the peripatetic equivalent of language unit provision which has been established in certain other authorities.

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• Hearing Impairment Service - Moray presently operates a team of peripatetic teachers and hearing communication assistants who provide direct teaching and advice to teachers and parents for a number of children from pre-school through to secondary school who have hearing impairments.
• Visual Impairment Service - This peripatetic service provides support for the visually impaired child in their home, playgroup, nursery or school. This takes the form of ongoing assessment of functional vision, and the planning and implementation of teaching programmes. The service is especially involved at critical times in a child’s education, i.e. school start, school transfer and leaving school. Awareness training is offered to all relevant staff. Regular home visits are made to offer advice and information on the education of visually impaired children. Parents are accompanied to the eye clinics and encouraged to participate in teaching their children essential skills. Equipment and toys are available for loan.

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English as an Additional Language Service (EAL)

This service aims to facilitate access to the mainstream curriculum for bilingual pupils, and to ensure equality of opportunity within Moray schools. It aims to enable pupils to take a full part in the life and work of the school and the wider community, working in partnership with parents. The service recognises the cultural and linguistic diversity of bilingual pupils as a positive contribution to be recognised by all.

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Liaison with other Agencies

All Central Support Services work closely with other agencies including Paediatrics, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Developmental Groups and Specialist Social Workers.

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Contact Details

Your Headteacher
or
Educational Psychology Service
Tel: 01343 550999
Inclusion and Support Services
Tel: 01343 557900
Central Support Services
Tel: 01343 557921
Beechbrae Education Centre
Duffus Road
Elgin
IV30 4NP

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