Educational Psychologist

Educational psychologists help young people to overcome learning difficulties, social problems or emotional problems in educational, family or community settings. They may work directly with young people, as individuals or in groups. They also help parents, teachers, social workers and others to understand the young person's difficulties and support them in teaching or caring for the young person. The work may involve:

• making assessments by observing the young person, interviewing them, talking to people who know them well and gathering information about their progress at school and in other situations
• producing written reports and making recommendations on how to improve the young person's learning, or tackle behaviour problems
• training parents, teachers and other professionals on topics such as bullying or behaviour management
• advising schools and education authorities on their policies on children with special needs and mental health difficulties
• undertaking research or shaping government policies.

Educational psychologists usually work between 35 and 37.5 hours a week, from Monday to Friday. They may need to attend evening meetings. Around half their time is spent in an office; they also visit schools and nurseries, run training sessions and attend conferences. A driving licence may be useful.

Salaries range may from around £26,000 a year to around £50,000.

In addition to the general skills required by a psychologist, an educational psychologist should be skilled at working with children and young people.

Most educational psychologists in the UK work for local authorities, but there are also opportunities in private practice and with voluntary organisations. Competition for postgraduate training is fierce, but there is a shortage of qualified educational psychologists.

For more general information on becoming a psychologist, see Psychologist. To become a fully-qualified educational psychologist, candidates must:

• Complete an honours degree in psychology that is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) for the Graduate Basis for Registration (GBR).
• Gain relevant work experience with children and young people before applying to postgraduate programmes. This need not be in teaching; experience as a graduate assistant in an educational psychology service, learning support assistant, educational social worker, learning mentor, speech and language therapist, care worker, or work in an early years settings may be accepted.
• Complete a three-year, full-time BPS-accredited doctorate course in educational psychology.

Skilled, experienced educational psychologists may progress to senior or principal educational psychologist roles. Some become senior officers in local authority children's services departments. There may also be opportunities for self employment or freelance work with independent consultancies.