Assistant Psychologist Induction and Training Process

Welcome to the Assistant Psychologist (AP) induction and training section of our website.

As stated in the ‘Apply to be an AP’ page, AP training with EdPsychs has a number of parts (and please click here and read through the ‘Apply to be an AP page’ if you have not already done so).

The direct training structure for APs is presented below.

AP induction and ongoing support and training 

Pre-induction all APs must:

  • Complete the EdPsychs' reference check, safer recruiting check and online DBS process
  • Ensure that their Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership with the BPS is up to date (please click BPS to check your current status)
  • Have signed their one year AP contract
  • Complete our two online child protection training programmes
  • Complete pre-reading on the work of an educational psychologist and EP casework
  • Set up their EdPsychs email address with our IT team led by Aaron
  • Set up on the EdPsychs' payroll account led by Tereza and Izabela

Once you have completed all of the above, you are ready to begin induction and training, and this is presented below.

Assistant Psychologist Induction and Training Process

APs will complete their initial induction training in a blended structure of face to face (in Harley Steet and in Islington) and online.

Training sessions are run by a team of experienced educational psychologists, clinical psychologists, CBT practitioners, former doctoral course directors our specialist SEN Future Schools consultants.

All AP and SAP training sessions are open to psychologists currently supporting schools with EdPsychs' contracts.

The AP induction programme is a professional training programme developed by a team of psychologists to allow APs to support psychologists effectively in a school with an EdPsychs' EP contract, rather than a programme of study.

Throughout their time with EdPsychs, APs must work in a way that protects the profession, the school, our client group, the company and the AP themselves.

This ongoing ethical, professional, compliance orientated 'safety first' approach runs through the entire functioning of a professional psychologist in independent practice and APs are also expected to maintain these standards of professional conduct (at BPS level) in their own work.

The 2023-24 running order is presented below. Each day has breaks built in.

It should be noted that EdPsychs run an interleaved problem based teaching and learning approach where skills are taught, practised, embedded and developed over time.

Training is for something, rather than something to attend.

Much of the additional ongoing training and support an AP receives is built into their daily work, and the following training, thinking and reflection process is the starting point of the AP training and development process rather than the training process itself.

APs and SAPs will have an additional 20-75 days per year working alongside an experienced educational psychologist or clinical psychologist in their attached school, and additional supervision, training, mentoring and learning opportunities will occur there also (and these experiences will be different for each AP and SAP as individual psychologists and schools work differently).

The core AP and SAP training is outlined below.

ASSISTANT PSYCHOLOGIST AND SENIOR ASSISTANT PSYCHOLOGIST TRAINING: 2023-2024

Assistant Psychologists (APs) and Senior Assistant Psychologists (SAPs) training days will all follow the interactive, deep processing EdPsychs format of:

  1. Pre-reading and pre-thinking activities
  2. Multi-layered interactive training sessions on the day: APs and SAPs will be working in pairs and in groups and trainers will facilitate different layers of thinking and questioning skills in all sessions with a focus on collaboration, independent problem solving and creative solution focused thinking
  3. Post session thinking and activities (often facilitated in EP work and/AP cluster meetings)
  4. Professional psychological analysis of how an AP has actually applied their training in schools

All online training is underpinned by the EdPsychs Remote working, GDPR and Health and Safety policies.

EdPsychs employed and consultant psychologists are welcome to attend any AP or SAP training. You will need to sign up for these in advance with Tereza Anteneova (Operational Director for Media, Training, Publishing and Software at EdPsychs Ltd).

Additional training sessions are usually added as the year progresses. Please keep looking on this page for updated schedules and potential date and time changes.


AP Training Dates 2023-24

EdPsychs Training formal dates 2023-2024

chs training is psychological training. You will look at how to support teachers, students and families in schools, taking a range of different approaches with sessions run by a range of psychologists to look at different thinking including:

  • Educational
  • Clinical
  • Counselling
  • Neurological
  • Organisational

In the first instance, we look at training that helps you support the psychologists. We then help you to understand and empower the client, and take a meaningful and authentic (for the client) strengths based approach to client support (rather than a process driven or a diagnostic one).

In the first year, you are often looking at supporting teachers and students in the classroom and building on strengths and then supporting areas of student need individually or in groups.

In the second year you are being trained as future psychologists (rather than an educational, clinical or a counselling psychologist) so that you can apply these skills in whatever career path you choose.

In the third year, you are being trained on leadership skills; media work; presentation skills training and classroom pedagogy that can be applied at a whole school level. The third year training structure is listed separately. TH runs part of this training based on her media work and on her coaching and media training work with EU parliaments.

Date Assistant Psychologist Senior Assistant Psychologist
1st September

Welcome to EdPsychs. APs will complete coaching activities and group sessions; we will go through mentoring and supervision structures; wellbeing groups, study support groups and clinical supervision groupings. Introduction to referral and safeguarding forms. APs will meet many of their initial support structures and be introduced to some of the different models we use with JH (EP) in Islington. 10am to 5pm.

4th September

Anxiety and wellbeing and four different types of assessment with JH at Harley Street. 9am to 5pm

Case Analysis Training: with JM at Harley Street. 9am to 5pm.

5th September

Voice of the child training: rapport building, spiritual listening, active listening and running a client centred service with IG and EG online. 9am to 5pm.

Case Analysis Training with JH in Islington. 10am to 5pm.

6th September

Literacy and Numeracy assessments, screeners and interventions with JH at Harley Street 9am to 5pm.

Preparing for doctoral training with GM online. 9am to 5pm.

7th September

Ethics training with IG and EG on line. This links to the safeguarding courses we all completed prior to induction. 9am to 5pm.

Case Analysis Training with CL in Islington. 10am to 5pm.

8th September

Use of referral and safeguarding forms and planning meetings: Then completing Developmental, ASD and ADHD observations, classroom profiles and screeners with JH at Harley Street. 9am to 5pm.

Case Analysis Training with AR at Harley Street 9am to 5pm.

9th September

AP Plus Training 1 – APs split into Primary and Secondary AP with SC, SH and JH at Harley Street. 9am to 5pm.

29th September

Using qualitative approaches with children and students with IG and EG online. 9am to 5pm.

Case Analysis Training with CL in Islington.
10am to 5pm.

30th September

AP Plus Training 2 – APs split into Primary and Secondary AP Group with SC, SH and JH at Harley Street. 9am to 5pm.

Throughout year

AP Plus 3 Supervision sessions (3 x 2 hour blocks) will be arranged by SC and SH on line.

20th October

Coaching training with IG and EG at Harley Street. 9am – 5pm.

What doctoral training is really like with GM online. 9am to 5pm.

30th October

Attachment 1
Training: with LW online.
9am to 5 pm.

 

3rd November

Attachment 2
Training: with LW online.
9am to 5 pm.

Further Developing using Personal Construct Psychology with students with AR at Harley Street. 9am to 5pm.

4th November

Applying for doctoral courses with IG and EG at Harley Street. 9am to 5pm.
This is a voluntary session for those interested in pursuing a career in educational psychology.

18th November

Applying for doctoral courses with CL on line. 9am to 5pm.
This is a voluntary session for those interested in pursuing a career in clinical and counselling psychology. 10am to 1pm.

8th December

CBT 1 with JM at Harley Street. 9am – 5pm

Case Analysis Training with CA at Harley Street. 9am – 5pm.

16th December

TEP Day: almost 70 APs from EdPsychs so far have progressed onto doctorates in educational, clinical, counselling and organisational psychology in the UK alone. In these sessions, former APs from the company lead groups to talk through different doctoral structures. These are voluntary sessions and APs are then split into future AP support sessions. JH will introduce sessions at Harley Street 9am to 5pm.

12th January

CBT 2 with JM at Harley Street. 9am – 5pm

Reflective Supervision Sessions with CL (online)

19th January

Supporting ASD in schools with CL online. 9am to 5pm.

Mediation 1 with GM online. 9am to 5pm.

26th January

 

CBS 1 with JM at Harley Street. Seniors are working in two groups with video analysis and active application and reflection on skills used. These sessions are supported by ongoing supervision. 9am – 12pm and 1pm to 4pm.

9th February

Supporting ADHD in schools with CL online. 9am to 5pm.

CBS 2 with JM at Harley Street. Seniors are working in two groups with video analysis and active application and reflection on skills used. Review of case development so far. These sessions are supported by ongoing supervision. 9am – 12pm and 1pm to 4pm.

8th March

Using Solution Focused Approaches in schools with AR at Harley Street. 9am to 5pm.

CBS 3 with JM at Harley Street. Seniors are working in two groups with video analysis and active application and reflection on skills used. Review of case development so far. These sessions are supported by ongoing supervision. 9am – 12pm and 1pm to 4pm.

22nd March

Using Personal Construct Psychology with students with AR at Harley Street. 9am to 5pm.

Mediation 2 with GM online. 9am to 5pm.

28th March

The neuroscience of learning and direct applications to the classroom: This session is supported by two additional voluntary Saturday sessions (online). DS at Harley Street 9am – 5pm.

17th May

Resilience and psychological flexibility in our professional work with FS, online. This session is the beginning of Senior AP training. 9am to 5pm.

Case analysis training with GM online. 9am to 5pm.

21st June

Using Emotion Coaching with students with AR online. This session links into next Year’s Senior AP training. 9am to 5pm.

Case analysis training with GM online. 9am to 5pm.

Clinical Supervision dates 2023-2024

In these sessions APs work in teams to bring their daily cases in schools to clinical group supervision. In the ideal world your cases should include at least three levels of psychological filtering (educational, clinical and counselling), and then be supported by the wider community psychology training and support offered by clinical and counselling psychologists in the company. These clinical supervision sessions are then supported by further educational and counselling psychology training.

6th October

Clinical Reflective Practice Groups A, B and 1 with CL

13th October

Clinical Reflective Practice Groups 2, 3 and 4 with CL

12th January

Clinical Reflective Practice Groups A, B and 1 with CL

26th January

Clinical Reflective Practice Groups 2, 3 and 4 with CL

CBS 1 with JM at Harley Street.

19th April

Clinical Reflective Practice Groups A, B and 1 with CL

26th Aprilr

Clinical Reflective Practice Groups 2, 3 and 4 with CL

AP Mentoring dates 2023-2024

There are a minimum of 40 first year and 20 Senior mentoring sessions too to look at additional training and support points. The support structures and reflective thinking approaches (and areas to cover) will be introduced by JH at induction. These all live inside your school contract.

All AP supervision and mentoring groups are advanced at induction. There are also additional wellbeing groups and doctoral application groups.

Additional sessions to the ones listed above will be run by DS (neuropsychology of learning), AH and MA, (both counselling psychology) and SC and SH (quality first teaching in the classroom and better including children with SEN) with dates to be announced over company emails.

Reading lists

Many people asks for reading lists. JH always thinks reading lists work best when people link up into reading groups so they can discuss their thinking with each other

JH then suggests:

  • First, learn how to use psychology to improve your own rates of retention and learning. This will involve learning about how the brain works, cognitive psychological approaches to learning and, of course, developing your own deep learning strategies. Tony Buzan on Mind Mapping and lots of TED talks help here. Blinkist is also an excellent app for quickly learning key information.
  • Then, look at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25

It’s then a good idea, in pairs or in groups to look at books such as:

  • 'Educational Psychology': by Anita Woolfolk
  • 'How Learning Happens: Seminal Works in Educational Psychology and What They Mean in Practice' by Kirschner and Hendrick
  • 'The SENCO Handbook: Leading Provision and Practice': by Denham.
  • 'Visible Learning': by John Hattie
  • 'How to Teach Even Better': by Geoff Petty

Professional psychologists also look at TED talks, Blinkist and we often go in small groups to lectures and discussion events.

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