Government guidance in 2008 endorsed the "Targeting Mental Health in Schools" (TaMHS) agenda, which sets out to promote mental health in schools through the delivery of universal and targeted interventions. This paper initially defines mental health and outlines the TaMHS initiative. It then offers empirical findings from four focus…

Research suggests motivational interviewing (MI) techniques are both widely-used by educational psychologists (EPs) and effective in supporting young people of secondary age. To date, there has been no published research investigating the use of MI with primary-aged children. This study details the use of a short MI-based intervention with a…

This study evaluated the efficacy of preschool Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS), an early years curriculum designed to improve children's social and emotional competence, and reduce problem behaviour. Fifty-seven children aged three to four years took part in the study over one academic year. The control group (Group 1)…

The current study was primarily aimed at verifying the effect of a combined computer-assisted and pencil-and-paper training that was developed to empower visuo-spatial abilities in primary school pupils. One hundred and twenty third grade (mean average: eight years old) and fourth grade (mean age: nine years old) students attending several Italian…

In spite of decades of research and more recent guidance by Government, bullying in schools remains a serious concern to young people and to educational practitioners. This two year qualitative study explored the meanings eight teenagers gave to bullying they had experienced, and related this to an analysis of previous research and school policies…

In this article, the author reflects on findings from research on the role and impact of teaching assistants and experience of working as a special educational needs (SEN) officer. Research evidence suggests the reliance on teaching assistants to include pupils with Statements of SEN in mainstream settings masks a collective, though unintentional,…

The evidence base that explores Black African parents' experiences of an Educational Psychology Service (EPS) is limited. This article describes an exploratory mixed methods research study undertaken during 2009-2011, that explored Black African parents' engagement with a UK EPS. Quantitative data were gathered from the EPS preschool…

This article reports on a two year project in which educational psychologists offered consultation to groups of teachers, to help them find solutions to school-based problems. Teachers were drawn from within individual schools and from across a number of schools. Typically, teachers were trained by educational psychologists in group consultation…

Despite the wide implications of attachment theory there remains a lack of research exploring interventions which encapsulate the principles of an attachment-based framework in the school context. The aim of this research was to address this gap by implementing an intervention for a group of five primary-aged pupils with identified insecure…

Every day nearly 900 children will be excluded from UK schools for disruptive behaviour and almost one-third of this population has a diagnosed mental health disorder. Exclusion from school is the endpoint of most schools' sanction-based behaviour management policies. This exploratory study investigated staff opinions for using a…

Studies examining the well-being of British children find that about 5-10% are at risk of developing problems. This study aimed to examine the emotional and behavioural development of six to eight year olds in an area of socio-economic deprivation in Glasgow (Scotland) and compare this with UK norms. Furthermore, it aimed to look at overlap…

This action research project considered whether significant improvements in child and young person behavioural and emotional mental health could be achieved using school-based play workers as opposed to qualified therapists. This was seen as being an important practice question as access to qualified play therapists was severely restricted with…

Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to explore how support staff make sense of their experiences of assisting children with additional support needs in mainstream classes. Focussed and productive communication with the class teacher was perceived as being crucial to effective practice. A conclusion of this study is that absence of…

There has been a noted growth in the number of teaching assistants (TAs) in mainstream schools. Research is inconclusive about their efficacy at changing outcomes for children and has proposed more training for TAs. Generic training models have suggested that enhancing self-efficacy in turn improves performance. This exploratory study investigated…

Being in a Service family can be a difficult position for children and parents alike due to high levels of mobility, parental separation, and the remaining parent's stress and emotional well-being. A Service family is defined as a family with one or both parents employed by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). The current project looked at the…