In this article, Martin Desforges reflects on his appointment as an educational psychologist (EP) to the Sheffield Psychological Service with a focus on his time there from 1980 to 1991. He begins by describing his reactions to the organization and management of Sheffield. Next, he discusses a number of initiatives that emerged over the years to address issues such as literacy skill development in junior and middle schools, improving parent participation in reading, adolescent solvent abuse, and primary school age children presenting serious management problems at home. He goes on to describe a new service set up in the mid-1980s within the Education department -- Sheffield Unified Multi-Cultural Education Service (SUMES). A variety of posts were included in this new service -- ESL support, learning difficulties support, and eventually an educational psychologists post. Additionally, he discusses how throughout the 1980s Sheffield service moved from community psychology towards new aspects of therapeutic interventions, particularly towards family therapy. He concludes by highlighting a few of the major changes the service would see starting in 1991.