This paper focuses on the social and emotional needs of children and young people who are refugees. It was inspired by casework undertaken by the author involving a 13-year-old boy who was a refugee from Montenegro. A vignette of the case is presented in addition to a review of relevant literature to illustrate and discuss the various sources of…

This paper reports on a study which surveyed and interviewed teachers on their perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to the inclusion of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) pupils in school. The outcomes indicated that there was a silencing of diverse sexualities in schools. In theory, teachers had adopted an individual liberal humanitarian…

Executive functions, including inhibition, have been implicated in children's reading ability. This study investigates whether children's performance on an inhibition task is more indicative of reading ability than a measure of another executive function, that is, planning. Fifty-three male participants were administered a reading test and tests…

This paper describes a small-scale, qualitative research project that critically reflects on the process and impact of using both grounded and action research to enhance attainment and enjoyment of reading, in such a way as to raise awareness at an individual and whole school level. The purpose of the project was to ascertain if the selected…

This article explores two separate traditions that educational psychologists (EPs) in the UK have for working with systems. One of these is "systems work" with organisations such as schools. The other is "systemic thinking" for working with families. Over the years these two traditions, systems work and systemic thinking, have…

With the growing emphasis on accountability and evidence-based practice, evaluation has become increasingly important in the contexts in which educational psychologists (EPs) practice. This paper describes a Target Monitoring and Evaluation (TME) system, derived from Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) which was developed to evaluate outcomes of a wide…

Many children with Asperger syndrome are not identified prior to school entry, and difficulties associated with the condition may only become evident when a child enters school. Failure to identify children with the syndrome may lead to increased risk for psychopathology, and lack of understanding of the reasons for social and communicative…

The role of the educational psychology service in crisis support is well established. This paper examines a key aspect of this role, the impact on psychologists themselves, and reviews literature on secondary stress, considering the term "stress" itself as part of the discussion. It examines recommendations for professional practice and self care…

The WISC-IV is likely to be in common use for the assessment of children with low intellectual ability for the next 10-12 years. There are several concerns about its uses with these children. Some children may not understand the instructions on some subtests, notably for letter-number sequencing. There may be an unacknowledged floor effect that…

Although literature is available on the theoretical models of consultation underpinning service delivery in educational psychology services, little research has been published on the application of these models to educational psychologist (EP) consultation practice with teachers in schools. This study explores the espoused theory of consultations…

Educational psychologists (EPs) have for many years been developing techniques for listening to children. The aim of the present research was to investigate ways of listening to the "spiritual" views of children in order to develop questions that educational psychologists might use as part of the assessment repertoire. The study explored…

This study evaluates and compares special educational services for children with dyslexia in three different Irish educational settings: special schools, reading units and mainstream resource provision. The emphasis is on the child's experience of special education. Participants were dyslexic children aged 8-13 who had been accessing special…

This review and investigation draws on principles from attachment theory regarding the importance of early relationships and their impact on the coherence and organisation of psychological functions. Comparisons are made between the narrative coherence scores of an experimental group of 17 looked-after children with problematic relationship…

The aim of this study was to examine whether there are gender differences in actual maths achievement, in attitudes towards maths, and in relevant achievement attributions among early adolescents. The participants were 255 eighth grade students (mean age 14.2) from 10 randomly selected public junior high schools in Cyprus. They completed a…

This article is an initial evaluation of a motor skills assessment for primary aged children. The Manchester Motor Skills Assessment (MMSA) is designed to be quick and easy for teaching assistants to complete, with the dual purposes of informing group programme planning and demonstrating an individual child's progress following a period of…