Education psychologists
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Emily
Education psychologists
Dear All
Unfortunately my son didn't make the mark...118(bucks). Is it worth getting a report from the ED Psc and can anyone explain what is entailed in the assessment and whether it is likely to have any impact on the appeal decision. My son is academically bright however we have no reasons to explin why he didn't do so well in the exam other than being nervous. We believe he would be well suited for Grammar school.
Many thanks
Emily
Unfortunately my son didn't make the mark...118(bucks). Is it worth getting a report from the ED Psc and can anyone explain what is entailed in the assessment and whether it is likely to have any impact on the appeal decision. My son is academically bright however we have no reasons to explin why he didn't do so well in the exam other than being nervous. We believe he would be well suited for Grammar school.
Many thanks
Emily
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hilda
My elder son got in to grammar school on review (the old system) 3 years ago. He scored 115 and 119, averaged at 117 (the old system). We did get an ed psych report for him. The process was painless for him, but hard on the pocket (£300 - now typically £400 I thnk). My son said the process was "fun".The ed psych came to our house and sat with my son for about an hour, doing some reading and various puzzle type tests with him. The report records verbal intelligence score, performance intelligence score, full scale ability score, verbal comprehension index, perceptual organisation, freedom from distractablitiy, and processing speed index. The tests showed mostly very high scores with very low processing speed, and freedom from distractablity. Thus the test was very worthwhile since it not only showed evidence of academic ability, but also a reason why he did not perform well in the test. The ed psych report will only ever be useful to support a strong school report, but may very well uncover a reason why your child did not perform as well as expected.
We were also amazed how accurate a picture the ed psyc had of our child's personality in such a short visit. Indeed his teacher who had been teaching bim for 4 terms said how much it helped her to understand him!!!
My son is now in Year 9 at grammar school and doing well (top half in everything except art!). Interestingly he still does much better in class than in end of year tests, but he is getting better with practice.
You should note that some head teachers may try to persuade you not to use an ed psych. They are in a difficult position, since not every parent can afford an ed psych, and county "view" is it is not needed.
Personally, it gave us mitigating circumstances, and I know of other cases where previously undiagnosed mild dyslexia or scanning difficulties have been found.
Also if the report does not help your case you do not need to use it, or disclose it.
Best of luck
Good luck with your appeal.
We were also amazed how accurate a picture the ed psyc had of our child's personality in such a short visit. Indeed his teacher who had been teaching bim for 4 terms said how much it helped her to understand him!!!
My son is now in Year 9 at grammar school and doing well (top half in everything except art!). Interestingly he still does much better in class than in end of year tests, but he is getting better with practice.
You should note that some head teachers may try to persuade you not to use an ed psych. They are in a difficult position, since not every parent can afford an ed psych, and county "view" is it is not needed.
Personally, it gave us mitigating circumstances, and I know of other cases where previously undiagnosed mild dyslexia or scanning difficulties have been found.
Also if the report does not help your case you do not need to use it, or disclose it.
Best of luck
Good luck with your appeal.
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Sally-Anne
- Posts: 9235
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
- Location: Buckinghamshire
Hi Emily
The Ed Psych assessment will cost around £400 and take up to half a day off school. The risk is that it will reveal nothing to explain the 11+ result. However, if it does, it could be worth it.
Have you spoken to the Head/made an appointment with them? You need their view on how appropriate a GS would be for your son. Do you have the results of previous VR tests, showing that he should have passed? Is your son genuinely in at least the top 20% of the academic heap at school?
Before spending a lot of money, take a long, hard look at the evidence that already exists. If it all suggests that he should have passed, and the Head agrees, then it is worth getting an assessment done. Ask the school for recommend Ed Psychs - you may struggle to get an appointment at short notice, so it is worth getting several names if possible.
Remember that you do not need to send the report with the actual appeal form - you can submit it later - around 7 days before the appeal date, if I remember rightly. You could even take it on the day, but I wouldn't do that, as the panel won't have the time to consider it properly.
There is an extent to which you can play the "time game", as appeals are heard in the order in which the forms are received. If you send your form promptly, you are likely to get a date in early January, whereas a form submitted nearer the deadline is likely to get a date in late Jan or early Feb.
Good luck - let us know how you get on.
Sally-Anne
The Ed Psych assessment will cost around £400 and take up to half a day off school. The risk is that it will reveal nothing to explain the 11+ result. However, if it does, it could be worth it.
Have you spoken to the Head/made an appointment with them? You need their view on how appropriate a GS would be for your son. Do you have the results of previous VR tests, showing that he should have passed? Is your son genuinely in at least the top 20% of the academic heap at school?
Before spending a lot of money, take a long, hard look at the evidence that already exists. If it all suggests that he should have passed, and the Head agrees, then it is worth getting an assessment done. Ask the school for recommend Ed Psychs - you may struggle to get an appointment at short notice, so it is worth getting several names if possible.
Remember that you do not need to send the report with the actual appeal form - you can submit it later - around 7 days before the appeal date, if I remember rightly. You could even take it on the day, but I wouldn't do that, as the panel won't have the time to consider it properly.
There is an extent to which you can play the "time game", as appeals are heard in the order in which the forms are received. If you send your form promptly, you are likely to get a date in early January, whereas a form submitted nearer the deadline is likely to get a date in late Jan or early Feb.
Good luck - let us know how you get on.
Sally-Anne
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Emily
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hilda
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Guest
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Sally-Anne
- Posts: 9235
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
- Location: Buckinghamshire
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Greta
JuliaB
I can see that Sally-Ann has PM'd you so hopefully that has helped. As you say, if you search under "education" in the directory you get a lot of names!
My own suggestion would be that if you do need to go back to the BPS website look first for those that offer private services - sounds obvious but the directory includes all chartered psychologists (those that work for statutory services only, mix of statutory/private and private only).
Once you start to narrow it down look carefully at the wording given under "additional information" at the end of each entry - this will give you some idea of where the individual feels their own expertise is.
I would then be very upfront, get on the phone to several and explain what you are looking for and in the timeframe you need it. You might find that starts to considerably narrow your choices.
This is only my own opinion but I know when I started looking for a good ed psych several years ago I ended up with a much smaller list than it looked in the beginning.
Good luck
I can see that Sally-Ann has PM'd you so hopefully that has helped. As you say, if you search under "education" in the directory you get a lot of names!
My own suggestion would be that if you do need to go back to the BPS website look first for those that offer private services - sounds obvious but the directory includes all chartered psychologists (those that work for statutory services only, mix of statutory/private and private only).
Once you start to narrow it down look carefully at the wording given under "additional information" at the end of each entry - this will give you some idea of where the individual feels their own expertise is.
I would then be very upfront, get on the phone to several and explain what you are looking for and in the timeframe you need it. You might find that starts to considerably narrow your choices.
This is only my own opinion but I know when I started looking for a good ed psych several years ago I ended up with a much smaller list than it looked in the beginning.
Good luck
