Educational Psychology Service: schools and practitioners

What schools can expect from the service

Salford Educational Psychology Service (EPS) is an evidence based, consultation-led service. Our work starts with collaborative and empowering conversations with the people who know the child/ young person and their situation best, as these types of conversation have been found to be crucial in effecting positive change for children, teachers and families. 

To support the inclusion of children and young people, all schools and colleges in Salford have a named link Educational Psychologist (EP) and can access to the following with no charge:

• An annual planning meeting with their link EP 
• Training on a range of topics delivered through our central offer  
• Virtual Drop In Consultations and Solution Circles, which are scheduled throughout the academic year. A drop in session provides schools and settings with a 45 minute consultation, allowing school to discuss an emerging concern with an EP; parents/carers can also attend. Solution Circles are a group problem solving session attended by school staff. 

Statutory services

The Local Authority will also provide statutory services to schools, settings and partner agencies. There will be no charge for these statutory services which include:

• The provision of Psychological Advice as part of the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) assessment process, when requested by the Local Authority SEN Team.
• Updated advice for pupils with EHCPs, when requested by the SEN Team.
• Other work commissioned by the Local Authority via the SEN panel.
• Critical Incident Support Service.

Traded services

In addition to the above, schools, settings and partner agencies can purchase a range of additional packages of support through a service level agreement (SLA), as ‘traded services’. These can either be chosen from the brochure (available to download at the bottom of the page) or can be specifically designed to meet your individual requirements. 

The exact nature and time required for the work will be determined at the Autumn Term Planning Meeting, which is offered to all schools in Salford. Possible ways in which schools often use EP time include the following:

Cost for Traded Packages for schools and colleges 

To build capacity and to work preventatively, the EPS offers a package system (bronze, silver and gold packages). All packages include training and development work which may include individual or group work as well as bespoke projects/research specific for your setting as a whole school and/or pupils with identified SEND. Training and development work will be supported by the school’s assigned Assistant Educational Psychologist, with EP oversight. Casework is EP led and agreed with the SENCo; the number of per year is cases dependent on the package.

• Bronze - £2,750: Two cases per annum plus one piece of development work
• Silver - £5,000: One case per term (three cases per annum) plus development work
• Gold - £7,750: Two cases per term (six cases per annum) plus development work 

Assistant Educational Psychologists

Assistant Educational Psychologists support  many of the functions of an Educational Psychologist including, information gathering, observation, individual and group interventions and training delivery. These professionals have the prerequisites to apply for the doctoral training in Educational Psychology and all of their work is supervised by a qualified EP. Their time can be used to support the needs of a schools and colleges in a cost effective way.

Your link Educational Psychologist will advise you of activities that can be supported or delivered by an Assistant EP. 

Invoicing arrangements

Invoices will be sent out at two points in the year, Spring Term and the end of the Summer Term. You will be charged at each time point for half of the amount of your package. Unused time will not be rolled over into the following academic year.

Ethical trading

The service operates an ethical trading policy. This means as an LA service we don’t operate as a regular business might (e.g. on a first come first served basis).

We feel we have a duty of care across the city and try to prioritise areas of highest need while maintaining service access city wide. It is essential the Educational Psychology Service makes a contribution to the education and outcomes of all children and builds capacity through project work and research rather than limiting access to individual children. We prioritise contracts that are likely to support us to do this.

Gaining consent 

Before an initial consultation is arranged for a child or young person, consent must be obtained from parents/carers or the young person, depending on their age. 

Gillick competence and informed consent 

• All children and young people should give informed assent, in line with their capacity for doing so, which might involve having a conversation with them about EP involvement, and sharing the relevant EP’s One Page Profile. 
• Children under the age of 12 years must have parent/carer consent.
• Children aged 12-15 years should also give informed consent if they're believed to have enough competence and understanding to fully appreciate what's involved. This is known as being Gillick competent. Otherwise, someone with parental responsibility can consent for them. Further information can be found here: Gillick competence and Fraser guidelines (NSPCC Learning)
• Pupils over 16 years of age must give informed consent to involvement (if they have capacity to do so).

This page was last updated on 25 March 2026