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What Is an Educational Psychology Assessment?
An educational psychology assessment is a comprehensive process that explores your child’s cognitive abilities, academic skills, and emotional well-being. It goes beyond just diagnosing specific learning difficulties; it’s about understanding your child’s overall learning profile. This includes their strengths, areas for development, and how they process and retain information. A private educational psychology assessment can also help to diagnose learning difficulties like dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia.
The assessment typically involves a combination of:
- Cognitive Testing: To understand how your child thinks, problem-solves, and processes information.
- Academic Achievement Testing: To assess skills such as reading, writing, spelling, and mathematics.
- Behavioural Observations: To provide insight into your child’s social interactions, emotional responses, and approach to learning.
With this information, we can develop a personalised plan to support your child at school and at home.
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Key Benefits of a Private Educational Psychology Assessment:
Identifies strengths and areas for support: Whether your child is struggling with concentration, has a specific learning difficulty, or is gifted and in need of greater challenge, the assessment helps to pinpoint their specific needs.
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Informs tailored support strategies: Based on the assessment findings, we can offer recommendations for home and school that are specifically tailored to your child’s unique profile, and can also provide onward referrals to other professionals where necessary.
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Supports emotional wellbeing: By understanding your child’s learning style and challenges, we can help reduce frustration and anxiety, leading to a more positive school experience.
What happens during an Educational Psychology Assessment?
Our assessment process is designed to be thorough, supportive, and child-centred. It typically involves:
Initial Consultation
This involves a detailed discussion with you, the parents, to gather background information and understand your concerns and your child’s developmental history.
Assessment Sessions
Your child will take part in two separate testing sessions. The length of each will vary depending on the age and ability of your child and may last between 1 to 2.5 hours. These sessions assess different areas such as cognitive abilities, academic skills, and behavioural functioning.
Feedback Session
 Once the assessment is complete, the Educational Psychologist will meet with you to discuss the results. You will be provided with a comprehensive written report, including background, developmental and academic history, behavioural observations, standardised test results, an overall summary and recommendations for going forward.
How can an Educational Psychology Assessment help you?
For Parents
As a parent, you want to ensure your child is happy and thriving at school. If your child is struggling, it can be hard to know what’s wrong or how to help. Our private educational psychology assessments in London provide clear, actionable insights into your child’s learning needs, empowering you to make informed decisions about their education.
For Schools
Identifying and supporting children with diverse learning needs in a school setting can be challenging. Our private educational psychology assessments provide schools with detailed insights into a student’s learning profile, helping teachers create an inclusive and effective learning environment. Our detailed reports offer practical recommendations for classroom support, including Educational Healthcare Plans (EHCPs) or additional learning support.
For Gifted Children
Gifted children often require additional challenges and stimulation to stay engaged and motivated in school. Our assessments can help identify their specific talents and provide recommendations for enrichment and extension activities.
For Children with Learning Difficulties
If your child is struggling with reading, writing, maths, or attention, an educational psychology assessment can help identify specific learning difficulties such as dysgraphia dyscalculia and dyslexia. Early identification and intervention are crucial for helping your child succeed.
Our Educational Psychologist Team
Jodi Gomez
Razeenah Mahomed
Dr Louisa Reynolds
Frequently asked questions
How old does my child need to be in order to have an educational assessment?
Our educational psychologist can provide private educational psychology assessments in London for children ages 4 years old, to adults up to 26 years old.
How do I know if my child needs an educational assessment vs. neurodevelopmental assessment?
The main purpose of an educational assessment is to evaluate a child’s cognition and learning, academic achievement, and socio-emotional-behavioural functioning. If your child’s needs revolve around attention-deficit/hyperactivity, behavioural difficulties or if they are experiencing sensory issues, then an ASD/ADHD assessment may be better suited instead. If you are unsure about which types of assessment your child needs, please contact the clinic directly and one of our team will be able to advise.
My child has already had an assessment elsewhere - can I get a second opinion?
A psychoeducational assessment report is valid for 2 years. Retesting within this timeframe will affect the validity and reliability of results due to the test-retest effect, and will influence the accuracy of the findings. If your child was assessed by another clinician more than 2 years ago, and now requires an updated assessment, our Educational Psychologists in London would be happy to see them. However, please note a comprehensive assessment will be conducted.
Why we don’t just test for one learning difficulty
Children are complex, and their learning challenges often don’t fit neatly into one category. That’s why we look at the whole picture, assessing multiple areas of development to understand your child’s unique learning profile.
What does an Educational Psychologist do in the EHCP assessment process?
An Educational Psychologist plays a crucial role in the Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP) assessment process. They use their expertise in psychology to assess how your child learns, interacts, and copes with various aspects of school life. Their job is to evaluate your child’s strengths and needs, providing insights into the support they require to thrive in school and beyond. This assessment helps to shape the EHCP, which is designed to ensure your child receives the right level of educational and emotional support.
Do Educational Psychologists recommend specific schools?
No, Educational Psychologists do not recommend specific schools during the EHCP assessment process. Their role is to assess your child’s needs and suggest the types of support and strategies that would benefit them. Decisions about which school your child attends are made later in the EHCP process, usually based on the recommendations of various professionals, including teachers and SENCOs (Special Educational Needs Coordinators).
Will the Educational Psychologist stay involved after the EHCP is written?
Once the Educational Psychologist completes their assessment and provides the written report and feedback to the parent (who may then use it to contribute to the EHCP), the Educational Psychologist’s involvement typically ends.Â
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