Are you thinking about a career in educational psychology?  Do you want to know what training and qualifications are needed by educational psychologists to allow them to practice in England, Wales or Northern Ireland? If so, the following information should help:

Careers Information Booklet

The Association has produced a Careers Information booklet giving details of the qualifications and training required by educational psychologists, together with descriptions of the work they do, employment prospects etc. A copy of the booklet (in Acrobat pdf format) can be downloaded from this site by clicking here:  download Careers booklet.

What is Educational Psychology?

Educational Psychology is the application of psychological theories, research and techniques to help children and young people who may have learning difficulties, emotional or behavioural problems.

What do Educational Psychologists Do?

a) Work with children and young people, mainly under 19 years old, experiencing difficulties (e.g. learning, emotional, behaviour problems) to promote their educational and psychological development

b) Most are employed by Local Education Authorities, but some are self-employed and work as consultants for Social Services Departments, Voluntary Bodies, Parents and others

c) Work mainly in consultation with parents, teachers, social workers, doctors, education officers and other people involved in the education and care of children and young people

Training and Qualifications of Educational Psychologists

Currently the majority of practising Educational Psychologists in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are qualified and experienced teachers with a first degree in psychology and a postgraduate professional qualification in educational psychology at Master's degree level.

New Training Arrangements from September 2006

From September 2006, the one-year Master's degree courses in professional educational psychology were discontinued and replaced with three-year doctorate-level courses. The British Psychological Society (BPS) and the training course directors have also agreed that the previously mandatory entry requirement to postgraduate training courses of a teaching qualification and a minimum two years teaching experience  should be dropped for the three-year doctorate courses. Applicants will still be required to have a first degree in psychology or an equivalent qualification recognised by the BPS as conferring the Graduate Basis for Registration (GBR). They will also be expected to provide evidence of prior experience of working with children and young people, though not necessarily as a teacher or even in a school context. The precise details of the form and extent of prior experience that will be considered necessary or sufficient are still under discussion.  The AEP proposals that have been submitted to the Soulbury Committee, which sets educational psychologists' pay and conditions, for negotiation and agreement is:

"substantial experience working with children in education or children's services or both: for example, two year's successful teaching"

It is proposed that under the new arrangements trainee educational psychologists will be based full-time at their university for the first year of training.  In the second and third years trainees are expected to be employed by a local authority educational psychology service (based there for 3 days per week in the second year and 4 days per week in the third year).  They will therefore have to find a local authority willing to employ them for those two years. At the time of writing (October 2006), salaries for trainees in their second and third years are subject to negotiations.

Along with the introduction of the three-year courses there has also been a substantial change to the way in which trainee educational psychologists will be funded.  Further details of the grant scheme can be obtained from the web site of the LGE (Local Government Employers).  Click here to go to the LGE web page.

The AEP's views

Although the above information has been provided for the convenience of visitors to this web site, it does not imply that the Association of Educational Psychologists entirely endorses the new training arrangements, some of which are still very much under discussion. Indeed, the Association has some concerns with the current proposals, particularly with regard to funding, salaries and to the supervision requirements for local-authority based trainees. Supervision arrangements are anticipated to make significant demands on AEP members at a time when the supply of qualified educational psychologists will be severely restricted as a result of the changeover from one-year to three-year courses. The AEP is in discussion with representatives of local authority employers about the impact and implications of the new training arrangements for its members.

Despite its concerns, the AEP is working positively with its employers, Course Directors and the BPS to ensure the success of the new training route and is making considerable efforts to ensure that a secure and fair funding mechanism is established.  The AEP is also working with employers, within the Soulbury Committee, to ensure that the salaries and working conditions of our current members and our future Trainee members are adequately protected.

The AEP is delighted to note that once again in 2006 the number of applicants for initial professional training was many times greater than the number of places available, a clear sign of the value and esteem of our profession.

See AEP press briefings concerning funding of trainee EPs.

© AEP

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