Educational Psychology Service

Durham Educational Psychology Service, in partnership with others, seeks improvement in the quality of life for all children and young people, through the promotion of their emotional well-being, achievements, progress and inclusion within the educational and social context.

The Educational Psychology Service is responsible for, and/or contributes to, a number of innovative and proactive projects aimed at raising standards across the County. These include:

• A range of high quality training for professionals.
• Promoting emotional well-being and mental health.
• Supporting school improvement through consultation and coaching.
• Providing psychological therapies to individuals in schools and other settings.

Access to the Service

Anyone, including parents, can have access to the Educational Psychology Service. However, because of heavy and ever-increasing demands on our service, we operate largely within the Local Authority's Stage Procedures for school aged children and jointly decide upon priorities with headteachers or their representatives.

The Structure of the Educational Psychology Service

The service consists of:

• A team of Educational Psychologists
• The Portage Service
• The Movement Service
• The Getting Along Primary Initiative
• The Durham Schools' Counselling Service
• The Autism Spectrum Disorders Support and Development Team.

Principal Educational Psychologist/Head of SEN Assessment and Review
Mr Lindsay Smith

Area Senior Educational Psychologists
Julie Taylor - North Durham area
Peter Mulholland - Mid Durham area
Jackie Sharpe - South East Durham area
Marianne Taylor - West Durham area.

You can contact the service here or email us at Educational Psychology Service.

If you have any comments or suggestions about the Educational Psychology Service, we would like to hear from you as this will help us to continuously improve our service.