How to access the Special Educational and Disability/Educational Support Services (SEND/ESS)

Information for parents/carers

Parents and carers can access services via all Waltham Forest (WF) schools as well as phone to ask for advice about how to raise concerns in school. The team also work with community groups.

Parental/carer concerns generally tend to be around Special Educational Needs, Additional Educational Needs, Learning difficulties and disabilities and Emotional and behaviour needs

We will always take parents and children and young people’s views into account during the process of consultation and possible assessment and planning of interventions.

It is currently a free service for families via schools and community groups.

Information for schools

Schools can access a range of services if they have regular visits from a named Educational Psychologist (EP).

For schools to maximise the effectiveness of the service, school staff need to:

  • Prepare an agenda in advance of visits
  • Allocate realistic times for activities
  • Make available appropriate school records on pupils discussed
  • Obtain written parental/carer consent for all pupils seen by the EP
  • Release staff where necessary to meet the EP
  • Complete appropriate consultation forms
  • Make available a suitable room for meetings with pupils and parents/carers
  • In the event of a delay or cancellation, schools will contact parents/ carers or agencies to inform them of the situation.

Information for children and young people

Children and young people currently access the service via their school.

Information for children (Primary)

  • Educational Psychologists work in all of the schools in the borough. They work with children, teachers and families and try to help everyone to help children to do their best at school.
  • Often Educational Psychologists work with children who are finding things like learning to read and write, making friends, speaking and listening, moving around the school and seeing and hearing difficult.
  • Educational Psychologists can work in all of the schools in the borough. They work with children, teachers and families and try to help everyone to help children to do their best at school.
  • The Educational Psychologist might come to see you at school. They might sit in your class and watch a lesson, they might give you things like reading or puzzles to do and they might talk to you to hear your views and ideas about school.
  • After this, your ideas your teacher’s ideas and sometimes your parents’ or carers’ ideas about the best way to help you to do your best at school are thought about and a plan of next steps is made.

Information for young people (Secondary)

  • Educational Psychologists work in all of the schools in the borough. They work with children and young people, teachers and families to try to help everyone to help the child or young person do their best at school.
  • Educational Psychologists have all studied Psychology and are trained to work with young people.
  • Often Educational Psychologists work with young people who might need some help with school work, making and keeping friends, coping with secondary school and/or physical difficulties.
  • The Educational Psychologist might come to see you at school. They might watch you work in class, work with you one to one in a quiet place, talk to your teachers and sometimes your parents or carers.  
  • After this, your ideas, your teachers’ ideas and your parents’ or carers’ ideas about the best way to help you at school are thought about and plan of next steps is made.

Quality Standards

  • Educational Psychologists will conduct themselves in accordance with the code of ethics of the Association of Educational Psychologists,The British Psychological Society and the Health Professionals Council.
  • EPs will inform schools as soon as possible of any changes in service delivery, including a change of EP. EPs will also contact schools immediately if a delay or cancellation of a visit is unavoidable.
  • There is an annual evaluation of the service about getting the most out of the service.

Complaints procedure

The Educational Psychology team follows the council complaints procedures.

If you have concerns or a complaint about the behaviour or actions of an Educational Psychologist,(EP), )in the first instance, we encourage you to discuss this with the EP concerned, otherwise please contact a Senior Educational Psychologist (up until 31 August 2011) and from September 2011, the Principal Educational Psychologist ,via the address/phone number below

Contact us

Special Educational Needs and Disability/ Education Support Service (SEND/ESS
Educational Psychology Team
Summerfield Centre
99 Leyton Green Road
Leyton E10 6DB

Tel 020 8496 1759