Parents' Evaluation of an Educational Psychology Service

Abstract

An evaluation of parents' views of an Educational Psychology Service was carried out using a questionnaire survey and follow-up telephone interviews. The most satisfaction was expressed for the pre-school, early years services and child guidance support where a statement was not involved. Parents found it helpful to learn alternative ways to interpret behaviour from understanding professionals. They were less satisfied with statutory assessments of their older children already attending school. The main sources of dissatisfaction were the lack of communication with and involvement of parents in the course of the assessments, the length of time it took to decide on an assessment and the time taken to collect the relevant reports to draw up a statement. Implications for practice are discussed.