Getting it right from the start: developing a service delivery model for non‐maintained early years settings

Publication Summary

In this paper, the author explores how Educational Psychology Services might respond to the requirement that they now deliver a service to all validated Early Years settings. In doing so, current service delivery to schools is critically examined and a number of difficulties identified. Five key elements to the development of such a service are propounded, in order to avoid the inherent difficulties identified in schools. These include elements that are under the direct control of educational psychologists and others that are of a more systemic nature. The paper concludes that although following such steps should lead to the development of a much improved model of service delivery, wider elements such as the nature of private provision and the legacy of previous educational psychologist practice may represent a threat to this development. As such, these areas present much scope for further investigation.