EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY GROUP NEWSLETTER
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In this Issue:

Forthcoming Events

The DECP conference will be held on 8-10 January 2014 in Oxford - the topic this year is Growing Psychology in Fertile Land: Standards, Hybrids and Exotics. This event is preceded with a Trainee Educational Psychologist day on Tuesday 7th January 2014. Trainees on all 3 years of the DECPsy programme can attend and we will pay the fee. This is a great opportunity to liaise and network with trainees from other courses and EPs from across the country. Click here for more information.

The next DEdPsy mini conference will be held on Tuesday 3rd December 2013. A programme has recently been circulated to all course members.

The next Leading Edge Day will be held on Thursday 3 April 2014. The theme for the day is 'Educational psychologists working for the 16-25s: What are the possibilities?'. With new education legisaltion and guidance about SEN outlining an extension of the work of EPs to include young people up to the age of 25 years, this day is timely. Speakers so far confirmed include: Linda Jordan (from Preparing for Adulthood, and working with SEN pathfinders on the 16-25 strand), Viv Clifford (who will provide an overview of EP work with this age group), our very own Sandra Dunsmuir with Sarah Wright (EP training programme director, Southampton University, talking about their work in progress on curriculum and competencies), and Jane Williams (DEdPsy course member, talking about developments in Dudley). A full programme will be available by the end of November. This is likely to be an over-subscribed event so make sure you have the date in your diary and apply for a place early. You can access information including an application form when available by visiting our Leading Edge Day webpage.

Your News and Views are always welcome - please send us your comments

Autumn 2013

Welcome to the eighth edition of the Educational Psychology newsletter

New Faces in the group

In August 2013 we welcomed a new member of the tutor team - Lecturer in Educational Psychology Research Methods and Statistics Dr Andy Fugard - as well as greeting, one month later, our seventh cohort of DECPsy trainees: Tracey Atkins, Nikki Collingwood, Suriya Daya, Polly Grant, Pamela Hamilton, Rheanne Jalali, Jemma Lewis, Lacretia Loke, Izzy McDonald, Abigail Miranda, Kim O'Connor, Amy Phipps, Rachel Standen and Cara Southworth. The cohort reps for the DECPy 13-16 cohort are Lacretia and Izzy. We wish all of these now not-so-new faces a warm and slightly belated welcome!

And back in January 2013 we were joined by our fifteenth cohort of CPD Doctorate course members - Abi Bangerter, Colleen Brittion, Avril Burgess, Zoe Collins, Fiona Dowling, Ruby Morrow, Katrice Sheridan, Bridget Simms and Anna Skinner - now well into their first year of studies and old hands at life at UCL!


Awards and Graduations

10-13 cohort last dayJuly 2013 saw another round of festivities on the DECPsy programme with our class of 2010-13 completing the course and launching their careers as fully-qualified EPs. The group are pictured left in that iconic 'on the steps' last day pose and continued the celebrations later that day with a now traditional DECPsy leavers cake, some very well-deserved champagne and an end-of-programme party. Congratulations to Dr.s Casey, Corbett, D'Arcy, Gore Langton, Harding, Hirsch, Roberts, Riordon (formerly Roberts!), Sarwar, Satariano, Stott, Whitelock and Woodhouse. Click here for their party photos!

09-12 cohort graduation dayOn 29th August 2013 we were delighted to welcome back many of the previous 12 months' DECPsy and DEdPsy graduates for the Educational Psychology graduation ceremony. Some of our DECPsy 09-12 grads (Drs Holly Harris, Stephanie Nash, Jane Swann, Hannah Guiver, Christina Mowl, Louise Lomas and Siobhan Michael) are pictured left with Co-Directors Prof Norah Frederickson and Dr Sandra Dunsmuir.

DEdPsy graduates 2013 ceremonyAnd (right): some of our recent DEdPsy programme grads, Drs Sonia Bailey, Cerian Hughes, Jill Carden, Marion Everist and Jason Harding-Swale celebrate with Co-Directors Dr Susan Birch and Prof Tony Cline.

Many congratulations also go to our most recent CPD Doctoral graduates, Dr Marie Hayes and Dr Norma Meiklejohn who completed the programme earlier this year and are due to join next year's graduation ceremony.

Click here to see more photographs from the graduation day submitted by the DEdPsy and DECPsy attendees, including some studious baby pictures submitted by one of our tutor team...


EPs at Downing Street!

Down Syndrome Guidelines for EducationWe were excited to hear that the Down Syndrome Good Practice Guidelines for Education were accepted by Minister Edward Timpson at the House of Commons on 27th February 2013. The guidelines were written by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Down syndrome including our very own Academic and Professional Tutor Sarah Geiger.

Pictured above are members of the advisory group meeting at the House of Commons for the launch of the paper - looking, in Sarah's words, a bit enthusiastic! Click here additionally to see a photo of the Minister with the guidelines - and most importantly click here for the guidelines themselves.


New CPD Course in Mindfulness-Based Approaches for Working with Children and Young People

Mindfulness courseAn innovative new eight week CPD course has been running here at Bedford Way between September and November this year, aiming to provide participants with experience and training in Mindfulness. There are eighteen participants, mostly practising educational psychologists, but the group also includes colleagues from clinical and counselling psychology backgrounds.

Mindfulness is a particular way of paying attention to everyday experience. It forms the basis of an evidence based intervention (MBCT) recommended in the NICE guidance for depression. Evidence increasingly suggests mindfulness can also form part of universal, preventative interventions or be used to support targeted groups of vulnerable youngsters. Moreover, and perhaps most importantly, it can support positive well-being, including improved attention, concentration and resilience. Mindfulness programmes can be delivered to specific groups and whole classes, and ideally woven across the school as a whole.

Mindfulness based programmes therefore seem to offer a very promising approach for psychologists looking to support both children and staff in school settings. There are currently some good programmes available, but the effective use of these requires practitioners who are not only knowledgeable about children's development and school systems, but also have a good grasp of mindfulness itself - both experientially and theoretically. This course aims to provide such practitioners with this base of experience and theory, and thus to enable the wider dissemination of a range of mindfulness practices and programmes in school settings.

The course tutors are Dr Suzi Iyadurai (Educational Psychologist and Honorary Lecturer and Research Fellow at UCL), Jeremy Morris (Educational Psychologist and accredited Cognitive Behaviour Therapist) and Dr Sandra Dunsmuir (Co-Director of the Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology at UCL).

Look out for forthcoming course dates in 2014 by keeping an eye on the course webpage, where you can also access more information including a course flyer.


Personal News

As ever, this year has seen some happy personal news in the Group, including many new Ed Psych babies!

baby ArchieFirstly, somewhat belated congratulations go to 06-09 graduate Dr Clare Knowler who became the proud mum of baby Archie William Knowler on 1st October 2012. Despite being born three weeks early (probably due to gardening all weekend!) he was a very healthy 7lbs 5oz. Archie is pictured right with his older Brother Theo, who as can be seen, is understandably very taken with him! Click here for some more photos.

In true Ed Psych spirit, Clare hit the ground running (literally) by completing her first sprint triathlon 8 months later, at the end of May, raising money for the Iain Rennie Grove House Hospice Care (IRGH) charity. Clare has also recently published an article based on her thesis research - see below.

baby MayaNext was the turn of DECPsy trainee Caroline Sivasundaram - now back on year 3 of the programme following her maternity leave - who had a baby girl, Maya, on 9th November 2012, weighing in at 6 lbs 12 ozs - a lovely little sister for Toby and Anjali. Click here for a more recent photo.

Owen and baby WilliamDecember saw a plethora of new arrivals on both programmes, with DECPsy professional and academic tutor and DEdPsy graduate Dr Owen Davis becoming a grandad on the 14th of the month - click here for some larger and more recent shots of the lovely William James Herbert.

baby ChiaraContinuing with the December arrivals, DEdPsy 2012 course member Anna Hutchinson welcomed her daughter into the world just four days before Christmas. The beautifully named Chiara (Kee-ara - Italian for Clare and means bright) Aoife (Ee-fa - Irish for beautiful, radiant, joyful) was born just one day after her due date...to be precise on the 21.12.12 at 21:12pm! Chiara weighed a healthy 8lbs 5 then, but Anna says she is probably around 4 stone now!
Click here for some more seasonal snaps of baby Chiara.

baby RyanAnd a last minute festive surprise was in store for DECPsy 06-09 graduate Gemma Costello (nee Castleman) and hubby Justin, who had an early arrival and unexpected Christmas present in the form of Ryan Joseph Costello, born on 24 Decmber 2012 and weighing 5lb 14oz. Proud mum Gemma says she is 'constantly snapping' photos of baby Ryan - click here for the submitted shortlist!

baby EttaKicking off the new year, DECPsy 08-11 graduate Sarah Woods and husband Paul had a little girl, Etta Florence Woods, on 12th January 2013. Etta took the pair by surprise being 4 weeks early and coming the day after Sarah went on maternity leave! In spite of this she weighed in at a healthy 7lb 9oz. Mum Sarah describes her as 'a little sweetie', as her picture (larger copy available here) clearly proves.

baby MarcelFebruary was the turn of DEdPsy course member Stacy Moore. Stacy and her husband welcomed their son, Marcel, into the world on 2nd February 2013. The couple say they are enjoying parenthood very much! Motherhood has not stopped Stacy from publishing an article recently - see below for details

baby GeorgeWe also received some baby news from our former Research Methods tutor Dr Celia Morgan, who moved to Devon earlier this year. Meet baby George Douglas Morgan Dodds, born on 30th June 2013. Celia says "things are pretty hectic being a full time mum to two under twos - although it is enjoyable it is really hard work, much harder than SPSS!" She passes on her best wishes to all at UCL and promises to pop in with baby George and big sister Delilah next time she is in London. Click here for a bigger picture.

Antonia weddingThe summer months brought a good dose of romance on the DECPsy programme. Professional and Academic Tutor Antonia Cobbald married fiance Euan on 25th May 2013 at St Andrew's Church, Sapiston, Suffolk, followed by a reception in a marquee in her parent's garden and a trip to the local pub in the evening. The next day celebrations continued with fish and chips and ice-cream and a ceilidh in the evening. Antonia and Euan then jetted off on a wonderful honeymoon featuring wildlife spotting and wine tasting in South Africa! Click here for a larger photo of the happy couple.

Jo weddingAnd later in the summer was the turn of DECPsy 10-13 graduate Dr Jo Riordan (nee Roberts), who tied the knot just a month after taking her viva! Jo and James had a fantastic time at their wedding on 15th August 2013 at Nonsuch Mansion in Surrey. They were lucky with the weather and were joined by many of the 2010-2013 cohort - as the pictures show - with course mate Ama Hirsh giving a reading at the ceremony. The couple then headed to Bali and Singapore for some much needed and well deserved relaxation after an extremely hectic summer!

Juliet World Age Group Triathlon ChampionshipsIn sporting news, Academic and Professional tutor and DEdPsy graduate Dr Juliet Starbuck took part in the Triathlon World Age Group Championships in London last month - much to her surprise! The event was held in Hyde Park - the setting for this event in last year's Olympics - and so many triathletes from around the world were keen to qualify expecting to relive the glorious scenes of last year! As it turned out it wasn't quite so exciting - and it was very wet and cold resulting in crashes galore and scenes of general mayhem. Nevertheless, Juliet managed to survive the course to come 53rd out of 91 finishers (and a few others who didn't make it round or were disqualified!). She was very pleased and now, as a relative beginner, is even more determined to get the hang of the sport and do even better should there be a next time. Click here for some sporting shots!


Publications, Conferences and Research

Congratulations to our DECPsy and DEdPsy graduates and course members on the following publications, including several from doctoral theses:

Dr Sajda Ahmed-Husain (DECPsy 06-09) - Ahmed-Husain, S. & Dunsmuir, S. (2013). An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Comic Strip Conversations in Promoting the Inclusion of Young People with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Secondary Schools. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities.

Dr Timothy Jones (DECPsy 08-11) - Jones, T. W. (2013). Equally cursed and blessed: Do gifted and talented children experience poorer mental health and psychological well-being? Educational and Child Psychology, 30(2), 44-66.

Fiona Kelly Meldon (DEdPsy 2012 cohort course member) - Gargan, I., Kelly Meldon, F., Aherne, C., Fitzgerald, N., McNicholas, J. (2012). Terrorists meeting their victims: a case study of psychologists' experiences of former terrorists meeting survivors. Journal of Agression, Conflict and Peace Research, 4(4), 216-225.

Dr Clare Knowler (DECPsy 06-09) - Knowler, C., & Frederickson, N. (2013). Effects of an Emotional Literacy Intervention for Students Identified with Bullying Behaviour. Educational Psychology, first published on 7 May 2103 as DOI:10.1080/01443410.2013.785052

Dr Maureen Liepens (DEdPsy 2007 graduate) - Liepens, M., & Cline, T. (2013). Investigating primary school children’s perceptions of loneliness. Assessment and Development Matters, 5(3).

Dr Siobhan Michael (DECPsy 09-12) - Michael, S., & Frederickson, N. (2013). Improving Pupil Referral Unit Outcomes: Pupil Perspectives. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, first published on 24 May 2013 as doi:10.1080/13632752.2013.801112

Stacy Moore (DEdPsy course member) - Annan, M., & Moore, S. (2012). Using the Staff Sharing Scheme within the Targeted Mental Health in Schools (TaMHS) Pathfinder. Educational and Child Psychology, 29(4), 88-108.

Dr Sarah Pryce (DECPsy 06-09) - Pryce, S. & Frederickson, N. (2013). Bullying Behaviour, Intentions and Classroom Ecology. Learning Environments Research, first published on 17 April 2103 as DOI 10.1007/s10984-013-9137-7

Dr Caroline Robertson (DECPsy 07-10) - Robertson, C & Dunsmuir, S. (2012). Teacher stress and pupil behaviour explored through a rational-emotive behaviour therapy framework. Educational Psychology: An International Journal of Experimental Educational Psychology, 33(2), 215-232.

Dr Alish Rodgers (DECPsy 07-10) - Rodgers, A. & Dunsmuir, S. (2013). A controlled evaluation of the 'FRIENDS for Life' Emotional Resiliency Programme on Overall Anxiety Levels, Anxiety Subtype Levels and School Adjustment. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, first published on 26 April 2013 as DOI: 10.1111/camh.12030


Other notable publications within the Group include the special Cyril Burt centenary edition of Educational and Child Psychology, edited by Dr Phil Stringer, Dr Sandra Dunsmuir and Prof Tommy Mackay, containing the following papers:
Maliphant, R., Cline, T. & Frederickson, N. (2013) Educational Psychology Practice and Training: The Legacy of Burt's Appointment with the London County Council? Educational and Child Psychology 30(3), 46-59.
Dunsmuir, S. & Kratochwill, T. (2013). From Research to Policy and Practice: Perspectives from the UK and the USA on Psychologists as Agents of Change. Educational and Child Psychology, 30(3), 60-71.

CBT bookAnd click here to find out more about Sandra's new CBT book, addressing the application of CBT to children and young people within health, school and community contexts:

Fuggle, P., Dunsmuir, S. & Curry, V. (2013). CBT With Children, Young People and Families 312 pp. SAGE Publications Ltd.


And in research project news, Dr Sandra Dunsmuir lead the grant application to the Higher Education Academy (HEA) for a grant to support a collaboration between three postgraduate doctoral educational psychology training programmes (UCL, Southampton and Manchester) to undertake a project with five distinct phases:

  1. To conduct a consultation exercise with a view to developing a curriculum for educational psychology training identifying key knowledge required for work with young people aged up to 25 years, their families and educators in the settings in which they live and learn.
  2. To define relevant professional competencies required for this area of work in terms of both performance and action 
  3. Developing a protocol for conducting Objective Structured Professional Assessments (OSPAs) and scenarios in order to assess competencies using video
  4. To devise and implement audio feedback protocols for OSPAs for use by supervisors to be delivered electronically to students
  5. To undertake evaluation activities, to include calculation of reliability of the competence framework to assess videoed OSPAs; evaluation of student perspectives on participation, quality of learning; the OSPA as an assessment tool, student usage of audio feedback; qualitative analysis of the nature of feedback provided.

DECP Annual Conference, January 2013, Bristol

DEdPsy symposium 2013This year's DECP conference featured a wide range of UCL contributions with papers from members and graduates of the Educational Psychology Group. DECPsy 08-11 graduate Dr Julia Parsonson presented on A Real World Example of Delivering and Evaluating Parenting Early Intervention Support, while DEdPsy graduate Dr Julia Katherine ran a workshop on Support and Aspiration: A New Approach to Special Educational Needs and Disability. DEdPsy tutor Dr Phil Stringer introduced a symposium on Hampshire EPS' work and as usual there was a strong DEdPsy Programme presence via the conference's DEdPsy Symposium ("Broadening the Evidence Base for Practice in the Future"), organized by DEdPsy Co-Directors Prof Tony Cline and Dr Susan Birch with presentations from DEdPsy graduates Dr Susan Harrison, Dr Neelam Kumar and Ed Psy tutor/graduate Dr Juliet Starbuck. To see the speaker papers from the symposia please visit the DEdPsy website


CPD Leading Edge Psychology Day - 18 April 2013

'The changing landscape of special educational needs and disability legislation and procedures: Implications for educational psychologists'

Leading Edge Day April 2013In the context of wider educational reforms across the education system, including the national curriculum reform, changes to funding systems and the diversification of educational settings, the special educational needs and disability landscape is undeniably changing. Once again there is an opportunity for educational psychologists to actively shape the future contribution that they and psychology can play, not least through the various SEND Pathfinders that are taking place across England. This particularly well attended and successful Leading Edge Day assisted participants in better understanding and engaging with the context of wider educational reform and the changing SEND landscape, promoted reflection upon what can be learnt from current experiences on Pathfinder Projects and stimulated consideration of where EPs' efforts in the future might be best located.

Keynote speakers were Andre Imich, SEN and Disability Professional Adviser at the DfE; Dr John Oates, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at The Open University and academic consultant to the OU/BBC Child of Our Time; Michael Cotton, Principal EP North Yorkshire and Dr Julia Katherine, Principal Educational Psychologist for the Isle of Wight and Southampton Psychology Service and joint lead for the Southampton SEND Pathfinder

More information on the day and about future Leading Edge Day conferences is available on our CPD website. DEdPsy course members and tutors can access a selection of presentations from the day on the DEdPsy course materials module on Moodle. Click here or on the image above to see larger photographs from the day.

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