In this Issue:

Forthcoming Events

Events for your diaries

The DECP conference will be held on 9-11 January 2013 in Bristol - the topic this year is Celebrating a Century of Educational Psychology: The Future is Now. Click here for details.

This event is preceded with a Trainee Educational Psychologist day on Tuesday 8th January 2013. Trainees on all 3 years of the DECPsy programme can attend and we will pay the fee of £20. This is a great opportunity to liaise and network with trainees from other courses and EPs from across the country. The programme for the event will be circulated in due course.

The next DEdPsy mini conference will be held on Tuesday 4th December 2012. A programme will be circulated to all course members shortly.

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

Autumn 2012

New Faces in the Group...and a fond farewell!

In September 2012 the DECPsy programme welcomed two new members of the tutor team - DECPsy practice tutor Linda Davies (EP Enfield) and DEdPsy academic & professional tutor Phil Stringer (District SEP Hampshire) - as well as a sixth cohort of trainees: Mehmet Agdiran, William Bulman, Alicia Crane, Olenka Dean, Emily George, Paul Killerby, Fowzia Mahamed, Meadbh Ni Fhoighil, Brigid O'Leary, Ruth Rogers, Emma Sheffield, Bisi Showunmi, David Smalley and Aimee White. The cohort reps for the DECPy 12-15 cohort are Emma and David. We wish all of these now not-so-new faces a warm and slightly belated welcome!

The throng of course members, graduates, tutors and other colleagues who attended DEdPsy legend Sean Cameron's retirement bash on 17th July will no doubt be pleased to be able to view the accompanying photos from what was undoubtedly a very enjoyable and memorable evening. Click here for the full gallery of photos - of themed cakes, the big speeches, stick man life plan charts, funny hats and more! Sean is clearly enjoying (and characteristically interpreting the meaning of!) retirement, as proved by the following 'parting shot', which we were touched to receive:

"I would like to say a gigantic thank you to everyone who made my leaving bash such an emotionally moving and enjoyable evening. I now realise that there was a little army of people working away behind the scenes to make it such a special occasion. Big thanks to everyone who contributed and special thanks to Cassie, Helen and Eleanor, who set up the whole evening and included so many personal touches in the evening's events and also to Norah for a wonderfully warm and amazingly detailed speech that was delivered so dramatically that one guest asked me if she had been to RADA! My reply was 'No... that's just Norah Frederickson in her prime!'
Of course, it has been difficult to leave behind such a wonderfully personally, as well as professionally, satisfying career at UCL. But, no-one really says 'farewell' to UCL: it is more like an old love affair where the memories may begin to dim but some of the pleasure still lingers. Old academics never die: they just lose their faculties! Now that I have reduced my working week from 70 to 42 hours, I find that I am just as busy as ever... but maybe that's the only way I want it to be!
So, my best wishes to all the DEdPsy course members (especially my ex-tutees), the DECPsy course members who are the future of our profession, to all the UCL tutors and to all those successful DEdPsy graduates from 1999-2012".

We look forward to welcoming Sean back to UCL on odd occasions through the year as a guest speaker on the DECPsy.

Awards and Graduations

July 2012 saw another round of festivities on the DECPsy programme with our class of 2009-12 completing the course and launching their careers as fully-qualified EPs. The group are pictured left having their 'on the steps/last day' moment before celebrating their newly acquired suffixes with a fabulous DECPsy leavers cake, some well-deserved champagne and an end-of-programme party. Congratulations to Dr.s Cain, Cooper, Frehill, Guiver, Harris, Howell, Kinloch, Lomas, Michael, Mowl, Nash and Swann....click here to see their completed research and, on a more lighthearted note, click here for their party photos!

On 28th August 2012 we were delighted to welcome back many of the previous 12 months' DECPsy and DEdPsy graduates for the Educational Psychology graduation ceremony. The DECPsy 08-11 group ceremony turned out to be quite a reunion, including graduates who had flown in from Singapore and Ireland to attend. The group are pictured left with Co-Directors Prof Norah Frederickson and Dr Sandra Dunsmuir.

And (right): two of our 2012 DEdPsy programme grads, Dr Sandy Tahan and Dr Carolyn Beecham celebrate with Co-Director Prof Tony Cline. Click here to see more photographs from the graduation day submitted by the DEdPsy and DECPsy attendees - and some DEdPsy babies!

Finally, another recent DEdPsy graduate Dr Ruba Tabari marked her award on 28th September with a ceremony which combined the presentation of her degree with a room naming celebration. Ruba, who completed her undergraduate degree and MSc at UCL as well as of course her DEdPsy, was surprised and touched to receive an unusual graduation gift from her husband Nasser - a room named after her at the college! Ruba is pictured left being presented with her graduation certificate by the Provost. Click here to see more photos, including one of the Dr Ruba Tabari Room where the Student Volunteering Services Unit is now housed. Tony Cline and his wife were delighted to join Ruba's family and friends at the ceremony, which Tony described as very moving when Ruba's father spoke about the journey she had had to come to this point and Ruba herself responded to the Provost's commendation.

An MBE for Anne Moore, Croydon’s Chief Educational Psychologist

We were delighted to hear that former UCL graduate and colleague Anne Moore (pictured left) had been awarded with an MBE. Phil Edwards, Anne's predecessor and 1960s UCL graduate, contributes the following words on Anne's achievements. Congratulations Anne from all at UCL!

As a former colleague, it was a delight for me to read that Anne had been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List, a welcome national acknowledgement for the discipline of educational psychology and for Anne herself, as Croydon’s trusted beacon of wisdom for all involved with children with special needs.

Anne trained at University College London, gaining her M.Sc. in 1986 and joined Croydon’s Educational Psychology Service in 1987, taking over its leadership in 1996. A selfless person of total integrity, she provides commitment and informed chaperonage to the whole spectrum of special needs in the borough and to families and the cross-agency systems which support them. Then in 2004, within these times of major change in local government, staff shrinkage and loss of departmental heads with local special needs experience, she added the management of the LA’s special needs administrative team, at great personal time cost. Anne Moore has been, and is, the stable and knowledgeable presence for individual special needs issues, providing generous day and evening accessibility for parents, schools, special needs teachers and senior officers.

For the psychological service itself, with daily pressures from schools and parents so high, Anne’s colleagues say she makes the job manageable for everyone, providing peerless leadership for her team of 15 psychologists, in a work atmosphere where colleagues enjoy coming to work and want to stay in post. It has been said that Anne finds “imaginative and effective solutions to seemingly insoluble situations”. Unusually for a manager, she maintains a personal child and school caseload to inform her of issues from the field, thus keeping her near to the stressful coalface of co-workers.

Anne has that rare combination of strategic vision and operational efficiency, establishing her as a respected mentor and informal advisor for colleagues, troubled young people and parents. What a pleasure it has been to see so many local notables congratulate a psychologist!

Personal News

Summer/autumn 2012 saw a record four DECPsy trainee/graduate weddings, as well as some baby news from graduates on both programmes.

May 2012 saw the birth of two new babies for our Ed Psych graduates. First up DEdPsy 2012 graduate Sandy Tahan and husband Karim Efat became proud parents to little Michelle Karim on 17th May. Weighing in at 7lb 3oz, baby Michelle has since enjoyed trips to the beach, sightseeing in Edinburgh and attending mum's graduation ceremony in August as this selection of pictures shows! Left: Sandy and Michelle at the beach.

Next was the turn of DECPsy 06-09 graduate Claire Douglas - pictured right proudly holding her new addition. Claire and her partner were delighted to welcome their daughter Lottie (Charlotte) Isla Douglas into the world on 27th May weighing 6 lbs 6 oz. She says "we are doing very well and I am loving life as a mummy."  Click here to see more newborn photos and plus a more recent snap of baby Lottie.

22nd June 2012 saw the start of our DECPsy wedding flurry, with 08-11 graduate Julia Parsonson getting married to Stuart Knight in West London. The couple, pictured left, were joined by many of the 2008-11 cohort who helped them celebrate at Royal Mid Surrey Golf Club. The pair had a wonderful day, the weather even held out for them, and they then jetted off to the Maldives on honeymoon. Click here to see more fabulous photos of Mr and Mrs Knight's big day, plus some familiar faces from the 08-11 cohort raising a glass to them!

July was the turn of Jennifer Singleton from the 06-09 cohort who became Mrs Jennifer Ayre on the 21st July. Jen and Mike, pictured left, got married in Breadsall Priory in Derbyshire after getting engaged at the end of 2010. After the wedding, the couple had 10 nights in Mauritius for their honeymoon. Click here to see more photos from their big day.

August saw a big DECPsy 10-13 cohort wedding gathering, with year 3 trainee Amna Sarwar marrying Waheed Akhtar in Redbridge in the company of 300 guests! The pair then spent two lovely weeks in Bali and Kuala Lumpar. Amna says "we would like to thank all the trainees for their presence and generous gifts! It was fantastic having them be a part of our special day". Click here to see a larger version of this lovely group photo.

And most recently of all, DECPsy 08-11 graduate Kate Hambleton married Mike Turner on 29th September. The pair had a wonderful and sunny wedding day, with the ceremony held in a converted tythe barn just outside Tetbury in the Cotswolds. They then spent two amazing weeks in Thailand on honeymoon. Click here for a larger photo of Mr & Mrs Turner!

Publications and Research

Publications by Graduates
Congratulations on the publication of papers from their theses go to:

Dr. Rachel Cole (DECPsy 06-09) – Cole, R. L., Treadwell, S., Dosani, S., & Frederickson, N. (2012). An evaluation of a short-term, cognitive-behavioural intervention for primary age children with anger-related difficulties. School Psychology International, first published on June 28, 2012 as doi:10.1177/0143034312451062

Dr Julia Parsonson (DECPsy 08-11) – Parsonson, J. (2012). Engaging ‘hard to reach’ families: Recommendations from research. Assessment and Development Matters, 4(2), 26-28.

Dr Richard Ruttledge (DECPsy 06-09) - Ruttledge, R.A., & Petrides, K. V. (2012). A cognitive behavioural group approach for adolescents with disruptive behaviour in schools. School Psychology International, 33(2), 223-239.

Hopefully other graduates who have been working on papers will be encouraged by these successes to make time to get them finished, or revised. Your thesis tutor will be very happy to help.


Congratulations also to another DECPsy 06-09 graduate, Dr Sonia Shah, DEdPsy graduate Dr Michelle Sancho, and again to Dr Rachel Cole upon their recent publications:

Rachel Cole, Ben Hayes, Dan Jones & Sonia Shah (2012) Coping Strategies Used by School Staff after a Crisis: A Research Note. Journal of Loss and Trauma. Published online August 2012.

Chapter 2: VIG and the Supervision Process. Kateøina Šilhánová, and Michelle Sancho in  Kennedy, H., Landor, M., & Todd, L. (2011). Video interaction guidance: A relationship-based intervention to promote attunement, empathy and wellbeing. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Children's Literacy App Developed by DECPsy 07-10 Graduate

We were impressed to hear of an innovation by 07-10 graduate Shane Gallagher who, together with a Cambridge EPS colleague and fellow UCL grad, has developed an iPad/iPhone app (Cambugs Letter Sounds) which will be available for download for free in the next couple of weeks. It focuses on developing children's literacy skills. Shane has contributed the following information:

Cambugs apps are evidence-based learning resources designed to support children in developing their reading. Our apps have been developed by EPs, in partnership with Cambridge University and are based on research of what really works to help children learn to read. Our apps have been designed so that children and adults work together. In this way the adults/parents are able to provide additional motivation through specific praise as well as be involved in their child's learning.

Cambugs apps use incremental rehearsal, where new sounds are learned alongside known sounds to develop confidence and fluency. This technique of over-learning means that children are more likely to generalize their skills to different situations and remember what they have practiced. Too often children are taught skills so quickly that they have not gained mastery before moving onto the next thing - the way the apps are developed and designed ensures this doesn't happen. 

Cambugs graphics are designed by children, for children and provide a fun, motivating atmosphere to develop reading skills. 

The apps are in the final stage of development and will very soon be available to download for FREE from the iTunes store for both the iPad and iPhone.  Just search the iTunes store for Cambugs. You can also visit the Cambugs website - http://www.cambugs.co.uk/ - for more information.

Celia's Music and Change Research Project

Ed Psych group Research Methods tutor Dr Celia Morgan has recently been doing some interesting research of her own. Celia has received a small grant of £30,000 from the Medical Research Foundation to produce an animated video and website about cannabis. She has been working with the charity Music and Change (www.musicandchange.com)  who aim to make mental health treatment accessible to deprived young people, in particular current and ex gang members,  to produce the following rap. Although Celia was not involved in writing the lyrics or the tune! The aim is to pilot this as a discussion tool in a mentoring scheme that Music and Change run in five schools, with the eventual aim of setting up a peer-led drug service.

UCL at the Olympics and Charity Events

London 2012 had a big impact on us here in the UCL Educational Psychology Group, even if - fortunately - the rumoured travel gridlock didn't happen! As well as many of us enjoying the games by viewing events and soaking up the atmosphere, we are proud to say that one of our tutors and 2 of our graduates were involved in the closing ceremony and Olympic torch relay. Intrepid sportswoman and professional tutor Juliet Starbuck was nominated to carry the torch near her home town of Steyning, West Sussex, on 16th July...and from all accounts did a wonderful job! Juliet says "Carrying the Olympic Torch was an enormous privilege. I carried it in Petworth. I truly felt that, for just a few minutes, I had the responsibility of carrying ‘the nation’s flame’.  It wasn’t about me. I was just a tiny part of everyone’s experience. When they wanted a photo, I tried hard to give them a photo.  When two elderly women asked for a kiss, I gave them a kiss. It was just a remarkable experience: the warmth and support was quite incredible. It was a truly wonderful time which made me very proud to be part of something which turned out to be so very special!"

Just four days later - and a week before the Olympics - was the turn of DECPsy 08-11 graduate Timothy Jones. Tim, a keen tennis player who has been coaching tennis to youngsters in his own time for nine years in addition to his work as a School Govenor, ran his leg of the Olympic relay in Riverhead, Kent on Friday 20th July. Tim says "It was an amazing day, with so many people turning out to see the torch run past them. I got to keep the torch too, which is now a proud momento in my living room!"

Click here to see more fantastic photos from our two torch bearers - both clearly great crowd pleasers!

We were equally pleased to hear that DEdPsy graduate Gill Matson was selected, after two auditions, to participate in the official Closing Ceremony and were interested to hear what her role - a character part in a movement sequence - would be. In Gill's own words: "I am the lady in Edwardian costume in the foreground about to shake hands with the aviator. I was a Flying Observer of early flying machines in the Symphony of British Music sequence. I went up on the centre of the staging to Mr Blue Sky and danced out to Always Look on the Bright Side of Life as Eric Idle popped up out of the floor after the cannon failed to go off properly. The noise, the lights and the stars above the stadium were completely amazing". Click here for a bigger picture of Gill's big moment!

In addition to Olympic glory we were impressed by some of our Ed Psych Group colleagues' charity sporting achievements over the summer. We were delighted to hear that Morgan Douglas in IT support completed his charity skydive on 12th August - second time around as the first attempt on 4th June dive was called off due to adverse weather conditions - and managed to raise just over £2,500 for Macmillan Cancer.  He rather modestly says "The skydive was very scary, I am glad I did it but probably wouldn’t do it again. There were 9 others who jumped with me and collectively we raised over £10,000." Morgan would like to thank everyone in Educational Psychology who sponsored him.

Continuing on a sporting theme, DECPsy tutor and DEdPsy graduate Dr Ben Hayes completed the first ever British Heart Foundation London to Dover bike ride this summer (86 miles). Ben and his son, Harry, are pictured left at the start line and hope to do the race again next year. And for his next charity fundraising effort Ben will be growing a moustache for "Movember" as part of a team of psychologists in Kent. Click here to find out more about this novel event, raising funds and awareness for men's health issues, specifically prostate and testicular cancer. Click here to sponsor Ben and his team of 'hairy psychologists'!

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