Challenges, Training, And Advice From An Interview With An Educational Psychologist
25 Sept, 20241-2 minutes
In this blog, you will learn:
- What it is like to be an Educational and Child Psychologist.
- Ways to overcome challenges and obstacles in the field of educational psychology.
- About the benefits of working with a recruitment agency like Spencer Clarke Group.
- How to find and apply for the best Educational Psychologist jobs.
In our latest interview with a career professional, we got up to speed with Educational Psychologist Dr Melissa Morrison to uncover everything about the role and the educational psychology field.
Melissa has been an Educational and Child Psychologist for over 12 months after working as an Assistant Educational Psychologist for 2 years. Her personal experiences and desire to help generations of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) inspired her to embark on a career as an Educational Psychologist.
In this interview, Melissa opens up about the challenges she has faced as an Educational Psychologist, the training required, and how she navigates the rewards and pressures of the role. From managing cases to balancing demands, Melissa offers valuable advice for those considering a career in educational psychology and those already on the path.
What inspired you to become an Educational Psychologist?
I knew that I wanted to be an Educational Psychologist officially when I was in year 7 of secondary school. I went to a private school for my primary years and I really struggled with maths. The school and my parents tried everything (interventions, tutoring, small group) but nothing changed – and honestly it was embarrassing.
I was in the bottom set for maths consistently, and I couldn’t understand why. My parents made the decision to enrol me into a state school, as I struggled to keep up with the demands in a private school, and they thought I would stand a better chance of educational success elsewhere.
However, the same thing happened – I was bad at maths, and in the bottom sets. It was even more embarrassing as staff and pupils could not understand how someone coming from a private school could be this low in maths. I won’t forget the day where I was sitting in English, and I just thought to myself …. ‘If I could teach the Teachers how to teach me, I would be better off.’
To this day I run with that thought. I didn’t want someone else to experience this level of embarrassment, and if they were struggling I didn’t want them to be without help for so long. After a few searches, questions and time – I realised that this was a bit of psychology and strategies that would help children to learn better.
Tell me about your career journey so far
In terms of what I did – after school I went on to the University of Leicester for my degree in psychology with sociology – I did Camp America during the summer to keep my real life experiences up. After this I completed my masters in Applied psychology at Coventry university, which I loved because of the specific modules on educational and child psychology.
Following this, I started to work as a Teaching Assistant (also leading on the strength and conditioning club) in a private school in Birmingham which was interesting because a large proportion of their students had special educational needs.
This provided me with great experience for my next role as a Research Psychologist, working on a whole school approach to mental health. I then moved on to work as an Assistant Educational Psychologist for approximately 2 years, before landing myself a place on the educational psychology course at the University of Birmingham. It wasn’t easy though! It took a lot of learning, reflection – and a good four attempts at the doctorate application process!
What does your role as an Educational Psychologist consist of?
My daily responsibilities include visiting schools and attending meetings, and my main roles can be summed up as assessments, research and training.
It also depends on the day but if we take a Monday, I start my day at 6:30am doing training and exercise. As a weightlifter, I compete in a lot of functional fitness competitions, so I train with my coach most mornings depending on what I’m trying to achieve on the day.
I have a shower and my breakfast before I head off to my first school visit. I usually stay for a few hours conducting assessments and consultations before heading back to the office after lunch. I then undertake peer supervision, plan for the next day and attend team meetings. I end the day in the office report writing.
Who do you work with on a daily basis?
My job requires me to work directly with children and young people, as well as parents and guardians. I also work with school staff including Teachers, Teaching Assistants, Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) and pastoral teams.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
I think it can be difficult to find and maintain a healthy balance – there is so much happening at once that it's easy to feel like things are running away with me. The most important thing for me is my own wellbeing – this job is stressful. I find that using a colour coded diary and checking my calendar helps me stay organised and on top of my priorities.
How do you keep up to date with changes in the industry?
I keep close bonds with universities where new research is being produced and anything that can help the profession.
What’s the most rewarding part about working as an Educational Psychologist?
For me, it’s when a school or a parent sends an email to let me know that a child I worked with is making progress. Sometimes it's hard to know you're having an impact, so messages like this are everything.
What obstacles have you faced in your career?
So far, I’ve definitely suffered from a bit of imposter syndrome. As a newly qualified Educational Psychologist, the feelings of not being good enough go through my mind on a daily basis.
It can also be difficult to go into schools confidently and work with staff members who have years of experience. It’s a lot better now, but in my early days it was quite challenging to build effective relationships with experienced staff members so we could collaborate in order to move things forward.
Another challenge is the national shortage of Educational Psychologists and the struggle to recruit more. I didn’t really understand the impact of this until I started working full time. I realise this is a nationwide situation, but not having a fully staffed team can definitely impact team morale, wellbeing, workloads and more.
Do you have any words of wisdom for someone considering a career as an Educational Psychologist?
If educational psychology is the career you want, go for it. It’s a long journey and there is no back door entry, but I promise that when all is said and done you will not regret it.
One of my friends who is a brilliant Educational Psychologist used to say ‘It’s not if but when’. He would say this to me on a daily basis when I was an Assistant Educational Psychologist. I didn’t understand why I was experiencing so many setbacks in terms of getting on to the doctorate course. Those words gave me confidence and reassured me that I was going to become a qualified Educational Psychologist, it was just a matter of time.
What are your plans for the future?
I am a dreamer and I think big - I always have and I always will. In an ideal world, I would love to be a dual Psychologist – which for me would be an Educational and Sports Psychologist - as sports is a passion of mine. However, in the meantime, I am passionate about social emotional and mental wellbeing, so perhaps a specialist senior role someday.
What were your experiences of using a recruitment agency? What are the benefits?
Using Spencer Clarke Group was quick, easy and efficient! I was fortunate to work with Senior Consultant Natalie Boaler, who has been amazing. WE had a conversation about what I wanted, and most importantly made it work around my full-time role. Everything was sorted within weeks.
I appreciate this service because the process of thinking, organising and finding services that would take me on was taken away as the recruiters sorted it out for me. It's been a few months now and everything is running smoothly.
Educational Psychologist jobs
If you’re searching for your next Educational Psychologist job, why not take a look at the latest vacancies, or simply upload your CV to be notified when a relevant position becomes available.
Struggling to recruit Educational Psychologists?
As specialist local authority SEND recruiters, we support local authorities nationwide with their temporary, interim and permanent staffing needs.
If you’re struggling to recruit, we have exclusive access to some of the most experienced interim Educational Psychologists in the UK.
Simply contact Natalie Boaler on 01772 954200 to discover how we can help.
Share your experience
Every individual brings a unique set of experiences, thoughts, and insights to the table. We believe in giving a voice to a community of professionals to inspire positive change and champion reform in the healthcare sector.
If you work in the healthcare sector and would like to share your own personal and professional experiences, we’d love to hear from you. Perhaps you have a different perspective, could offer a fresh angle, or want to challenge assumptions.
Simply reach out to our Head of Content, Nicole Sherwood, to discuss a collaboration which makes your voice count.
Who is Spencer Clarke Group?
Established in 2017, we’re a vibrant and progressive recruitment agency based in the heart of the North West.
We continually reimagine the recruitment process to challenge convention and defy expectations; from creating a better recruitment experience to remodelling employee engagement, we thrive off doing things differently and turning heads along the way.
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In eleven specialisms:
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