FOI Request - Psychological Services EP Involvement and ASN Support

Request 101003895561

This request specifically concerns Psychological Services, Educational Psychologist (EP) involvement, and decision-making processes for allocating ASN support, relating to Speyside High School.

Please provide the following information covering the last 3 academic years, including the current year.

1. Educational Psychology Thresholds & Referral Processes

1.1  All Moray Council policies or guidance outlining:

When a school should refer a pupil to Psychological Services
How EP involvement is prioritised
Criteria for accessing EP consultation, assessment, or intervention
Thresholds for determining that EP support is required

1.2  Any documentation or flowcharts showing the referral pathway used by secondary schools.

1.3  Expected timelines for EP involvement once concerns are raised.

1.4  Any guidance stating when a Child Plan, LPS or repeated distress should trigger EP advice.

2. EP Role in Support Allocation & Decision Making

2.1  All policies that describe the role of the Educational Psychologist in:

Determining ASN support allocations
Advising on reasonable adjustments
Supporting implementation of Child Plans
Advising on autism-appropriate strategies
Assessing a school’s capacity to meet a pupil’s needs

2.2  Any criteria or scoring systems used by the council to decide:

PSA hours for a pupil
Allocation of SfL resources
Allocation of targeted ASN supports
Whether a school requires additional staffing for a child’s needs

2.3  Any guidance describing how EP advice influences staffing decisions.

3. Psychological Services Involvement With Speyside High School

3.1  Number of EP consultations carried out at Speyside High School in each of the past three years.

3.2  Themes or categories of the cases consulted on (no personal data required).

3.3  Number of pupils at Speyside High currently receiving ongoing EP involvement or assessment.

3.4  Average waiting time for EP contact once a referral is made by the school.

3.5  Any instances where the school requested EP support but it was:

Declined
Deferred, or
Not actioned due to staffing shortages.

4. Escalation to Psychological Services When a Child Is Not Coping

4.1  Policies stating when persistent distress (including at home) should trigger EP involvement.

4.2  Any communication guidance for schools on identifying when they can no longer meet a child’s needs.

4.3  Procedures for escalating a case from school level to:

The ASN Manager
Psychological Services
Educational Inclusion Services
Senior Education Managers

4.4  How the council records and monitors cases where a school indicates they are unable to meet a pupil’s needs.

5. EP Case Notes, Internal Advice & School Communications

Please provide the following IN GENERAL POLICY FORM ONLY (not pupil-specific):

5.1  Policies or guidance on how EP case notes are:

Recorded
Stored
Shared with schools
Shared with families
Used to inform ASN support decisions

5.2  Guidance on whether EPs keep internal case discussions or meeting notes about pupils beyond what is shared with parents.

5.3  The council’s retention policy for EP notes, emails, assessments and decision-making records.

6. Support Allocation Processes at Moray Council Level

6.1  Documentation outlining how Moray Council determines:

PSA allocations
ASN staffing levels
Support for Learning allocations
Autism specific resources
Access to targeted interventions

6.2  Any scoring systems, weighting frameworks or needs-based decision tools used to determine support provision.

6.3  Minutes, anonymised summaries or decision-making papers from any panel or group responsible for ASN allocation, including:

Allocation Groups
Resource Panels
ASN Management Meetings
Support Review Panels

Note: I am not requesting personal or pupil-specific information — only the decision-making frameworks and anonymised examples.

7. Speyside High School – Escalated ASN Concerns  

 

7.1 Whether Speyside High has submitted any requests, reports or escalation notifications to:  

Psychological Services 

ASN Managers Educational Inclusion 

Senior Education Officers  

relating to pupils whose needs they believe they cannot fully meet.  

7.2 For each instance, please provide (without identifying pupils):  

The type of need reported 

The reason the school stated they could not meet the need 

The actions taken by the council The outcomes or changes implemented