INTRODUCTION

Illuminate Psychology Assessment UK, known as ‘i-pass uk’, is a remote Educational Psychology Service. The team is registered with the HCPC and are proud members of the British Psychological Society. i-pass uk delivers bespoke assessments to children and young people across the United Kingdom. In this interview, Dr Emma Black, Educational Psychologist, co-director and co-founder answers questions and talks about all things i-pass uk .

Question:

What is an Educational Psychologist (EP)? What does an EP service do?

Answer:

Each Educational Psychologist is coming from different perspectives with regards to their core functions and work. For me, an Educational Psychologist is somebody who acts like a detective. We work with children and young people and leave no stone left unturned in our investigation to get to know them. We take a deep dive into various aspects of their development like cognition, speech and language skills. This allows us to understand their strengths, identify precise areas of need and make recommendations for support to help them to move forward and reach the goals they desire. 

Question:

Why did you set up i-pass UK?

Answer:

I set up i-pass UK, because I love my job. I love what I do. When the global pandemic hit, I was faced with the biggest personal and professional problem I had ever faced. I couldn’t get into school. The restrictions were strangling my passion and drive. I was losing my sense of who I was and so I created the company in response to all of that. Most Educational Psychologists stopped all face to face work during the pandemic which meant that many young people were being left unassessed and unsupported. I created a service that could operate remotely in order to provide children throughout the UK access to the support they so desperately needed.

Question:

What is a remote EP service?

Answer:

By remote, I mean that we’re actually connecting using what is formerly known as telepractice. We connect just like we used to on site and do exactly the same assessment work, only now it is done through a virtual online medium like Zoom or Microsoft Teams. We use assessment kits that allow us to do a deep dive into a young child’s cognition and learning. We ‘sit’ with the child and a trusted adult, which is usually a school or staff member, to do exactly the same activities that other EPs would carry out in-person. We provide a pack of resources to the school in advance. Once the sessions are complete, the school simply posts everything back to us in the return envelope provided. This way, we get all of the benefits of an online session whilst being able to see the young person’s completed work in its entirety.

CONCLUSION

 i-pass uk are leaders in the field of remote educational psychology services in the UK. The company was started in response to challenges presented by the global pandemic which left many children and young people unassessed and unaided. Unlike many services, they are not bound by geography or location and can work throughout the UK. i-pass uk staff leave no stone left unturned in their investigations to get to know young people and find out how to support them to reach their goals. They have been praised for their clarity, inclusivity, accessibility and high levels of engagement. Visit their website i-pass.uk to contact Emma or find out more about their services.