Aim:To investigate developments in supervision for qualified educational psychologists, trainee educational psychologists and other professionals.Rationale/Method:A semi-structured online questionnaire containing a mix of multiple-choice options and open questions was developed to explore views regarding both giving and receiving supervision. A total of 246 practising EPs (84 per cent female and 16 per cent male) returned completed surveys.Findings:Questionnaire returns were subject to content analysis. The data reported provides a detailed snapshot of current EP practices with regard to aspects of supervision such as: the setting in which supervision occurs; from whom or to whom supervision is delivered; the relationship between supervisor and supervisee; the purpose of supervision; models and psychological approaches underpinning supervisory arrangements; and practical details such the use of contracts and the frequency, format and arrangements for payment for supervision.Limitations:Data reported were derived from a self-selecting sample using self-report methods which contain all the attendant biases and limitations inherent in such approaches and limit the extent to which generalisations can be drawn.Conclusions:This paper highlights the high proportions of EPs that are both receiving and providing supervision within changing patterns of service delivery. It is argued that there is a continued need for professionals to access high quality supervision to maintain individual professional development and well-being and ensure delivery of safe and effective services.

Positive relationships between home and school are important for providing consistent support for pupil academic progress and behaviour. This paper explores the central role of trust between parents and teachers as an element of successful parent-teacher partnerships. Perspectives of 35 parents, defined as low or high trust, and 25 teachers in 4 schools were sampled through telephone interviews and focus groups. The format of the interviews was semi-structured and questions were asked about what schools need to do to build trust with parents. Transcripts were analysed using a qualitative procedure and commonalities and differences of view identified. The results highlighted a range of features that are consistently indicated in the development of trust. The central importance of communication was identified by teachers and parents (low and high trust). There was a high frequency of teacher statements across categories citing factors external to the school (such as child, family or societal factors) as being at the root of difficulties in establishing trusting home-school relationships. High trust parents were more likely to commend the school on the consistency of its procedures in managing behaviour. However, difficulties relating to discipline and dissatisfaction with the school’s approach to tackling bullying and disruption were more likely to be raised by less trusting parents. The results are discussed in relation to theory and research and implications for school policy and practice are outlined.

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This study involved evaluating the success of a writing programme that was delivered to 91 pupils in eight urban primary schools. This involved a partial replication of an intervention demonstrated by Berningeret al.(2002) to be effective at improving both spelling and composing. The intervention comprised phonemic awareness training, an element designed to support the development of compositional skills through teacher scaffolding and a cued spelling strategy. Pupils were randomly allocated to an experimental group and a waiting list control group. Sessions of 50 minutes duration were delivered four times a week for 10 weeks to Year 4 children experiencing difficulties in writing. Pre and post measures of the children’s written expression, spelling, metacognition, self perception as a writer and teachers’ attitude towards the children were obtained. The results indicated that, although there was an improvement in the children’s written expression, spelling and metacognitive skills, there was no significant difference in this improvement between the intervention and control groups. Some children, however, made greater progress than others. The factors that predicted which children were likely to make the best progress with writing compositional skills were Year 3 optional Standard Assesment Task (SAT) results, vocabulary score, teacher assessment of the pupil’s attitude to writing and spelling ability. Significantly fewer pupils in the experimental group obtained standard scores that either declined or stayed static following the intervention, when compared to the waiting list control group. The implications in terms of conducting evaluative studies and organization and delivery of interventions are discussed.

This paper describes the fundamental features of Functional Behaviour Assessment (FBA). Single case studies are used to provide examples of particular elements of this approach.Children with severe, complex and enduring needs present significant challenges to the ability of professionals to understand and respond to their unique difficulties. It is suggested that FBA provides a powerful tool for understanding challenging behaviour and designing efficient and effective interventions to address these behaviours. Further, since FBA is not a standardised, norm-referenced, rigid assessment tool we suggest it is uniquely suitable to address the myriad needs of pupils with severe, complex, and enduring needs. Effective individualised intervention plans and consideration of means of reviewing the environmental contingencies which support and maintain behaviours are discussed. Ways to identify the function of a particular challenging behaviour and create an intervention plan that honours the function of a behaviour while replacing it with a more appropriate alternate behaviour are also described.