What the independent educational assessment involves:

A full independent educational assessment starts with acquiring background information from the people most concerned with the child. This will always include talking to you as parents to find out about your child’s strengths, difficulties, early development and so on. I will email you a comprehensive questionnaire prior to the educational assessment, and we will have a chat on the day to ensure that I am clear about exactly what you are looking for from the assessment process itself.

I provide a school questionnaire for you to pass on to the school to ensure that information from the school setting is also included in the overall picture.

I also invite you to include any reports or insights from professionals involved with your child in the initial information gathering process- as little or as much as you feel is appropriate at the time.

Learning

The assessment itself usually lasts between two and three hours depending on the age of your child, the speed at which they work and what additional tests are indicated as the assessment progresses.

I use a range of standardised tests to help evaluate the child’s strengths and weaknesses including psychometric tests assessing ability, attainment, phonics and executive function. Observations of learning style, attention, motivation and so on are also made throughout the assessment. These can provide information for possible referral for further assessments, for example for motor, speech and language, or attention difficulties.

At an agreed time following the educational assessment, I will discuss the outcomes of the assessment with you, as well as any recommendations and advice arising. This usually takes between thirty minutes and an hour and is conducted online through Teams or Zoom.

Within four weeks of the assessment I will provide you with a detailed and comprehensive report outlining any relevant history and involvement from other professionals, the results of the assessment, plus conclusions and recommendations for school and home. I am happy to discuss this over the phone with school staff or other involved professionals as part of the educational assessment.

I will complete the relevant section of a Form 8 if requested through the school at no extra cost to you.

Please complete the form with brief details or email me at : jmerichards@gmail.com