Managing the crisis in EP assessments in Scotland

Flexible learning from the UK’s biggest Professional Assessment training organisation

The challenges educators face in gaining assessments and support for children presenting with SEN are not new – or unique to Scotland. But, based on recent years, the pressures are growing with Scotland facing perhaps the greatest challenges within the UK.

As far back as 2016, The Herald was reporting on the crisis over Educational Psychologists in Scotland. The twin effects of an ever-growing increase in diagnosis, coupled with a drop in the number of qualified EPs has seen a burgeoning scramble to access qualified support for students.

Whilst the Scottish Government’s recent announcement of a £4M bursary to help train up to 90 EPs is certainly welcome, the training process is a long one – and students and schools do not have the luxury of time.

Whilst EPs do offer more than assessment and access arrangements services, at Real Training, we can offer schools a solution to these two challenges. As part of our University-accredited Professional Assessment Programme, we offer two courses for educators, both for assessing students and for carrying out exam access arrangements.

Which course can help your school?

We offer two courses that can carry out some of the functions offered by Educational Psychologists, depending on your intended aims and type of setting:

• Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing (CCET). This course will help you to understand how assessments using psychometric tests are developed, how to use them effectively, and how to interpret the results. Additionally, the Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing will enable you to apply for the BPS Test User Educational qualification and to join the BPS’s Register of Qualifications in Test Use – a publicly searchable database of competence that will bolster your professional reputation.
•  Certificate in Psychometric Testing, Assessment and Access Arrangements (CPT3A). This course will teach you how to use psychometric testing instruments effectively (CCET) and give you the right to apply them in exam access arrangements (AAC) confidently and competently. As this course is partly formed by CCET, you will also be able to join the BPS’s register

As the UK’s largest professional assessment training provider, we’ve trained thousands of people to become qualified test users and access arrangements assessors, so you can be confident studying with Real Training.

Flexible learning, designed by and for educators

As an organisation owned and run by EPs and former educators, we know the pressures on teachers – and have built our courses around educators’ real lives. Real Training Professional Assessment Programme courses are:

•  Delivered fully online. This means our courses are flexible, allowing you to study at times and places which suit you best, and cost-effective as there is no need to pay for classroom cover.
•  Practise-led and informed by positive psychology. We know, from decades’ of experience, that people change their working practises best by embedding learning in their day-to-day working life.
• Recognised. Not only are our courses recognised by the BPS and JCQ, they are also accredited by Middlesex University. Graduates from either course can join our Masters in SEND programme as if they have 30 credits.

What are the next steps?

If you have read enough, and want to register, you can sign up here. Registering takes just a couple of minutes, and no payment is taken at this stage.