Psychological Assessments

PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENTS IN IRELAND

If you have concerns regarding your son/daughter’s learning you should first approach his/her teacher and/or learning support teacher and the principal of the school. Once the child’s general health has been checked, for example hearing and sight, it may be decided to have an educational assessment done. An assessment by an educational psychologist may be arranged with one of the following:

An educational psychologist working for The National Educational Psychological Service. (NEPS)A psychologist working for the HSE.

An educational psychologist in private practice.

The National Educational Psychological Service Agency (NEPS) provides psychological services in public and private primary and post-primary schools in Ireland. The NEPS Agency is funded by the Department of Education and Science (DES). Parents will be required to sign a consent form and once the assessment has taken place the psychologist will meet with the parent(s) to discuss their findings, explain the recommendations and given them a copy of the report.

If the school arranges the assessment for your child there is no cost for the assessment. However, remember that in Ireland each school has a limit as to the number of assessments carried out per year, which is relative to the number of children enrolled. Therefore it may result in having to employ a private educational psychologist to assess your child. For a full list of Registered Educational Psychologists visit www.education.ie , click on the NEPS button. Otherwise click on the following link to the Psychological Society of Ireland: www.psihq.ie/FIND_PSYCHOLOGIST.ASP

What happens at Secondary School?

If your child has been assessed while at primary school, secondary schools will request an educational psychologist’s report that is less than two years before considering extra resources for your son/daughter. This should be forwarded to the secondary school well in advance of the child’s start date. Even if the report suggests or recommends extra help at secondary school, the Department of Education and Science is not obliged to provide extra teaching. Most school principals/SENO (Special Education Needs Organiser) will try to provide some extra help so it is most important that parents request that their child needs this help.

Exemption from studying the Irish Language

Children may be exempted from studying Irish if their reading and spelling levels in English are in the bottom ten percent of their age group. Parents must make a written request to the School Principal and must provide a copy of an assessment report from a Psychologist. This report must be less than two years old and the Psychologist must recommend the granting of an exemption. If the school authorities grant the exemption, then a certificate is given .If the student has received an exemption from Irish at primary level the exemption is accepted at second level and the student will be excused from having to study Irish. A copy of the “Certificate of Exemption” will be requested by the second level school before the student is excused from Irish classes.

Reasonable Accommodation during State Exams in Ireland

The State Examinations Committee (SEC) has responsibility for ensuring the proper conduct of State examinations in Ireland. The option for reasonable accommodation are as follows:

  • Reading assistance
  • Tape Recorder
  • Word Processor

Exemption from spelling and grammatical components in language subjects (waiver

At Junior Certificate Level An educational psychologist’s report is not needed to apply for “reasonable accommodation” for Junior Certificate examinations. Second Level schools can now apply for reasonable accommodation using the child’s educational history as evidence of the need. The SEC will normally accept the school’s recommendation for reasonable accommodation. There is no requirement for an educational psychologist report and such a report does not automatically result in any special entitlements.

Leaving Certificate Level

Even if an accommodation has been approved for Junior Certificate, the student does not automatically qualify for reasonable accommodation for the Leaving Certificate. A fresh application must be made by the school with the parents/guardians permission. An up-to-date (less than two years old) psychological report is not a prerequisite but should be included if available. All requests will be reviewed by the school NEPS psychologist, who may look for further information and will request to meet the student, before a decision will be made. Will the reasonable accommodation be recorded on the results certificate ?When “reasonable accommodation” has been granted an asterisk will appear next to the subject on the student’s Junior or Leaving certificate results. A supplementary report will be included on the back of the certificate explaining what help the student received.