The Educational Psychology Service is responsible for statutory SEN functions and also offers non-statutory Traded Services.

Details of this service can be found on the FISD website.

About The Educational Psychology Service

We are an Oxfordshire County Council team that works with schools and other educational settings to support children and young people (0-25) with SEND. We bring a psychological perspective to improve learning and well-being. 

We have two strands to our work with early years settings, schools and post-16 settings: traded work and providing statutory advice to the local authority for Educational Health and Care Needs Assessments. Oxfordshire EPS works through a Joint Problem Solving (JPS) approach. This means that we have a collaborative conversation with those who know the child well and those who work with the child well. At the end of a JPS conversation there should be some actions or a new understanding of the situation. 

We work with settings to support children and young people who may be experiencing difficulties in the learning behaviour, social interaction, communication, emotional well-being, physical or sensory skills. 

Our work includes: 

  • Talking to children. We may ask them about their feelings, friendships and what they think is working well. 
  • Assessing difficulties children may be having with their learning and wellbeing. 
  • Working with young people, schools and families to identify clear and achievable outcomes to enable the child or young person to make progress. 
  • Working in partnership with parents and schools in the best interests of the child. 
  • Providing advice and training on how schools might help children to learn and develop. 
  • Advising schools on teaching approaches and improvements that can be made to learning environments. 
  • Supporting schools to set up/implement interventions. 
  • Provide support following critical incidents (any incident or sequence of events which overwhelms the normal coping mechanisms of the school). 

Contact details 

Any general enquires, please contact the following email address: 

educationalpsychologycentral@oxfordshire.gov.uk
01865 323532 

Jess Chiappella Interim Principal Educational Psychologist 
jessamine.chiappella@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Caroline Duncan –Senior Educational Psychologist 
caroline.duncan@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Anne Marie-Baverstock – Senior Educational Psychologist 
annemarie.baverstock@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Our  offices are based in the following areas: 

City Area (Oxford) 
Educational Psychology Service 
Union Street 
Oxford 
OX4 1JP 

North Area (Banbury) 
Educational Psychology Service 
Samuelson House 
Tramway Road 
Banbury 
OX16 5AU 

South Area (Didcot) 
Didcot Children and Family Centre 
The Vibe 
Park Road 
Didcot 
OX11 8QX