The Best Possible Start in
Life: The Contribution of
Educational Psychology
Aberdeenshire Educational Psychology Service
Aberdeen City Educational Psychology Service
NHS Grampian
Robert Gordon’s University
Overview
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Setting the Context – Nationally and Locally
What are we hoping to achieve?
How will we achieve this?
Planned evaluation / follow-up
SOAR
Context
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National
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Early Years Task Force
Pre-birth to 3
Scottish Antenatal Parent Education Pack (core syllabus
and resources)
Locally
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NHS Grampian Maternity Strategy 2010-2015
Aberdeenshire - EL&L Service Plan
Aberdeen City - change fund money – attachment focus
The Issue
Antenatal classes in Grampian:
 Staff confidence, time protection
 Volume of participants, impersonal in the city,
personal in the shire
 We know, we have attended
 They know, they deliver them
 Resource Pack – insufficient?
The story so far
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Antenatal Education Planning Group – NHS
Grampian – class plan
Aberdeenshire – piecemeal work with parents
around communication and attachment
Aberdeen City – Service Improvement Plan
Joining up of services
Negotiation of role with wider group
What do we want to achieve?
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Bring educational psychology to the universal
work of midwifes and health visitors
Preventative, proactive, strategic
Improve early attachments
Explicit shared knowledge & focus
Improve first parental experience of
‘professionals’
How will we achieve this?
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Established relationship with NHS Grampian
Contributing to the planning and
implementation of antenatal education
programme:
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Planning Event ‘The Best Start in Life’ Oct 2012
Local follow-up sessions
The Best Start in Life Event
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Aim: to use language and activities which
could be used in antenatal classes with all
parents
Attachment
Early communication
Infant brain development
Adult learning theory
Forward planning using PCOP
Workshops
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3 Workshops will be delivered to all
participants covering Attachment, Brain
Development and Communication
Each workshop contains both theory and
practical learning opportunities
Our emphasis is on giving time for the
Midwives to reflect on their work with
expectant parents in relation to the theory
and information they were assimilating.
Attachment Workshop
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Participants will cover the basics of
attachment including Bowlby, models of
healthy attachment, Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Needs, Film of good attachments highlighting
turn taking, social behaviours, self regulation,
language development and so on.
Activities include building the wall of
development – something they could use with
antenatal groups.
The Wall of Development
Wall of Development
Security
Stimulation
Routine
Protection
Play
Trust
Communication Workshop
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To focus on verbal and non verbal communication –
in utero and after birth
To demonstrate video as a tool which can be used
to support parents’ communication with their child
Infants are born ready to be a social being, to
interact, to communicate
Parents have the skills to develop their child’s
communication….
Holding and enjoying baby are the best tools to
begin the development of his social brain
Principles for Developing Attunement
Giving
Guidance
Scaffolding
Attuned interaction
Receiving initiatives
Encouraging initiatives
Being Attentive
Brain Development Workshop
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To give an overview of the basic brain
structure
The baby brain – some facts and figures and
how it is a “social” brain
Connections
Plasticity – ‘people are made not born’
Mind set
Adult Learning and Future
Planning
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The participants will be given time in small
groups organised by geographical location to
consider how they will incorporate what they
have learned from the workshops into their
antenatal classes.
We will introduce the PATH to them and
facilitate them to work through this.
PATH
•
Where
are
you
now?
•
Who
supports
you with
this?
•
What are
What will
your
strengths be your
first
?
steps?
Goals
Planned Evaluation
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Parent satisfaction ratings
Follow-up of action plans
Event evaluation
Group Activity
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In small groups
What are the strengths, opportunities,
aspirations & results of working in this way?
Do we prioritise this work? At the expense
of…?
Feedback
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nem0bkEr
GVY&feature=related