Child & Educational Psychology
Led by Dr Achilleas Dalamagkas, Child and Educational Psychologist HCPC
I offer comprehensive educational psychology services designed to understand and support children and young people's development across all areas of their lives. With over seven years of experience in UK education and additional international expertise, my approach centres on building a complete picture of each young person's unique story, strengths, and needs.
Holistic Assessment Approach
My educational psychology assessments encompass the four key areas outlined in the SEND Code of Practice, providing a thorough understanding of learning and cognitive skills, social communication and interaction, mental health and wellbeing, and emotional literacy and regulation. Rather than relying on single snapshot assessments, I build comprehensive profiles over time through multiple approaches and perspectives.
Each assessment combines direct work with the child or young person using both standardised and dynamic assessment tools, detailed observations in their natural environments including home and school settings, and extensive consultations with the key adults in their lives. This multi-faceted approach ensures that recommendations are practical, meaningful, and tailored to each young person's specific circumstances and needs.
The ultimate aim extends beyond diagnosis to genuine understanding. Every assessment seeks to uncover the young person's story, celebrating their strengths whilst identifying areas requiring support, leading to specific, actionable strategies that can be implemented both at home and in educational settings.
Supporting Schools and Educational Settings
Many schools face increasing complexity in meeting the diverse needs of their pupils whilst managing resource constraints. I offer flexible educational psychology support that can be tailored to each school's specific circumstances and requirements.
Working collaboratively with school teams, I provide a combination of individual pupil assessments and whole-school consultation. This might involve supporting staff in understanding specific learning differences, developing intervention strategies, or creating more inclusive classroom practices. My aim is always to build the school's internal capacity whilst providing immediate practical support.
I begin each school relationship with an initial consultation to understand the specific challenges and priorities facing the school community. Together, we then develop a programme of support that fits within the school's context and resources, ensuring that interventions are both meaningful and sustainable.
Specialist Expertise and Flexible Service Delivery
I bring particular expertise in adoption-related issues, especially supporting same-sex adoptive families through research completed during my doctoral studies. I also specialise in helping young people, families, and schools navigate the impact of long-term health conditions such as cancer on educational progress and family dynamics.
Services are delivered flexibly across multiple settings to meet diverse needs. Assessments can take place in my central Norwich practice, within school environments, or in family homes when most appropriate. Each piece of work is individually discussed and planned, with duration and costs agreed before beginning, ensuring transparency and allowing for personalised approaches that match the complexity of each situation.
All family referrals for assessments begin with a complimentary 30-minute telephone consultation, where we explore what's brought you to seek an assessment and discuss your child or young person's specific needs. This initial conversation allows me to understand your family's circumstances and explain how the assessment process works, ensuring we're the right fit before moving forward.
Seamless Integration with Therapeutic Support
A unique strength of our practice lies in the seamless integration between educational psychology assessment and ongoing therapeutic support. When families access educational psychology services and assessment outcomes suggest that therapeutic intervention would benefit the young person or family system, comprehensive follow-up support is readily available through my collaborative approach with James.
This integrated model means families receive not only thorough assessment and understanding of their child's needs, but also access to immediate, coordinated therapeutic support that builds directly upon assessment findings. The result is more effective interventions and better outcomes for children, young people, and their families.
🔍 Quick Summary
Who: 👶 Early years to 👨🎓 young adults
What: 🧠 Comprehensive development assessments
Where: 📍 Norwich practice | 🏫 Schools | 🏠 Family homes
First step: 📞 Individual consultation to discuss needs
Assessment covers:
🎓 Learning and cognitive skills
🗣️ Social communication and interaction
💚 Mental health and wellbeing
😊 Emotional literacy and regulation
Assessment includes:
🎯 Direct work with child/young person
👀 Observations in natural settings
👥 Consultations with key adults
📋 Standardised and dynamic tools
For individual assessments:
📞 Free 30-minute consultation
🔄 Can link to family therapeutic support
📍 Flexible locations available
For school support services:
🆓 Free 1-hour planning consultation
📦 Bespoke support packages available
🎯 Individual assessments + whole-school support
Special expertise:
👨👨👧👦 Adoption and same-sex families
🩺 Long-term health conditions impact
🧩 SEND and neurodiversity support
