College commissioned services
Through commissioning our specialist clinical and educational psychology services directly through a service level agreement you will receive dedicated psychologist time, no waiting time and the freedom to use our services in the best way for your college.
Our psychology services can be commissioned for one-off work, such as specific assessments, as well as ongoing or repeated work. Service level agreements provide an effective and cost effective method of bringing many benefits to your college.
Where do we offer service level agreements to colleges?
We offer service level agreements to colleges in the following North West areas:
Blackburn with Darwen, Bolton, Bury, Cheshire East, Halton, Knowsley, Lancashire, Liverpool, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Sefton, St Helens, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Warrington, Wigan and the Wirral.
If you’re outside this location, please contact us to find out if we can help.
Are our psychologists registered with a professional body?
Our specialist team are registered with the relevant professional bodies (Health and Care Professions Council, British psychological society, Association of Educational Psychologists) and have experience providing schools with efficient and cost effective services.
Support should be evidence based. This means that colleges should be aware of effective practice in the sector and elsewhere, and personalise it for the individual. They should keep the needs of students with SEN or disabilities under regular review. Colleges should take a cyclical approach to assessing need, planning and providing support, and reviewing and evaluating that support so that it can be adjusted where necessary.
SEND code of practice (2015)
Why do colleges choose college commissioned services over local authority services?
In recent times some local authority psychology services have started to provide their services through a traded model, which means that some educational settings are now paying for a service which was previously provided. When colleges must pay for psychology services, they have the ability to choose the service that best suits their needs.
Some colleges are unable to access psychology services which are swift, efficient, adaptable to need and able to carry out non statutory work in addition to statutory work. Here at HSR Psychology we pride ourselves on providing instant access to our psychologists, working with the students you require and carrying out both statutory and non statutory work. Our non statutory work includes whole college approaches, interventions, group work, specific assessments and preventative work.
For colleges and sixth forms to deliver a high quality education to their students, they should have access to reliable, efficient and cost effective services, which is why:
- Our specialist psychology services are consistent, flexible and competitively priced
- We provide immediate access to our broad range of psychology services, including clinical and educational psychologists
- We provide preventative and non statutory work to suit your needs
- We are adaptable to your setting’s needs facilitating a bespoke service
- We offer counselling services for students and staff
- We are committed to maximising the potential and wellbeing of young people
- We listen and value the view of students and educational professionals
- We take a holistic approach so our input has a positive impact on many areas of life
- Our aim is to make young people feel happy, safe and ready to cope with life’s challenges
We are here to support colleges through offering a specialist psychology service which provides an excellent value for money provision to be used in a way to suit your needs. To talk to a member of our team to find out more about commissioning our service, please contact us now.
Why commission our service?
There are many reasons to commission our college-based clinical and educational psychology service. These include:
Access to a designated psychologist
We provide instant access to our clinical and educational psychologists ensuring that they are accessible when you need their professional input. Instant access supports our comprehensive, efficient and smooth service within your college. Under a service level agreement we can provide a designated psychologist who understands the needs of your students and staff, enabling a consistent and supportive service. Our team are approachable and flexible to the needs within your college, promoting swift responses.
Improve mental health and wellbeing
The mental health and wellbeing of your students is important to learning, achievement and future success. Our psychologists improve the mental health and wellbeing of your students by incorporating psychological knowledge into all aspects of our work to achieve the best results alongside direct intervention. Clinical psychologists have experience of mental health difficulties and can support your setting with complex issues faced by your students.
Designed for ages 16-25
As a new service we have designed our post-16 services as a service in itself, and not as an add-on to an existing service. During the design we kept the SEND Code of Practice (2015) at the forefront of the expectations for post-16 settings and how we can support the achievement of those expectations. Our team of psychologists have worked with the extended 16-25 age range, so the resources and services are relevant and age appropriate to the needs within this age-range. Our drop-in options allows staff to bring questions directly to our professional and receive guidance and advice. Providing an adaptable and flexible service supports us in offering a bespoke service for the needs within your setting.
Preparing for the future
Our specialist team support your students in preparing for their future through assessments, interventions, training and workshops. We provide specialist psychological services in relation to life skills, transitions, the Disabled Student’s Allowance (DSA), independence and positive mental health. When supporting a young person to prepare for their future we take their individual backgrounds and skills into account through our holistic approach.
Cost effective
At HSR Psychology we provide solutions and packages to suit all budgets so we can provide psychological support to more settings. Implementing systemic change, training staff and increasing attainment work together to contribute to the cost effective nature of our specialist psychology service as the positive impact will be apparent past our initial input. Supporting students in becoming happy, safe and ready for life’s challenges is an investment in their future. Our assistant psychologists provide high quality psychology services within colleges at a special service level agreement rate to further make our service cost effective. We provide a more bespoke and cheaper alternative to local authority services to fulfil your psychological needs.
How can our service be funded?
Although our specialist service is a cost effective investment, we appreciate how stretched funding is within colleges. Our services can be funded by the following standard funding sources.
Element 1 and 2
Element 1 and 2 funding can be used to implement systemic change for all students and support specific to students with SEND. Training and workshops would usually be funded from element 1 and 2 as they support all students.
EHC plan funding
If you have a student with an EHC plan who requires input from a psychologist then their funding can pay for our services.
Looked after status
Colleges may have students with looked after status, and specific funding to support their education. Our psychologists are specialists in the area of looked after young people and can provide services specifically designed for their needs.
Apprenticeship funding
Post-16 settings which are also apprenticeship providers will receive apprenticeship funding which can be used to commission our services, as we offer specific apprenticeship support in addition to college-based services. Extra funding is available for apprentices living in deprived areas.
In the situation that an apprentice requires additional learning support, including in the development of English and Maths skills, further funding can be applied for in order to commission our services. We offer specific interventions for individuals with dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia and other conditions affecting learning.
If you are supporting a care leaver through their apprenticeship then you can receive funding for their support. Our psychologists have specialist experience with individuals in care and leaving care, so can provide appropriate and effective services.
Are there any innovative solutions to funding our service?
As funding can be difficult to obtain we have come up with a number of innovative solutions to funding our service.
A service level agreement gives your college the flexibility to plan provision in advance, supporting a cost effective service.
Cluster groups
It is possible for colleges, schools and other educational settings to pay for group services and share the allocated time between settings, or attend training sessions together.
Assistant and Trainee educational and child psychologists
Training, group work, interventions and a number of assessments can be carried out by our assistant and trainee psychologists as part of our cost effective service. Our assistants and trainees all have extensive experience and Master’s level knowledge of psychology, including special educational needs.
Parental contribution
Our services are provided directly to parents as well as educational settings, and due to this parents can contribute or fund specific services for their child. The ratio of split funding is at the discretion of the school.
Split the cost of training and consultancy
If you have a service level agreement for our psychology services and have training or consultancy time which you will not use, or know that another institution would benefit from using us, then they can purchase the time from you. If your service level agreement includes training sessions, then it has been known for educational settings to sell spaces to training sessions. As part of a service level agreement we also offer the option of drop-in sessions, which have been popular with other colleges using this service.
Personal Budget
Students with an EHC plan can receive funding directly to use on specialist provision. If a student has a personal budget then they could directly commission our services. Educational settings and parents working together to commission external services supports a strong joined-up approach towards an individual’s education.
Employer contribution
Colleges who take on an apprentice who has previously had an EHC plan can receive an extra £1000 to pay for our specialist psychology services. This money could support a reassessment of needs, or a review of the previous plan to determine if there needs to be special adjustments during the apprenticeship to support needs.
We have had to limit the number of service level agreements we are able to offer on a first come, first served basis so we can provide schools and colleges with the best possible service from our specialist psychologists. If you are not able to to obtain a service level agreement with us then our services can be commissioned on a standalone basis. We work with colleges who share our values of staying needs-led, student-centred and being committed to a high quality service. If you would like to commission our psychology services within your college then please contact us.