In the past, it was a requirement that you had to train and work as a teacher before you could begin training as an Educational Psychologist. You don’t have to do this now, but you will still need to gain lots of relevant work experience with children (the 3-19 age range), in an educational setting. There is a very limited number of training places available each year so competition is intense. Volunteering is good, but you will also need evidence of substantial, relevant paid employment. Teaching is obviously one way to get this experience, but you could also find it through spending time in an educational environment in other ways, for example as a classroom assistant, learning support assistant or mentor.

To get into these types of jobs you will need to demonstrate experience of working with children during your degree and both classroom and non-classroom based experience is relevant. For educational psychology it is really helpful if you can gain work experience with children who have special educational needs (physical disabilities, learning disabilities, emotional/behavioural problems).

The information below will give you an overview of what kind of work experience is relevant, but the following Careers information sheets will also help you to identify opportunities

Work experience for psychology professions: www.york.ac.uk/media/studenthome/workandvolunteering/infosheets/Psychology%2012.pdf

Work experience in the social care and health professions: www.york.ac.uk/media/studenthome/workandvolunteering/infosheets/Health%20&%20Social%20Care%2012.pdf

You might also find the following information sheets useful:

Considering Teaching? www.york.ac.uk/media/studenthome/workandvolunteering/infosheets/Teaching%2012.pdf

Routes into Teaching: www.york.ac.uk/media/studenthome/workandvolunteering/otherpdfs/agcas%20Routes%20into%20teaching%202012-13.pdf

Considering working with children and young people? www.york.ac.uk/media/studenthome/workandvolunteering/infosheets/children%20and%20young%20people%2012.pdf

School based experience

The best way to gain work experience in schools is through the University’s York Students in Schools (YSIS) programme www.york.ac.uk/carers/ysis where you can work for ½ day a week as an assistant in a local school. Arranging a placement can take a little time as the schemes operate on a termly basis and you need to obtain criminal record disclosure, so the earlier you start the better!

You can also approach schools in your home area for the possibility of some work experience during University vacations.

Education Related

Students also gain experience of working with children in other ways, such as Student Ambassador work, play schemes, youth clubs, Cub Scouts and Brownies. Some of these opportunities are offered through the university, some you will need to arrange for yourself (see the information sheets above for information).

The Careers website lists local organisations who are seeking volunteers. The Community & Volunteering Unit (CAVU) also runs a number of group based volunteering projects in the Autumn and Spring terms in conjunction with local organisations – many of these have an education focus. Details can be found at www.york.ac.uk/careers/volunteering.

Other opportunities

YUSU has a number of ongoing volunteering projects that involve working with children and young people. For more information see www.yusu.org/volunteering/studentaction.
Working as a Counsellor in American Summer Camps with organisations such as Bunac www.bunac.org.uk/uk/summercampusa or Camp America www.campamerica.co.uk

After graduation

Apply for a PGCE course in your final year www.gttr.ac.uk or explore alternative ways to train as a teacher such as Schools Direct and Teach First. For Primary PGCE courses the deadline for applications is 1^st December in the year prior to entry.

If you need to gain classroom based experience after graduating then you should look out for jobs as a Classroom Assistant, Learning Support Assistant or Learning Mentor. These are usually advertised in local press and on local authority vacancy listings. The Times Education Supplement also advertises vacancies www.tes.co.uk/jobs

Some residential special schools, such as Lord Treloar www.treloar.org.uk, offer 1 year posts for graduates who are planning careers in education and social care related roles to assist with learning support and residential activities. Sometimes these are advertised in newspapers such as the Guardian. You can also search for special schools on a dedicated website www.specialneedsuk.org for speculative applications and advertised job vacancies.

Applications to Educational Psychology training are made at www.education.gov.uk/ep-application/Pages/Welcome.aspx