Educational psychology for England and Wales
Psychological advice, consultation and assessment
Umfolozi Ltd works with local authorities across England and Wales, providing educational psychology consultation, assessment and clear written advice to inform Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans and Individual Development Plans (IDPs) for children and young people with special educational needs or additional learning needs.
What we do
We work with local authority SEND teams in England and ALN teams in Wales, directly and through agencies, to provide the educational psychology input that statutory decisions and plans depend on.
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Psychological advice for EHC needs assessments (England)
Statutory written advice that sets out a child or young person's needs, the outcomes to work towards, and the provision required to get there. It is written so that the local authority can use it directly when deciding on and drafting an EHC plan.
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Psychological advice for Individual Development Plans (Wales)
Written advice to inform decisions about additional learning needs and the additional learning provision set out in an IDP, in line with the ALN Code for Wales.
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Consultation
Consultation is built on collaboration and co-production. We work alongside children and young people, their families, schools, settings and local authority officers to build a shared understanding of needs and agree practical next steps together.
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Educational psychology assessment
Careful consideration of a child or young person's learning, communication, social and emotional, and physical and sensory needs. We draw on conversations with the family and school, observation, and direct work with the child or young person. Most of our work is carried out remotely, with face-to-face visits arranged where appropriate.
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Support for existing plans
Our involvement can continue once a plan is in place. We contribute to person-centred reviews, carry out re-assessments where a child or young person's needs have changed, and provide psychological advice for tribunal-related work.
How a referral works
The same five steps apply in England and in Wales, whether the request comes straight from a local authority or through an agency.
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You send the referral
We confirm we can take the case and agree the date the advice is due.
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We gather views
We speak with the parents or carers and the school or setting, and read the existing reports.
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We work with the child or young person
The psychologist meets them and carries out the assessment, making sure their own views are heard.
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We write and check the advice
Every report goes through a separate quality review before it leaves us.
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You receive the advice
We send the finished advice by the agreed date and answer any follow-up questions from the SEND or ALN team.
About Umfolozi
Umfolozi Ltd is a UK company providing educational psychology services to local authorities in England and Wales.
Bernita de Wet CPsychol is a Chartered Educational Psychologist, registered with the HCPC and the British Psychological Society. She brings more than 30 years of experience in assessing and supporting children's and young people's learning and emotional needs, including 20 years as an educational psychologist with Swansea Council, working with mainstream schools and specialist provision.
Our practice is person-centred and inclusive. Through a collaborative, consultation-based approach, we support children and young people from 0 to 25 to achieve their potential and develop emotional wellbeing in a rapidly changing world.
Why Umfolozi?
Our name comes from the uMfolozi River in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. We see development in the same way as the river: a fluid process whose course may zigzag, but which always moves forward, towards self-determination and self-actualisation.
Contact us
For referrals, quotations, availability, or questions about a case, email us and we will reply within a week. Please do not include a child's personal details in a first email.
- bernita.dewet@umfolozi.co.uk
- Phone
- +44 7424 378827