Executive functions: Connecting into practice – online course for Educational Psychologists

The course will guide you through the layers of understanding the concept of executive functions, how we assess these skills, and bring it all together in a formulation that makes sense.

The Executive Functions CPD course is lead Dr Rebecca Ashton, an experienced Educational Psychologist specialising in neuropsychology. She has a wealth of experience working with executive functioning issues in school casework and is excited to be sharing her knowledge and understanding in this area.

The Executive Functions: Connecting into Practice CPD course is in an eLearning format which can be taken at your own pace, and used as a reference guide to come back to over time. It also includes a host of useful resources which can be utilised in your practice, reflective activities to facilitate your learning, and a space for the EP community to ask questions and share thoughts between us.

What is included?

• Training: The course is broken down into six core chapters to increase knowledge and skills across key areas relating to executive functions and our role as an Educational Psychologist. Each module encompasses a series of subchapters, containing short animated videos, links and resources, which you can view at your own pace.

• Content Packed: Defining what we mean by executive functions at different levels of specificity, and understanding how those functions typically develop in children, leads us on to how we can assess those skills in individual children. You won’t need to rush out and buy lots of expensive equipment – Dr Rebecca Ashton explains how you can gather data about executive functioning in a range of ways and bring it together in a coherent formulation. The course then goes on to get you thinking about how you talk about executive functions within consultations, in order to come to a shared understanding about areas of strength and need. And, of course, we will talk about interventions that might feed into your action planning.

• Assessments: There are a range of observational, informal and standardised assessment approaches we look at in the course, including a number of ideas and resources that can be utilised directly from your psychological toolkit.

• Strategies: A detailed look at a range of evidence-based and practice-based strategies and interventions, alongside practical ideas on how we can talk about Executive Functions with consultations to gain a shared understanding and jointly formulate helpful accommodations and interventions.