What do educational psychologists consider to be best practice when gaining consent across the 0 to 25 age range?

ABSTRACT

Educational psychologists (EPs) have a legal and ethical obligation to gain informed consent prior to any psychological involvement. As EPs work across the 0 to 25 age range, the person giving consent may vary according to the needs of the individual service user and so it is necessary to be aware of relevant legislation and case law. This study explored what might be considered best practice for EPs in gaining consent across the 0 to 25 age range by conducting semi-structured interviews with six professionals as part of an expert reference group. The interviews were thematically analysed using a hybrid inductive-deductive approach. Six main themes were identified: ethical obligations; children’s rights; legal obligations; partnership; informed consent; and, barriers to best practice. There was considerable overlap between some of the main themes, reflecting the complexity of the issue. The findings are discussed in relation to literature in other areas of psychological practice. Implications for practice for individual EPs and EP services are considered, such as the possibility of developing a guidance document for use across the profession, as well as directions for further research.

KEYWORDS:

• Consent
• assent
• Gillick competence
• mental capacity
• UK GDPR
• children’s rights

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Department for Education (DfE) ITEP award 2020-2021.