Educational Psychologist CPD on Executive Functions

The Executive Functions: Connecting into Practice course for Educational Psychologists will guide you through the layers of understanding the concept of executive functions, how we assess those skills and bring it together in a formulation that makes sense.

• Training: The course is in eLearning format, 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 core module encompasses a series of subchapters, containing short animated videos, 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 develop in typical 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 – Rebecca will explain how you can gather data about executive functioning in a range of ways and bring it together in a coherent formulation.  The course will go on to get you thinking about how you talk and listen with others, in order to come to a shared understanding about executive functions.  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. 

Executive Functions CPD Contents

Brief Introduction

• Getting Started with the course (how to use?)

1.   Defining Executive Functions

1. What are executive functions
2. Taxonomies of executive functions
3. Importance of executive functions

2.  Development of Executive Functions

1. Developmental Neuroscience
2. Trajectories of EF development
3. Influencing Factors on EF development
4. Contextual Factors of EF development

3. Executive Functions: Assessment

1. What we're looking for

2. Observation and Informal Assessment 

3. EF Questionnaires 

4. Standardised EF Assessments (including publisher tutorials) 

5. Case Studies

4. Executive Functions: Formulation

1. How EF fits with other skills
2. Triangulating Data
3. Prioritising Interventions
4. Case Study

5. Communicating to Others 

1. Explaining EF to teachers
2. Mature - Immature
3. Communication Formulations
4. Digital Stories

6. Executive Functions: Interventions

1. Physical Wellness
2. Parent Responsiveness
3. Compensatory Strategies
4. Coaching
5. Published Interventions
6. Supporting Teachers

Chapter 7. Executive Functions and Diagnoses

1. EF Relating to Diagnoses
2. EF and ADHD
3. EF and Autism
4. EF and Specific Learning Difficulties
5. EF and Specific Learning Difficulties Interview Dr Stanbridge
6. EF and Diagnoses Case Studies
7. EF and Diagnosis Summary

Summary & CPD Certificate

• Summary, recap and a few final tips / resources
• CPD Certificate

Absolutely! Dr Rebecca Ashton is an active participant in the Executive Functions: Connecting into Practice course community and encourages course participants to ask questions 😊

Although this is an online course, we do still want to promote interaction, collaboration and sharing of practice – so please do look at the descriptive content under each subchapter, where there is also a space to share comments, thoughts and reflections, and to ask questions. We signpost and link a lot of resources here as well, updating these in response to your questions and comments.

Executive Functions: Connecting into Practice provides over 8 hours of condensed CPD / training. While this could be completed within a day, we'd suggest allocating 2 days in total to engage in reflective activities and be able to explore all the resources available.

You have a year's access to all training and content. This gives you the chance to use the course for not just initial CPD development, but to return and use as a reference guide over time. 

Yes! And a lot of your colleagues have already joined!

This course is designed for educational professionals with experience and background knowledge in this area. When on the course, you’ll find that it covers the key theoretical foundations before moving on to give us the knowledge and tools to extend upon our current practice and further improve outcomes for CYP. If you join and find that it’s not for you, we’re always happy to provide a refund.