DECP award winners celebrated for contributions to educational psychology

Kate Fallon was awarded the DECP Lifetime Achievement award, which recognises and celebrates exceptional and sustained contributions in a career as an educational psychologist.

Kate was recognised for her work as the General Secretary of the Association of Educational Psychologists since 2010 and her commitment to tirelessly raising awareness of the importance of educational psychologists and psychology and the role it plays in society. The lifetime achievement award is an excellent way to recognise and celebrate the outstanding contribution she has made.

Dr Andrew Richards was awarded the DECP Distinguished Contribution award, which recognises the distinguished contribution he has made to educational psychology as an academic and practitioner.

Andrew was recognised for his dedication to the ongoing development of educational psychology, and to those within it. He has contributed to a wide range of local authority services and universities, most recently at the University of Exeter, and has been involved in research in a variety of teams and contributed to professional bodies such as the Division of Educational and Child Psychology training committee, HCPC and NICE.

Dr Sarah Geiger was awarded the DECP Doctoral Dissertation award, which recognises the excellent research produced each year by trainee EPs and those on CPD doctorate courses as part of their thesis projects.

Sarah was celebrated for her doctoral thesis which examined children and young people with Down's syndrome's views of their school. Because of Sarah's research, more is now known about the educational experiences of children and young people with Down's syndrome and the views of their parents and carers and school staff. It will no doubt improve the educational outcomes for young people with Down's syndrome, parental confidence, professional practice, and policymaking. 

Dr Cynthia Pinto, chair of the DECP, said:

"We are delighted to celebrate the outstanding achievements of some of our DECP members with these awards.

All three have made highly significant contributions to the field of educational psychology and have demonstrated excellence in their fields. We are incredibly proud of them and their achievements."