50 GHP Q2 2026 hen a child is struggling at school, there is always an underlying reason. Kate, Rebecca, and co. see their role as being to identity that reason and find ways that child can be supported. Establishing Éirim to help them with exactly that, the founding duo combine Rebecca’s background as a teacher and Kate’s own journey with her dyslexia to ensure that the need for practical and high-quality support in education is understood by everyone. Their approach is deeply rooted in identifying the strengths of the individual, as well as their needs, something the experienced team achieve by translating the findings from their detailed assessments into clear and practical recommendations that can be implemented realistically, either at home or in a school setting. These tailored assessments are thorough and carefully considered, placing a strong emphasis on building a complete picture of the individual across cognitive, educational, and developmental domains. Éirim’s comprehensive psycho-educational assessment is available for children, adolescents, and adults, and by assessing areas including cognitive abilities and academic skills in key areas such as English and maths, it creates a learning profile and helps to understand a person’s specific needs, including difficulties like dyslexia. This is just the beginning, as it carries out a wide range of other assessments, from autism assessments to developmental assessments and assessments for giftedness, all of which are tailored and strengths-based. The clarity of the reporting that stems from these detailed assessments is staggering, and something that continues to set Éirim apart. Kate added: “We place significant importance on ensuring that our reports are clear, easy to read, and genuinely useful, particularly for parents and schools who are trying to support a child in a practical way.” This feeds into the company’s overarching aim, which is for its assessments to lead to meaningful guidance. Outside of its assessment work, Éirim also operates as a teaching practice, which is an important part of its identity. It supports and mentors assistant psychologists under close supervision, and many of those who have trained with Kate, Rebecca, and the professional AIM-Mar26169 W Éirim (meaning ‘talent’) was set up in 2003 by psychologists and sisters Dr Kate James and Rebecca Good. From the beginning, the company has strived to make sure that every child and young person is understood and appropriately supported, especially when facing difficulty at school. Kate, Rebecca, and the rest of the team all bring unique perspectives to this work, and we spoke with Kate for more on this following their recognition as Educational Psychologists of the Year 2026 – Republic of Ireland. team they have built over the last two decades have gone on to qualify as educational, clinical, and counselling psychologists. Kate is immensely proud of this feat, which reflects the high standards Éirim maintain within its practice. Furthermore, Éirim is also collaborating with its sister company, Education Elephant, to develop a series of resources that can be used by schools, parents, and professionals alike. These range from assessment tools and tests to training programmes for teachers and courses for parents. As Kate told us: “The aim is to provide practical, accessible resources that can make a meaningful difference at an earlier stage.” With neurodiversity awareness having been on the rise in recent years, these services are more sought out than ever. The shift is a positive one, but the increased demand does mean that people are having to wait a long time to be seen, especially when it comes to public services. To ensure that its assessments can be accessed in a reasonable timeframe, often a few weeks, Éirim has placed a great deal of emphasis on maintaining an efficient, well-structured service, without sacrificing on the quality or depth of its pivotal assessments. Continuing to provide this timely access to rigorous assessments is something the team are passionate about as we move through the rest of 2026, especially with waiting lists continuing to grow. Kate explained: “We are very conscious of the importance of early identification and support, and we want to ensure that families can access services when they are most needed. We are also committed to remaining at the forefront of assessment practice, including ongoing involvement in research and the development of assessment tools.” Supported in this aim by its sister company, Éirim’s work remains focused on improving early identification and providing schools with the practical tools they need to support their students more effectively. The dedication of the team here in achieving this aim has made them more than deserving of being named the Educational Psychologists of the Year 2026 – Republic of Ireland in our GHP Q2 2026 edition. Contact: Dr Kate James Company: Éirim: The National Assessment Agency Limited Web Address: eirim.ie Unlocking Potential with Expert Educational Assessments
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