Educational Psychologist

Nottinghamshire County Council is dedicated to making a positive impact in our community. We believe in the power of education and the importance of supporting our children and young people. Join us in our mission to promote social inclusion and social justice for all.

The Nottinghamshire Educational Psychology Service (EPS) is excited to announce recruitment for Educational Psychologist positions within our vibrant and dynamic service. We are committed to fostering a diverse workforce and encourage applications from individuals from various backgrounds, particularly those currently underrepresented in the educational psychology profession. We welcome applications from all EPs, including those currently working, considering a return to work or wanting to reconnect with providing a service to schools within a Local Authority. The posts are additional to our existing core service which is consistently well staffed.

Our EPS operates on a strength-based, collaborative and consultative service delivery model, focusing on empowering children and young people, especially those in vulnerable situations. Our traded work includes projects, training, organisational change and research. Why Notts EPS? – Here is more information about Notts EPS including reflections from existing staff about what it is like being part of the team.

We offer you the chance to:

• Work within a supportive team where peer support and collaborative working are highly valued and established.  Ours is a highly committed team of EPs who work together to deliver a service which prides itself on its professionalism.
  Be part of a service which operates within a clear set of professional frameworks which have been developed by the service, for the service. These frameworks emphasise the use of positive, collaborative psychology to make a difference. As our service has a well-established strengths-based, collaborative assessment and intervention model, our EP practice does not include the use of psychometric cognitive assessments.
• Enjoy a range of work including link work with your schools (individual, group and whole school level), training, ELSA supervision, Strategic Psychology Groups and statutory work. The balance of Educational Psychology work is protected to ensure our team maintain the richness of the EP role.
• Be part of a service which has a long history of supporting inclusion for children who find themselves in the most vulnerable situations, where the ultimate aim is to enhance their life chances.
• Join our active commitment to learning, engaging with, and promoting issues of equity, inclusion and social justice in all aspects of our service.
• Benefit from a planned programme of whole service continuing professional development, organised by EPs from within the service.
• Benefit from supportive supervision processes and structures which complement the peer support available from within the team. The EPS senior leadership team works closely together to ensure that EPs are supported well in the work they do.
• Work with schools where staff have developed a strong tradition of ‘Family of Schools’ ways of working, including the prioritisation of EP work, training, and in the allocation of SEN funding, all with the aim of improving educational standards.  EPs plan their own work at termly Springboard planning meetings, collaboratively with their group of schools and specialist teachers, providing equity for our children, professional autonomy and transparency.
• Join a service which is highly regarded and valued within our County Council. It is a strong tradition within Nottinghamshire that the work of the EPS is integrated closely with Local Authority initiatives and developments.

You will need:

• A first degree in psychology, or equivalent, recognised by the British Psychological Society (BPS).
• A postgraduate qualification in educational psychology. Applications will also be welcomed from those in Year 3 of the doctoral training programme to become a qualified Educational Psychologist
• Registered, or working towards registration or re-registration, as a practitioner psychologist with the
• Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
• A thorough understanding of safeguarding issues affecting children and young people in educational settings.

At Nottinghamshire County Council, we offer:

• A place to belong: a friendly, inclusive workplace where everyone is valued.
• Flexible working arrangements to support your work-life balance
• An excellent occupational pension scheme (a member of the Local Government Pension Scheme)
• Generous annual leave plus 8 statutory bank holidays.
• Nottinghamshire is a large county stretching from south of Nottingham City to north of Retford. The whole service currently works from a single base in Mansfield. We work together with our employees to find the best fit, for the service and them, for the location of their link schools.