Senior Educational Psychologist

About the role

This post is eligible for SPA points and any previously awarded SPA points will be honoured. Please note the pay scale is currently under review.

We can also offer a relocation package of up to £8,000 for those successful candidates who may be eligible.

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Part time (22.2 hours per week). Candidates interested in a full-time position can additionally work up to 14.8 hours per week as a Main Grade Educational Psychologist; this can be discussed at interview.

Closing Date: Monday 30th December 2024, 23:59

Interview Date: Wednesday 15th January 2025

Portsmouth City Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and young people, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. It is also committed to promoting quality childcare across the City that works to improve outcomes for children.

DBS Disclosure at Enhanced level will be required prior to any offer of employment and this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

Every post is subject to PCC and Portsmouth Safeguarding Children Partnership safer recruitment procedures.

Why come to live and work in Portsmouth?

Portsmouth is a great waterfront city and a vibrant place to live and work. It is an island city with an “inner city” feel, a seaside location packed with attractions and events, and the advantage of fantastic countryside on its doorstep. With fast road and rail links to London, Brighton and major airports, and ferry links to Europe, it is the perfect place to live and work. Portsmouth has a strong history of partnership working and has successfully integrated several local services.

The Service

We are a friendly, creative and supportive team which is looking to recruit a Senior Educational Psychologist to help lead and manage our growing team, explore new and creative ways of working, and to support the exciting development of our service.

Portsmouth Educational Psychology service is situated within the Portsmouth Inclusion Service and plays a key role in the delivery of the SEND and Inclusion vision and strategy. The service has strong links with other teams within Children’s Services, as well as with health and social care colleagues.

Your New Role

We are seeking to increase our capacity to meet growing demand. Successful candidates will join our existing Senior EP and Principal EP as part of the management team to provide support for a team main-grade and trainee EPs and undertake some casework themselves.

As a Senior Education Psychologist, you will work with the Principal Educational Psychologist and EPS management team to make a leading contribution to the planning, development, delivery and evaluation of high-quality educational psychology services for children, families, schools and the wider community. You will collaboratively as part of a multi-disciplinary management team to ensure the co-ordinated planning and delivery of efficient and effective services focussed on improving outcomes for children in terms of their social, emotional and learning development.  This will include leading on task and projects that are a priority area for the Inclusion service.

Please read the job profile for the full details of this role.

What you’ll need to succeed

You have a degree in Psychology or equivalent, and a postgraduate qualification in Educational Psychology, with substantial experience as a Local Authority Educational Psychologist, working with children and educational institutions. You are eligible for chartered status from the British Psychological Society and are registered with the HCPC. You have a thorough grasp of national and local policies and implications for service delivery and development, and knowledge of child development and the Code of Practice for Children with Special Educational Needs. You communicate well and work well in a team and individually.

We would be interested in hearing from qualified EPs who want to develop skills in leadership and management and have some experience of supervising and leading project work in their current roles.

Areas of specialism can be agreed with the Principal EP, but we would be interested in hearing from applicants who wish to lead in SEMH, Cognition and Learning and/or neurodiversity.

Please read the job profile for the full details of this role.

You will need to demonstrate that you have the Right to Work in the UK. No post will be offered without it.

What you’ll get in return:

Portsmouth Educational Psychology Service is a dynamic service with lots of exciting opportunities and advantages, including:

• close links with doctoral training courses in Southampton and London and value the contribution of Trainee Eps to our service each year.
• the opportunity for all Educational Psychologists to contribute to service development initiatives and central training.
• access to a range of professional development activities, including a programme of team CPD/development days
• a centrally based service with a strong team identity and regular opportunities for peer supervision and support
• a central office base.
• access to excellent business and IT support.
• a flexi-time system and agile working.
• a commitment to supporting work-life balance via transparent allocation and workflow systems.

We really appreciate our employees and fully realise they are essential to our success and look to offer an inclusive, supportive working environment where employees can reach their potentials with a healthy work life balance, offering the following rewards:

• Generous annual leave (27 days per year rising to 31, pro rata for part time hours) with the potential to purchase additional leave.
• A fantastic pension which allows you the opportunity to pay in more for that greater return.
• Access to a wide range of training and development opportunities including apprenticeships.
• Extensive wellbeing support through the Employee Assistance Programme
• Discount on travel, travel loans and the bike loan scheme
• Discounts on a wide range of goods and services – access a range of discounts and offers from thousands of restaurants, shops and more
• Access to Vivup, one of the leading employee benefit scheme platforms.

Staff rewards.

Additional Information:

See the full job profile.

Contact Details for an Informal Discussion:

Victoria Parker, Principal Educational Psychologist

• Victoria.Parker@portsmouthcc.gov.uk or 07 740 880 639.

A commitment to our values:

We are committed to our values of respect, integrity, collaboration, inclusivity and being people-focussed. These values set out how we can contribute to the success of the council and our own success as individuals. Learn more about our values and behaviours.