Educational Psychologist
Salary: £44,474 to £54,609 per annum (Soulbury A 2-7). Newly qualified EPs who are HCPC registered will start on A4. 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.
Hours: Full time (37 hours)
Contract: Permanent
Relocation Package: We can also offer a relocation package of up to £8,000 for those successful candidates who may be eligible.
We also welcome applications from Trainee Educational Psychologists in their second or third year of training.
Closing Date: Thursday 30 January 2025 ,23:59
The Educational Psychology Team
We are a team of supportive, enthusiastic and skilled educational psychologists with experience ranging from our highly valued trainees to those who have been with the service for many years - which is testament to our positive approach.
We are part of the Inclusion Service in Portsmouth City Council's Education Department and our key purpose is to help promote all aspects of a child or young person's development byusing psychology to make a positive difference. The EP Team is held in high regard with involvement valued acrossa range of projects in education and social care. We operate a model of traded service which allows us to support schools directly and focus on early intervention. We also fulfil the statutory function of the Education Department and have built strong relationships with our SEN Team which enables collaborative working.
Our team tell us that we are:
"A good place to work and a good team to work with. Amazing opportunities as a newly qualified EP. Professional views are valued from day one."
If you have a proactive approach, the ability to work flexibly and are committed to working in co-production with families and stakeholders, we would love to hear from you. You will be certain of a warm welcome, a thorough induction and a varied and interesting role in our team.
Why Portsmouth?
Portsmouth City Council is a needs-led Local Authority where relationships are valued as the foundation upon which the most effective and positive change can be supported. There is a wide range of varied work supporting our community's diverse needs, and our Educational Psychologists engage in interesting and varied work. We are committed to enhancing children’s development and potential through adopting person-centred approaches in all we do. The EP Team is held in high regard with involvement valued across a range of projects (ELSA, Relational Practice, Literacy support, EBSA, Supporting children from armed forces families), and we have excellent relationships and work collaboratively with other teams across education and inclusion. We have excellent links with Southampton University, seek out regular opportunities to engage Trainee EPs in relevant research projects, and commit dedicated time to fortnightly peer supervision.
The Role:
The post will include:
* Applying psychology through the delivery of services to a cluster of schools within Portsmouth.
* Multi-agency working to support children and families.
* Opportunities to engage in the development and delivery of training and workforce development across the city, for example Restorative and Attachment Aware approaches and ELSA.
* Opportunities to engage in strategic developments; for example, with SEMH, and Neurodiversity and literacy difficulties.
* Opportunities to work with EPs to develop our practice and policy, always aiming to improve outcomes for children and young people.
* Contribution to the statutory assessment and monitoring and review of children with SEND.
* Autonomy to employ the evidence-based psychological practice that you feel best meets needs (e.g., dynamic and standardised assessment methods used equally across the team).
* Full working knowledge and adherence to the underlying values, principles and policy of Portsmouth Local Safeguarding Children's Board, including integrated working responsibilities, early help and safeguarding practices.
Please read the job profile for the full details of this role
What you'll need to succeed
Portsmouth Educational Psychology Team can offer you support and opportunities, whether you are at the start of your EP career of if you are looking for a new challenge or change.
You must:
* be a qualified Educational Psychologist or be in your second or third year of EP training, registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), or, in the case of trainee EPs, expecting to have their registration confirmed following the completion of their recognised training course.
* possess a sound base of current psychological knowledge and skills and have an awareness of current issues in education and psychology and be able to apply this to practice.
* have full working knowledge and adhere to the underlying values, principles and policy of Local Safeguarding Children's Board, including integrated working responsibilities, early help and safeguarding practices.
* have good personal presentation and credibility with a range of potential client groups.
* have the ability to work individually and as part of a team (these are equally important in this role), value working with people and demonstrate a relational approach with parents, children, young people and professionals.
Please read the job profile for the full details of this role
Additional Information:
The full job profile is attached below.
Contact Details for an Informal Discussion:
If you have any queries, please contact the Principal Educational Psychologist, Victoria Parker, Victoria.parker@portsmouthcc.gov.uk
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.
Application process:
How to complete your application:
We are a disability confident employer - committed to ensuring that our recruitment and selection process is inclusive and accessible and welcome applications from all areas of society.
Click on the 'Apply' button to register or log into your applicant account, complete our profile builder, and enter your personal statement. In your personal statement, please detail why you feel you are suitable for the role using the 'Who is the Person' section of the job profile.
If you apply without a detailed personal statement, it is unlikely that your application will be successful.
Please ensure you provide your full education history from secondary school, include name/address of establishment, details of relevant qualifications & awarding body. Please explain any gaps - this is essential for all safeguarding children's roles.
We will email applicants from time to time; please ensure you check e-mail folders as sometimes our e-mails may go into spam/junk folders.
We look forward to speaking with you soon. Should you require any support in completing the application form please contact recruit@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.
Portsmouth City Council
Portsmouth City Council is a needs-led Local Authority where relationships are valued as the foundation upon which the most effective and positive change can be supported.
Portsmouth is a small, high population area. This means that there is a wide range of varied work supporting our community's diverse needs. Portsmouth has been named as one of 24 Priority Education Investment Areas that have been identified for targeted support and intervention by the government. Plans are currently being developed by the Portsmouth Education Partnership.
What we can offer you:
Portsmouth City Council is a unique organisation, committed to making a difference, and is guided by core values that set who we are as people, what we stand for, and how we act.
Read more about working at Portsmouth City Council and our benefits on our careers portal homepage: Careers Portal - Find jobs with Portsmouth City Council
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.
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.