Educational Psychologist

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Educational Psychologist to join our team at Leeds City Council. As an Educational Psychologist, you will play a key role in delivering a psychological service to a cluster of schools and settings, promoting inclusion and improving outcomes for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

• Deliver a psychological service to a cluster of schools and settings, applying psychology in the creative and efficient promotion of inclusion for children and young people aged 0 to 25.
• Implement policies, plans, and guidelines of Children's Services and Learning Inclusion Service, ensuring high-quality psychological service delivery, in alignment with service arrangements.
• Offer direct consultation and active psychological support for families and staff working with children/young people with SEND aged 0 to 25 in the schools and settings.
• Advocate for vulnerable children and young people and ensure their welfare is paramount.
• Provide effective advice, psychological assessment, and evidence-based intervention to raise achievement, improve outcomes, and promote inclusion of children and young people with SEND, within the framework of the SEND Code of Practice (2015), Children and Families Act, and other relevant guidance.
• Monitor and review progress of children/young people who may have SEND and provide written advice as appropriate.
• Provide quality psychological advice for statutory assessments in a timely and efficient manner in accordance with Children's Services operational standards.
• Contribute to the annual review and reassessment procedures for children/young people with a statement of SEND, including transition planning.
• Provide consultation and psychological advice to support Children Leeds funding systems where appropriate.
• Represent Children Leeds in SEN Tribunals as an expert witness.
• Participate in the critical incident work and the council's emergency response arrangements to offer psychological advice and support as requested.
• Devise, deliver, and evaluate bespoke training (including advice on curriculum development, interventions, and resources) to build capacity of frontline staff.
• Support SENCOs and senior managers in self-review, strategic direction, and development of processes and provision regarding inclusion and teaching/learning for children and young people with SEND.
• Support settings where significant issues have been identified at the systems level to improve overall provision and achievement of children and young people with SEND.
• Work within appropriate legislation, Department of Education guidelines, the Code(s) of Conduct of the British Psychological Society, and the requirements of Health & Care Professions Council registration.
• Effectively manage workload and maintain up-to-date records in relation to individual casework and other activities, through active engagement with the council's data systems and protocols.
• Ensure high-quality service delivery through data collection, monitoring, and self-review processes.
• Gather, analyze, and interpret data and undertake and promote research-based practice.
• Provide efficient and effective communication, team working, and delivery to children, schools/settings, and families within an area team.
• Provide consultation and support, in a variety of contexts and mediums, to clusters of schools and settings within an area of the city according to identified needs.
• Identify areas for continuing professional development, ensuring highest personal and professional standards and up-to-date awareness of national and local initiatives.
• Actively engage in performance management, supervision, and problem-solving.
• Contribute to service planning and development.

• Degree in psychology with eligibility for graduate membership of the British Psychological Society.
• Postgraduate qualification in Educational Psychology; either, Qualified Teacher Status (with minimum of 2 years teaching experience) and MSc training in Educational Psychology, or minimum of 2 years' experience of working with children and young people and 3-year doctorate training in Educational Psychology.
• Able to manage information for a) individual pupils and b) training, support, and systems work.
• Able to gather, analyze, and interpret information through consultation to assess individual and school needs at systems level.
• Able to determine appropriate teaching and learning strategies, plan, and deliver interventions, training, and or support and formulate written advice as appropriate.
• Able to monitor and evaluate the impact of interventions and outcomes.
• Able to demonstrate effective interpersonal and communication skills.
• Able to deliver sensitive messages in a constructive way and deal effectively with conflict.
• Able to present feedback with sensitivity, honesty, and clarity.
• Able to manage change, respond flexibly to new ideas, and promote change as a natural process.
• Able to demonstrate effective time management and organizational skills, with ability to plan, prioritize, and manage a challenging workload with identified deadlines.
• Able to identify and agree actions that are likely to lead to child/young person progress and school improvement.
• Able to reflect on and share practice with others.
• Able to provide effective links and maintain relationships with colleagues and partners at a range of levels, to maximize impact in terms of focused outcomes for children/young people within schools, settings, and their communities.
• Able to use ICT and technology effectively and encourage others to develop technical solutions in response to change.
• Knowledge and understanding of essential relevant legislation including Children and Families Act (2014), SEND Code of Practice (2015), and other national and local legislation, developments, and good practice in relation to inclusion, SEND.
• Recent working knowledge of Educational Psychology and able to meet the qualification requirements of the British Psychological Society towards registered status with Health & Care Professionals Council (HCPC).
• Knowledge of a variety of methods of psychological assessment and intervention at the individual child, group, and systems level.
• Knowledge of using applied psychology in a range of settings.

• Understand and embrace Leeds City Council Values and Behaviours and codes of conduct.
• Committed to continuous improvement in all areas and work towards delivering the Best City Ambition of Health & Wellbeing, Inclusive Growth, and Zero Carbon.
• Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council equality and diversity policies.
• Carry out all duties having regard to an employee's responsibility under Health and Safety Policies.
• Willingness to actively participate in training and development activities.
• Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade.
• Participate in appraisal, training, and development activities.
• Be aware of and comply with Leeds City Council policies and procedures.
• Recognize and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimization, and any form of abuse, reporting any concerns to the appropriate person.
• The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and the role will be expected to work within these parameters.