City of Wolverhampton Council Inclusion and Empowerment Service

Specialist Senior Educational Psychologist- Getting it Right in the Early Years and Promoting Inclusion

Salary: Soulbury B Scale: pts 2-5 (plus up to 3 SPA points)

£49,714 - £54,959

We are recruiting a Specialist Senior Educational Psychologist (SSEP) to join our strong, highly regarded and supportive team of Educational Psychologists (EPs) who are part of the wider Inclusion and Empowerment Service. Our team has grown significantly over recent years and includes, EPs, a counselling psychologist, trainee EPs and assistant psychologists, with dedicated admin staff. Our work is highly valued by the council, schools and other partners. We have a partly traded service and buy-in from schools is high. The growth of this has allowed EPs to work in more interesting and creative ways. Recently, the Council has made additional investment in the service, both to increase capacity in response to rising demand, but also to contribute to Power2, Wolverhampton’s innovative multi-disciplinary team to support adolescents at risk of exploitation. EPs are involved with autism pathways, our virtual school and youth offending team. We are leading the development of a city-wide emotional and mental health training offer for all staff working with children and are also involved in a regional trailblazer project to establish mental health support teams for schools. We are working together with partners to embed Restorative Practice, Person-centred approaches and Social Communication, Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support (SCERTS) across the city.

This is an excellent opportunity for a creative and enthusiastic Educational Psychologist who is committed to inclusion, working with others, and using psychology to improve experiences and outcomes for children, young people and their families.

A new SSEP post has been created following a service re-design and creation of three operational groups within the Educational Psychology Service. This SSEP post is to join the ‘Getting it Right in the Early Years and Promoting Inclusion’ operational group. There has also been a wider restructure to bring all inclusion and SEND teams together in one service. Working together we are focused on: strengthening inclusive practice; embedding a culture of belonging throughout the city; ensuring that children, young people and families who need support get this in a joined-up and timely way; and that children, young people and families are kept at the centre of all we do.

Applicants must be professionally qualified and registered with the HCPC. An enhanced DBS check is required for this post.

We are looking to appoint a SSEP who:

• is creative, enthusiastic and passionate about what applied psychology can achieve;

• can work as part of a supportive team;

• is proactive, dynamic and flexible;

• can lead projects and make significant contributions to developments across the service area and to the work of other agencies;

• is able to build trust and work with others to improve practice, systems and processes; and;

• is committed to early identification, overcoming barriers, promoting inclusion and improving the lives and wellbeing of all children, young people and their families.

For further information / informal discussion about this role please contact Dr Stephanie Herriotts-Smith (Senior Educational Psychologist) on 07773186872 or by email stephanie.herriotts-smith@wolverhampton.gov.uk.

Closing Date: 2 November 2020

Interview Date: 11 November 2020

City of Wolverhampton Council are committed to representing Wolverhampton’s diverse community and therefore strongly encourage applications from all applicants meeting the essential criteria and from members of the Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities or those who are underrepresented in the profession. The council operates a guaranteed interview policy for disabled candidates, those who have previously been under our care and are over the age of 25 and veterans who have served in the military, where it is evidenced that the essential criteria of the post are met. Our application system is anonymous, this means recruitment interview panel members will not receive details of your name or date of birth unless you are invited to attend an interview. We are not able to hide personal information from any attachments that you upload so we request that you remove your name, date of birth and any personal information from any supporting documentation. The shortlisting panel will receive your candidate pack in full (including any attachments) showing your candidate number. If you are invited to attend an interview, panel members will be provided with your name.