Educational Psychologist

Permanent | Full Time or Part Time (minimum 0.6 FTE)

Salary: £51,825 - £62,635 rising to £67,779 with up to 3 SPA points

Previously awarded SPA points will be honoured.

Applications are welcome from qualified Educational Psychologists and trainee Educational Psychologists expecting to complete their training and begin employment in September 2027 or September 2028.

West Northamptonshire Educational Psychology Service is looking for creative and innovative psychologists to join our skilled, supportive and friendly team.

Our service operates across two locality teams and is highly regarded both locally and within the Council. We place a strong emphasis on values-based practice, staff wellbeing and distributed leadership, creating opportunities for staff at all levels to contribute to service developments and strategic projects.

We offer a wide range of support to schools and settings through our established traded offer and county-wide early intervention work. Our consultation-based approach promotes collaborative working and joint problem-solving with schools, families and professionals.

This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore subject to an enhanced DBS certificate. It is also a regulated activity and will be subject to a Children and Adults Barred List check. West Northamptonshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Our Benefits You can also see our full list of employee benefits on our careers site here: Why you should work for us | West Northamptonshire Council

What will you be doing? You will join a team of qualified Educational Psychologists, trainee Educational Psychologists and Assistant Psychologists who are committed to inclusion and improving outcomes for children and young people through the creative application of psychology.

Education West Northamptonshire Educational Psychology Service protects time for early intervention work. You will have your own patch of schools and opportunities to become involved in a range of established projects and initiatives, including:

• MeLSA
• SENCO Supervision
• ELSA
• Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) support
• Whole-school belonging initiatives
• Targeted pupil engagement projects
• County-wide training programmes

You will play an important role in helping schools, children, young people and families access support that improves outcomes, wellbeing and inclusion.

About The Service The Educational Psychology Service is committed to developing services in response to community needs and provides a broad programme of training, supervision and early intervention support.

Current Initiatives Include

• Northamptonshire Baby Room Project
• Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) programme
• Mediating Learning Support Approach (MeLSA)
• SENCO Supervision
• Assistant EP training offer
• Parent information sessions
• Targeted Mental Health in Schools (TAMHS)

Alongside our Experts at Hand development, we are currently progressing several strategic projects focused on:

• Whole-school belonging
• Support for young people at risk of disengagement
• Improving attendance through collaborative local partnerships

About you We would love to hear from you if you have:

• A passion for applying psychology to make a meaningful difference and improve life chances, particularly for vulnerable and marginalised children and young people
• A commitment to innovative and creative practice
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• The ability to work collaboratively with a wide range of professionals
• HCPC registration as an Educational Psychologist (or eligibility if currently in training)

What we offer

• Local pay scales that exceed Soulbury terms
• Up to 3 SPA points
• 28 days annual leave rising to 33 days after five years' service (FTE), plus bank holidays
• Payment of HCPC registration fees
• Comprehensive induction, mentoring and supervision
• Additional support for newly qualified EPs
• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Employee discounts and benefits
• Ongoing training and development opportunities

For more

About Us At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.

Our vision is ‘to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services. Hear from our Chief Executive, Martin Henry, about building a career at WNC. We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential.  We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partner

The following film was created by us to communicate our intentions - watch WNC colleagues explain what DEI means to us .

If you need additional support or reasonable adjustments during the application process, including needing the job description in another format or language, please email [email protected] for support.

Please note we reserve the right to close the advert early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications, so we recommend applying as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

West Northants Council, where careers thrive.