Milton Keynes Council - Educational Psychologists

Bring your commitment and enthusiasm to an Educational Psychology Service that values innovation and inclusion. 

Here in Milton Keynes Educational Psychology Service, we are looking for two creative and motivated Educational Psychologists to join our friendly team, where diverse psychological approaches and professional interests are valued. 

We work as part of a wider Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) service to support children and young people, educational settings and families across the city. We proactively collaborate with parents, carers and SEND colleagues through co-production planning meetings for every new EHCP. 

We are committed to early intervention and preventative working, including a focus on training and project work. Current initiatives include school-capacity building work related to emotional based school avoidance, supporting literacy difficulties and trauma informed approaches.  In collaboration with The Virtual School, we are involved in a Making Connections project across a number of schools to promote attachment awareness and trauma informed approaches.

We’re proud to offer a dedicated psychological consultation service for schools and settings which is ‘free at the point of access’ and helps promote timely support and intervention for children and young people as part of the graduated response. Our aim is to ensure that psychology is accessible for schools and settings, families, and children and young people across Milton Keynes. This includes support for parents and carers through webinars and workshops. 

We contribute to an innovative multiagency forum (EYCAN) responsible for coordinating and collaborating on timely assessment and intervention approaches to support early years children with the most complex needs. 

We know how important a work life balance is, which is why colleagues can generally choose whether to be site-based or home-based, depending on the needs of the role and their own preference. We also use a clear allocation system for statutory work to ensure workloads are manageable and offer a range and breadth of psychologically informed work. 

As an Educational Psychologist at Milton Keynes City Council, you’ll receive a thorough induction, support from colleagues and for newly qualified Educational Psychologists, extra supervision and a mentor to help you settle in. 

Milton Keynes features on The Sunday Times “best places to live” 2024, with fantastic affordable housing, green spaces, leisure activities, shopping and transport links. Milton Keynes City Council reflects the modernity of its city status and has an easily accessible, bright and welcoming office space. With opportunities to work from home and in the office as well as a generous holiday entitlement, you can experience a fulfilling job with great work life balance. 

Role Responsibilities 

• Contribute to delivering positive outcomes for children and young people through creative application of psychology. This includes casework, consultation, projects and wider service initiatives. 
• Provide psychological advice to staff within Children’s Services and other agencies, including working closely with colleagues in other SEND teams. 
• Provide a psychological perspective for SEND processes to assist in decision making and efficient use of resources. 
• Contribute to initiatives supported by evidence-based practice. 

Essential Requirements 
We are looking for candidates with the following: 

• A doctorate or post-graduate qualification in educational psychology recognised by the British Psychological Society. 
• Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council as a Practitioner Psychologist. 
• An understanding of the role of a Local Authority Educational Psychologist and the context and legal frameworks within which they work. 

We welcome applications from qualified Educational Psychologists, or Trainee Educational Psychologists who are in Year 2 or 3 of training. Both full and part-time applicants will be considered. 

For an informal chat about the role, please contact Jane Marriott (Interim Principal Educational Psychologist), Hayley Prickett (Senior Leadership Educational Psychologist) or Rachel Caldwell (Senior Leadership Educational Psychologist) on 01908252116, or at education.psychology@milton-keynes.gov.uk. 

Package Description 
​We are really proud of the benefits we are able to offer our staff here at Milton Keynes City Council, including:- 

• Local Government Pension Scheme, excellent pension scheme widely regarded as one of the best available. 
• 28 days annual leave per year in addition to statutory and public holidays, rising to 32 days after 5 years. 
• Holiday Purchase Scheme. 
• Our Professional Development Centre provides access to courses such as in-house management development programmes endorsed by the Institute of Leadership, coaching and mentoring and access to our Smarter Learning portal 
• Cycle to Work Scheme. 
• Health Cashplan. 
• MK Advantage benefits package – a range of savings on a wide range of retail, leisure and entertainment products and services such as Pizza Express, M&S, B&Q, John Lewis and Arriva Travel. 
• Blue Light Card - Employees working within Social Care can qualify for a range of discounts from national retailers to local businesses in a wide range of categories including holidays, cars, days out, fashion, gifts, insurance, phones and much more! 
• SmartGo – Aimed at encouraging low-carbon transport and healthy lifestyle with discounted travel e.g. Halfords, Arriva, Europcar, National Railcards and Stagecoach. 
• Homebuy Scheme (for eligible roles). 
• Smarter working which provides the opportunity to work from various locations including from home for a proportion of your role (subject to business needs). 
• A full range of family friendly policies including enhanced Maternity, Adoption and Paternity entitlements 
• Childcare Subsidy. 

An enhanced DBS check is required for this post.