West Berkshire Council - Principal Educational Psychologist

Summary 
As Principal Educational Psychologist you will operationally and strategically lead a growing local authority Educational Psychology Service which is passionate about making a difference in the lives of children and young people and their families. 

This is an exciting opportunity to shape the future direction of our Educational Psychology Service, revolutionising how we drive inclusion and support for all students, applying psychology across a range of systems to ensure early intervention and positive outcomes for children and young people. You will collaborate closely and pro-actively with schools and communities, working together to create and nurture positive and enriching learning environments for vulnerable learners.

You will be instrumental in implementing research based, strategic approaches that empower educators and support diverse learning needs, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to thrive academically, emotionally and socially.

Within this role you will:

• Ensure that the Educational Psychology Service is delivered efficiently and effectively across the council.
• Promote and coordinate the Local Authority’s Inclusion agenda and develop the Service’s role as a key agency within the Children’s Services Directorate and wider council.
• Contribute strategically to the promotion of positive mental health and wellbeing, including liaison with schools, Public Health and the ICB.
• Work in collaboration with children, young people, their families, education providers and other stakeholders to maximize outcomes for children and young people at a strategic and operational level across the local area.
• Lead in the monitoring and evaluation of service delivery and the quality assurance of the service, to ensure that the services are effective, timely and accessible.
• Strategically lead on alternative provision and pupil referral units.
• Ensure quality of professional practice through the provision of regular and varied opportunities for staff training support and reflective professional supervision.
• Consult with service users to evaluate the effectiveness of service delivery and related activities and adapt systems and procedures in the light of evidence and feedback 

The ideal candidate would have the following qualifications, skills and attributes

• Professional post-graduate qualification in Educational Psychology
• HCPC registration as practitioner psychologist
• Management experience in an educational psychology service, with a track record of efficiently translating policy into service delivery and outcomes
• Ability to lead champion new initiatives in support of strategic goals, encourage others to change and negotiate and implement change successfully.
• Ability to provide teams with a clear sense of vision and direction, generating a commitment to securing continuous improvement.
• Ability to make decisions based on complex information obtained from a range of sources.
• Ability to demonstrate a collaborative approach and forge successful partnerships, influence, negotiate and establish credibility for the service in a multi-agency environment.
• Commitment to children and young people’s voice and influence, actively involving them and their families in decision making and working together toward agreed outcomes.
• Commitment to using supervision, mentoring and coaching to develop your practice and that of colleagues.

This role has the option for offering less hours than advertised, providing you meet the requirements of the role and service as determined by the recruiting manager.

Our offer to you
A competitive salary alongside a range of benefits including:

• We offer flexible working wherever possible between the hours of 07.00-19.00
• We offer hybrid working wherever possible working 40% in the office
• Access to a wide range of training and development opportunities
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Death in service benefit
• Family friendly policies
• Payment of professional registration fees
• A range of local discounts
• Wellbeing Programme including Employee Assistance Programme and employee benefits
• Ongoing training and development opportunities.
• You will also be entitled to a generous annual leave entitlement starting at 27 days per annum (plus public holidays) Rising by an additional 5 days after 5 years’ service. 

All roles will be subject to an annual banding pay review until the top of the pay grade is reached (following successfully passing probation) 

All roles will be eligible for the annual national pay award. 

About us
West Berkshire council is a forward thinking and ambitious council. We have a positive attitude to our work and focus on excellent teamwork to deliver award winning services for our residents and businesses.

We employ over 1,500 members of staff corporately, plus additional members of staff working across our local schools and education settings. We offer a wide array of opportunities for training and development and varied career progression opportunities. 

Our staff support the delivery of a wide range of services on behalf of the Council. Ranging from garden waste collection, planning and roadworks to caring for those in our communities. Everything we do is focused on our priority for improvement and delivering our values of fairness, integrity and being customer focused. 

If you are interested in working with us and want to know more, do not hesitate to contact Neil Goddard, Service Direction (Education) at neil.goddard1@westberks.gov.uk and Vanessa Grizzle (Interim Principal Educational Psychologist and SEMH Service Manager) at vanessa.grizzle1@westberks.gov.uk to arrange a discussion.

West Berkshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all its staff and volunteers to share these values. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment. Successful candidates will be offered employment subject to Disclosure and Barring Service checks along with other relevant employment checks.

If you have any queries, please email the Talent team on recruitment@westberks.gov.uk.