Assistant Psychologist | East London NHS Foundation Trust

East London NHS Foundation Trust; City Of London; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading community health organization in London seeks an Assistant Psychologist to join a multidisciplinary team dedicated to autism assessments for children. The ideal candidate will support clinical assessments, liaise with schools, and engage in quality improvement projects. Opportunities for career development and a supportive work environment are provided. This role offers a chance to impact children's lives positively and promote neurodiversity. The position is located in Newham and requires teamwork and cultural competency.

Benefits

Excellent CPD opportunities

Supportive work environment

Positive work culture

Qualifications

• Experience or background in psychology or related fields.
• Ability to engage with children and families from diverse cultures.
• Strong communication skills for liaising with schools and clinical staff.

Responsibilities

• Support screening referrals and triaging in the pathway.
• Liaise with schools to gather clinical information.
• Conduct direct clinical assessments of children.

Skills

Teamwork

Organizational skills

Cultural competency

Job description

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an Assistant Psychologist to join the Specialist Children and Young People’s Services (SCYPS) in Newham. SCYPS comprises busy, forward thinking child health services with a positive work culture and excellent CPD opportunities. The post sits within the Child Development Service, in the CHAND (CHildren with Autism in Newham Diagnosis) team.

Responsibilities

• Supporting screening referrals and triaging in the pathway
• Liaising with schools to gather clinical information necessary for diagnostic assessments
• Reviewing referrals and supporting clinical decisions for allocations of appointments to the different disciplines
• Liaison with referral partner services
• Direct clinical role in assessments of children for autism and ADHD, including ADOS, Qbtest, and school observations
• Pre and post diagnostic supports alongside experienced multi-disciplinary clinicians
• Joint management of the database of referrals and streamlining of data processes
• An active role in audit and quality improvement projects
• Working with the CHATA research project (GOSH, ICH) on creating a virtual autism assessment tool being piloted in the NHS; the Assistant Psychologist role bridges clinical research and practice

SCYPS will provide an interesting and supportive work environment, with good training and supervision, making this role an ideal opportunity for an Assistant Psychologist wanting to develop in their career.

Our mission is to make a positive difference to people’s lives by improving quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive. We are looking for people who demonstrate these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and partner organisations.

You will join an enthusiastic multidisciplinary team of Doctors, Nurses, Psychologists and Speech Therapists as part of the CHAND service. CHAND is a branch of the child development service in the SCYPS within East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT), recognised as a centre of excellence for innovation and improvement. Quality improvement is at the heart of service delivery to ensure children and families achieve the best outcomes.

East London NHS Foundation Trust provides the bulk of community services for children and young people within SCYPS, a multidisciplinary team that works across the Child Development Service, Children’s Therapy Service, Community Children’s Nursing Service, Community Sickle Cell and Thalassemia Service and Looked After Children team.

The clinician will join an experienced multi-disciplinary team offering diagnostic and support services to children and young people with autism and ADHD. The post holder will contribute, under supervision, to the provision of assistant psychology services for autism diagnostic assessments in Newham. The post holder will engage in referral screening, summarising case files, liaising with schools and referrers, completing screening questionnaires, conducting school observations and joining clinic appointments. The post holder will contribute to ADOS, ADHD and adaptive functioning assessments, with opportunities for joint working with Newham CAMHS.

We welcome applicants who work well in teams, are highly organised and have competencies in working with families from diverse cultures and ethnicities.

Requirements

This role is to provide an Assistant Psychology service to the multidisciplinary autism assessment pathway for children and young people in Newham. The CHAND team is an integral clinical pathway within the Child Development Service of SCYPS. The service provides screening, assessment, and pre/post diagnostic support for children referred for neurodiversity assessment under the age of 13 in Newham.

CHAND is the autism diagnostic service for children in Newham, a newly established multidisciplinary service committed to advocacy for neurodiversity, joint-working, innovation, and embracing complexity. The service has received investment with increased staffing and reduced waiting lists. Newham has a high level of autism in primary schools; we receive around 800 referrals per year and see 80–110 children per month.

The Urdu or Bengali name CHAND, meaning moon, reflects the borough’s ethnic diversity. The service operates under a neuroposivity approach with the tag line “Every Child Deserves to Shine.”

The role of the post will be varied including: supporting screening referrals and triaging; liaising with schools to gather clinical information; reviewing referrals and allocating appointments; liaison with referral partner services; direct clinical work in autism/ADHD assessments; pre/post diagnostic supports; data management; and involvement in audit and quality improvement projects.

This advert closes on Sunday 14 Sep 2025.