Maingrade Educational Psychologist

North Somerset Council; Weston-super-Mare; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

North Somerset Council is seeking a dedicated Educational Psychologist to deliver high-quality services across schools in North Somerset. This role combines direct practice with leadership and innovation, while supporting children and young people through psychological interventions. The post offers a flexible working environment and opportunities for professional development within a collaborative team committed to making a positive impact.

Benefits

Flexible working arrangements

Competitive salary and benefits

Local Government Pension

Opportunities for professional development

Supportive work environment

Comprehensive CPD offer

Qualifications

• Passionate about making an impact through psychology.
• Knowledge of approaches to assessment and intervention informed by current research.
• Understanding of supporting schools for greater inclusion of children with special educational needs.

Responsibilities

• Deliver psychological services to schools, focusing on Speech, Language, and Communication Needs.
• Contribute to preventative work and undertake statutory responsibilities.
• Provide leadership in key areas of need.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Interpersonal skills

Integrity

Accountability

Education

Nationally recognised postgraduate qualification in educational psychology

Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)

Job description

About Us

At North Somerset Educational Psychology Service, we are a small, close-knit team with a strong, supportive culture. Together, we developed our core values—compassion, trust, honesty, and respect—which shape everything we do. Team members consistently highlight our collaborative approach and positive team relationships as key strengths that support wellbeing and job satisfaction.

Each EP in our team leads on an area of interest, providing opportunities to develop specialist expertise and influence the direction of our service. EPs also enjoy a breadth of work including the development and delivery of training, ELSA and SENCO supervision, organisational research, traded work in schools and TEP supervision.

As an impact-driven team, we are committed to using psychology to create impactful, positive change for children and young people. Recent evaluations of our casework highlight this impact, showing, for example a 15.39% increase in students’ sense of belonging and a 13.6% reduction in concerns measured by the SDQ. By gathering this data, we support our EPs to see the difference they are making.

The Role

We are seeking a dedicated and forward-thinking Educational Psychologist to join us in delivering high-quality psychological services to schools across North Somerset. This is an exciting opportunity to combine direct practice with leadership, innovation, and strategic development.

Key Responsibilities:

• Applying psychology through the delivery of traded services to a cluster of schools.
• Take on a leadership role in a key area of need—possible initial focus on Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN), although we welcome proposals in other areas aligned to your expertise and interests.
• Contribute to preventative work, for example through the delivery of CPD and supervision in SENCO networks or involvement with the Virtual School.
• Undertake an allocation of statutory work.

This position is exempt under the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions) Order 1975 and is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check.

Valid driving licence and own transport, or be able to provide alternative, suitable method of travel is an essential condition for this role.

This position is currently based at our Town Hall offices in Weston-Super-Mare.

Work Style

At North Somerset Council, we offer a hybrid working environment based on four distinct work styles. Depending on the role and personal circumstances, you will fall into one of these categories. However, please note that during the induction period, it may be necessary to spend more time in the office to support your learning and development. We are flexible and open to discussions about your preferred working style, and if you wish to be in the office more frequently, this can be negotiated.

This role falls into the category of Flexible Worker which means you can expect to work in the following way:

• 2-3 days in the office or in schools.
• Works both from home and the office, depending on the task at hand.
• Training is provided to help balance work-life and manage time effectively, with an emphasis on communication for team touchpoints and planning in-office days for collaboration.

About You

We are looking for an individual who is passionate about making impact through psychology and who possesses the following skills and experience:

Essential Criteria:

• Nationally recognised postgraduate qualification in educational psychology.

• Qualified EPs registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) or trainee EPs in their final year of training who expect HCPC registration upon completion.

• Knowledge of a broad range of approaches to assessment and intervention, informed by current psychological research and practice.
• Understanding of and commitment to consultation as a framework for service delivery.
• Understanding of and commitment to supporting schools to achieve greater inclusion of children with special educational needs.
• Knowledge, understanding of and commitment to professional codes of ethics.
• Integrity - ability to be open and honest, to maintain high standards of personal behaviour and display strong moral principles.
• Accountability - willingness to take personal responsibility for your actions and decisions, and to understand the consequences of your behaviour.
• A demonstrable willingness to share information and work with other people, including the ability to listen, communicate with and understand others, taking account of other people’s points of view.
• Excellent inter-personal skills including ability to communicate well orally and in writing.
• Knowledge of the broad range of service users supported by the EPS, along with an understanding of the different needs across these groups.
• A demonstrable willingness to share information and work with other people.

Desirable Criteria:

• Proven track record in supporting children looked after.
• Knowledge and awareness of national, regional, and international developments in Educational Psychology and Education in general.
• Desire and ability to contribute to ongoing service development.
• Competent research skills, data analysis, identification of trends and patterns to support the development of teaching and learning and/or the assessment of individual need.
• Outstanding organisational skills, an ability to plan ahead, make priorities, manage workload, allocate time and cope with stress.
• Strong professional commitment and the drive, enthusiasm, and energy to motivate others and manage change effectively.

What We Offer

At North Somerset Council, we value our employees and provide a supportive and inclusive work environment. We offer:

• A base in Town Hall, Weston-Super-Mare with free council parking permit. North Somerset is commutable from Bristol and as a small Local Authority travel is usually straightforward.

• A comprehensive CPD offer, including half-termly whole-team CPD days.
• Competitive salary and benefits.
• Flexible working arrangements.
• Local Government Pension.
• Opportunities for professional development.
• Inclusive Staff groups including Carers, Disabled, LGBTQ+, REACH (Race, Ethnicity, and Cultural Heritage), and Young Staff Forums.
• Opportunity to purchase up to an additional 10 days annual leave each year.
• Dedicated in house Wellbeing Team.
• Salary sacrifice Cycle to Work and Electric Vehicle schemes.

Further details of our excellent rewards package can be found in our Benefits booklet.

How to Apply

If you share ourvision and valuesand are ready to make an impact to North Somerset, please select the apply online button below. If you are interested in this exciting opportunity, please submit your application by 11.59pm on the application closing date. When completing our online application form, please detail how you meet the essential criteria for the role.

Contact Information

For further information about the role, please contact Dr Dulcie Gray, Senior Educational Psychologist, at [e-mail].

Important Information

As a Disability Confident Leader, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job role.

Interview Date: 08/07/2025

Please note: We are currently only able to accept applications from candidates who have full permission to work in the UK and are unable to provide Sponsorship for this role.

Equal Opportunities

At North Somerset Council we want all our employees to feel valued and appreciated. We aim to ensure equality of opportunity and prevent discrimination irrespective of your sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion or belief, race, age, disability, including neurodiversity, if you are married or in a civil partnership or are pregnant or currently on maternity leave. We strive to create a workplace that reflects the communities we serve and where everyone feels empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We reserve the right to close this advertisement early or extend the closing date depending on the number of applications received.