Principal Educational Psychologist

Birmingham City Council; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Holiday entitlement

Wellbeing support

Discount schemes

Job summary

Birmingham City Council is recruiting three full-time Specialist Teachers to join the Communication and Autism Team (CAT). The post supports children and young people aged 3-25 with SEND across mainstream, post-16, and resource bases.

You will deliver Neuroinclusive Education and advise settings to embed autism practices. We expect outstanding professionals with Qualified Teacher Status and specialist SEN/autism expertise.

Qualifications

• QTS is required and evidence of qualified teaching status in England.
• Specialist SEN/autism expertise with a track record in supporting autism/communication needs.

Responsibilities

• Raise achievement and promote inclusion for pupils with autism and social communication difficulties.
• Collaborate with schools to improve access to learning and whole-school practice.

Skills

SEN/autism expertise

Qualified Teacher Status

School partnership

Staff training

Education

QTS

Job description

Permanent Teacher's Pay & Conditions - Min SEN Point, with Max available for the appropriate experience & qualification(s) Working 32.5 hours per week Required from January 2027 we are looking to appoint 3 full time outstanding and experienced Specialist Teacher to join the Communication and Autism Team (CAT). Join Birmingham's SEND Reform Journey SEND in Birmingham is on an ambitious and improving journey. As recognised by inspectors during the June 2025 Ofsted/CQC inspection, "in recent years, the experiences of children and young people with SEND in Birmingham have started to improve." We are now building on that progress through the Birmingham SEND Reforms - working as one Local Area Partnership across Education, Health and Social Care, alongside parent carers, children and young people. This is an exciting moment to join us. We are launching a partnership-wide recruitment campaign to strengthen our specialist teams, creating additional roles as part of a significant investment programme that reflects the scale of our ambition and our commitment to building a new SEND system for Birmingham by 2030. At the heart of this work is our new Experts at Hand model, which will operate across our districts and support schools to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND through a strong graduated approach. We are looking for talented, committed and values-driven people who want to make a real difference and be part of multi-disciplinary teams delivering lasting change for Birmingham's children, young people and families. Communication and Autism Team (CAT) This exciting opportunity is to join a well-established team supporting social communication and interaction differences and autistic children and young people between the ages of 3-25 in mainstream, post 16, and resource base provision. CAT are an educational service who advise staff on how to build their autism knowledge and work strategically with settings to embed good autism practice. CAT work with settings to build inclusive and enabling practices around autism, social communication and interaction needs to ensure children and young people have full access to their educational experience. We work with children and young people in a variety of ways to inform and shape planning through the modelling of practical approaches that settings can adopt to support the young person. CAT are the West Midlands Neuroinclusive Education Network (NEN) training partner and, as such, delivering training is an essential part of the role. We work closely with families and partner agencies to support autistic children and young people to achieve their potential in schools and colleges, both academically and socially, ensuring their opportunities are as broad as possible on transition to adulthood. We are committed to understanding autism as difference rather than deficit. Interviews for this post will take place in person. Shortlisted candidates will be provided with further information.

• Raise achievement and promote inclusion for pupils with autism and significant social communication difficulties.
• Work in partnership with schools to improve access to learning and support whole-school practice.
• Support families through advice, workshops, signposting and home visits where appropriate.
• Deliver specialist training including Neuroinclusive Education Trust (NeN) programmes and additional CPD for schools and services.
• Plan and prepare targeted support for pupils, schools and parents based on CAT levels and School Partnership Plans.
• Assess and report on pupil development, progress and attainment using a range of assessment tools.
• Model specialist teaching and provide 1:1 pupil support where appropriate.
• Contribute to statutory processes including written input and attendance at TAC/YP meetings, transfer reviews and annual reviews.
• Provide advice on teaching methods, resources, differentiation and support systems for autism and communication needs.
• Support and challenge schools to improve outcomes and strengthen SEN practice.
• Maintain accurate records, manage your own register of CYP and submit required data through dashboards.
• Develop resources and contribute to themed work and service development.
• Provide guidance to new staff and contribute to team CPD through best-practice workshops.
• Work with external partners including delivering support outside the LA through Service Level Agreements.
• Stay updated with current developments in autism practice, AET competencies and wider educational research.
• Promote safeguarding, Recent, relevant training in current educational practice for children with autism and communication difficulties.
• Active commitment to professional development, including identifying and meeting own learning needs.
• Specialist autism or communication qualifications (e.g., autism-specific training, resource-base experience, AET competencies).
• Evidence of specialist SEN/autism expertise such as leading in a resource base, autism-specific setting, LA working groups, secondments, or peer-to-peer support across schools.

Qualified Teacher Status

Working for Birmingham City Council is more than just a job; it's about making life better for the 1 million plus people who live and work in the city., The Council is a fantastic place to work. You will find an organisation that is both challenging and supportive; with a leadership impatiently adventurous in its pursuit of excellence.

Birmingham City Council is an accredited Disability Confident Leader employer, and we are committed to employing, retaining and developing all of our people.

We want to ensure your recruitment journey with us is a positive and equitable one, so please let us know if there are any reasonable adjustments, additional support, accessibility needs, or if there is any way in which we can support you through your application.

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be undertaken.

Proof of Right to work in the UK will be required for all applicants in accordance with UK Home Office requirements, before any employment offer can be confirmed.

• A Prosperous Birmingham: through a focus on inclusive economic growth, tackling unemployment, attracting inward investment, and maximising the benefits of the Commonwealth Games.
• An Inclusive Birmingham: through a focus on tackling poverty and inequality, empowering citizens, promoting diversity and civic pride, and supporting and enabling all children and young people to thrive.
• A Safe Birmingham: through a focus on making the city safer, safeguarding vulnerable citizens, increasing affordable housing, and tackling homelessness.
• A Healthy Birmingham: through a focus on tackling health inequalities, encouraging physical activity and healthy living, supporting mental health, and improving outcomes for adults with disabilities and older people.
• A Green Birmingham: through a focus on street cleanliness, improving air quality, continuing the route to net zero, and becoming a city of nature.

We see the Council's role as providing strategic leadership - that's being able to visualise a new future for the city and equipping others to share our vision. We want to ensure the provision of services for all, so we can support those least able to support themselves by working with partners and putting citizens and neighbourhoods at the heart of our decision-making. We are always looking for people who put the customer at the centre of their approach, with a commitment to excellence to help us achieve our vision. We will support you to develop and thrive in your role, building a pathway for long-term success, with lots of development opportunities, such as apprenticeships.

What we offer in return…

• Membership of Teacher Pension Scheme
• Holiday Entitlement in line with Statutory Teacher's Pay and Conditions
• My Rewards Scheme - access to over 800 brands providing discounts and savings
• Health and wellbeing support - independent and confidential employee assistance and counselling

In return, we offer you excellent terms and conditions, generous annual leave, a great pension scheme, well-being support, annual travel passes and discounts at a number of city centre establishments.