Principal Educational Psychologist

Staffordshire County Council; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Staffordshire County Council seeks a senior Educational Psychologist to provide authoritative psychological leadership and expert technical advice for SEND duties. You will lead the Educational Psychology Service, ensuring evidence-informed, inclusive and high-quality practice focused on improving outcomes for children and families.

The role requires substantial post-qualification experience as a Senior/Principal Educational Psychologist, HCPC registration, and Chartered status.

Qualifications

• Postgraduate qualification in professional educational psychology with HCPC registration and Chartered Psychologist status.
• Substantial post-qualification experience as a Senior or Principal Educational Psychologist.
• Strong knowledge of statutory SEND duties and evidence-informed psychological practice.
• Experience in supervision, service development, partnership working and change leadership.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic, professional and operational leadership for Staffordshire Educational Psychology Service.
• Ensure a high-quality educational psychology offer that supports statutory SEND functions.
• Lead, motivate and develop senior colleagues and specialist teams across the partnership.
• Champion the voice and needs of children and young people with SEND across the system.
• Use data to inform service planning, improvement and decision-making.
• Build partnerships with schools, health, social care and regional networks.
• Contribute to SEND reform and service redesign.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Staff development

Partnership working

Change leadership

Supervision

Education

Postgraduate qualification in Educational Psychology

HCPC registration

Chartered psychologist status

Job description

This is a significant senior leadership role within Staffordshire's SEND and inclusion system. Reporting to the Head of SEND, you will provide authoritative psychological leadership and expert technical advice to support the Council's statutory responsibilities for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. You will lead and develop Staffordshire Educational Psychology Service, ensuring that practice is evidence-informed, inclusive, timely, high quality and firmly focused on improving outcomes for children, young people and families. You will shape the future direction of the service, leading workforce planning, professional standards, supervision, continuing professional development and quality assurance. As a senior psychological leader, you will represent educational psychology within wider SEND governance, reform and partnership arrangements, helping to strengthen inclusive practice across schools, settings, services and partner agencies.,

• Providing strategic, professional and operational leadership for a large Educational Psychology Service.
• Ensuring the Council has a robust, high-quality educational psychology offer that supports statutory SEND functions and contributes to early, effective intervention.
• Leading, motivating and developing senior colleagues and specialist teams across the partnership, promoting a culture of reflective, ethical and psychologically informed practice.
• Championing the voice, needs and aspirations of children and young people with SEND, offering both support and constructive challenge across the system.
• Using performance, quality assurance, workforce and budget information to inform service planning, improvement and decision-making.
• Building strong partnerships with schools, settings, families, health, social care, commissioned providers and regional and national professional networks.
• Contributing to SEND and Inclusion reform, inspection readiness, service redesign and wider council priorities relating to inclusion and improved outcomes
• A recognised postgraduate qualification in professional educational psychology, HCPC registration and chartered psychologist status, or eligibility for chartered status with the British Psychological Society.
• You will bring substantial post-qualification experience as a Senior or Principal Educational Psychologist, strong knowledge of statutory SEND duties and evidence-informed psychological practice.
• A successful track record of supervision, service development, partnership working and change leadership.
• You will also be able to travel across Staffordshire and occasionally beyond the county as required.

The core of who we are as an organisation. Just like we all have personal values that shape our thoughts and behaviour, organisational values drive how we think and act collectively.

Our values

Our values were created and shaped by colleague feedback and national best practice and they sit at the heart of People Strategy:

We have a real sense of community spirit that brings our people together. This feeling of belonging means we are all connected to what we do and take pride in the difference we make every day for Staffordshire people. We are ambitious and our sights are set firmly on a better future. We look forward and race ahead - that goes for your career too.

Our benefits

• We recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do.
• We aim to create a supportive working environment where employees can achieve their full potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.
• In addition to your salary, as a member of staff, you will have access to Our rewards and benefits - Careers at Staffordshire