Principal Educational Psychologist - REQ001013

Job title: Principal Educational Psychologist

Salary: £68,033 - £74,632

Hours: 37

Contract: Permanent

Location: Leeds

As our Principal Educational Psychologist, you are motivated by your belief that every child and young person should have the support they need to unlock their full potential as they learn and grow.

It’s about more than excellent service delivery in the here and now, you’ll seize the opportunity to realise your vision for an educational psychology service that’s fit for the future. You will keep children and young people central to your thinking, engaging them and their families throughout so they truly have a say in their lives and learning.

This is an exciting opportunity to make a real difference to learning inclusion for thousands of children in a major city. You will hold a leadership position in a large local authority with well-established strategic links to health and care partners and close working relationships with schools and other education settings.

Educational psychology is central to our learning inclusion service. We are part of Leeds City Council’s children’s services, rated outstanding by Ofsted at the last inspection. Our culture of restorative practice and a family valued model is strongly embedded, guiding our relentless focus on the goals set out in the Leeds Children and Young People's Plan 2023-2028.

We are committed to the ambition of Child Friendly Leeds. We want Leeds to be a city where all children are safe, happy and healthy, do well at school, fulfil their potential and grow up to be active citizens with voice and influence.

Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.

About you

As our Principal Educational Psychologist you will hold a degree in psychology (with eligibility for graduate membership of the British Psychological Society) and a postgraduate qualification in Educational Psychology through either:

Qualified Teacher Status (with minimum of 2 years’ teaching experience) and MSc training in Educational Psychology; or
minimum of 2 years’ experience of working with children and young people and 3-year doctorate training in Educational Psychology.

Candidates must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council.

You will also bring to the role:

substantial management experience in an educational psychology service, with a track record of effectively translating policy into evident service delivery and outcomes
effective people management and leadership skills, supporting individuals and teams to promote a ‘can do’ attitude and culture of continuous improvement
a collaborative approach with the ability to forge successful partnerships, influence, negotiate and establish credibility for the service in a multi-agency environment
in-depth understanding of regulation, legislation and policy, and the local and national issues that impact service strategy and delivery
commitment to children and young people’s voice and influence, actively involving them and their families in decision making and working together towards agreed outcomes
commitment to using supervision, mentoring and coaching to develop your own practice and that of colleagues

About the role

As our Principal Educational Psychologist, you will lead and manage Leeds Educational Psychology Team. We are a large, dynamic and creative team of psychologists with a range of experience and interests, who work with colleagues and partners across the city.

Within this system-wide context, we collaborate on exciting initiatives such as our trauma-informed approach to transform the response for young people affected by adverse experiences, and ongoing work supporting settings to further meet the needs of young people with neurodiversity. We work closely with the Virtual School, Youth Justice Service and Area Inclusion Partnerships to support children with social, emotional and mental health needs and reduce exclusions.

We place great emphasis on developing the educational psychologists of the future, with assistant EPs and trainee EPs integral to the team. Our strong links with universities support doctoral training and enhance research and development opportunities for the whole team.

Initially you’ll direct your leadership expertise to working alongside an established group of Senior Educational Psychologists to achieve the goals set out in the team plan. Your role will involve augmenting an existing strong team through focused recruitment and retention strategies.

What we offer you

We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:

a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements

a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities
a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further

How to apply

Please complete the online application form. Read our guidance for further advice. Please check your information carefully and ensure you complete all sections before submitting your application.

If you have any queries or would like an informal chat about the role please contact Dan Barton, Deputy Director of Learning. Call 07907 401392 or email daniel.barton@leeds.gov.uk.

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be carried out on preferred candidates. Read our recruitment of ex-offenders policy.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.

We promote diversity and want a workforce that reflects the population of Leeds. Leeds City Council is recognised in Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index 2024. We are also an Age-friendly Employer, a Mindful Employer and a Disability Confident Leader.

All new Leeds City Council appointments are made subject to the satisfactory completion of a six-month probationary period.

This role is based in the UK. Employment is conditional on confirmation of the right to work in the UK - either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa. If you do not have the right to work in the UK and the role does not meet eligibility for sponsorship, please consider carefully whether you meet the eligibility to apply.

Job Description

Job purpose

To lead, manage and deliver educational psychology services to support schools, families, children and young people and other professionals, which are effective, timely and meet expectations and agreed service standards.

Working as part of the management team you will model values and behaviours to help us to achieve our ambition to become the best city council in the country, and our partnership aspiration to become the first child friendly city.

You will support the active involvement of children and young people and families in how Children’s Services are delivered and how they contribute to the ambitions of the Council as set out in the City Plan for Leeds, ensuring that children and young people have a voice and their views are heard.

Responsibilities

Strategic leadership and management of the Educational Psychology Team including professional supervision to deliver services in line with Council & Directorate priorities.
Delivery of own core statutory responsibilities and work with and support your colleagues in delivering our collective responsibility to keep all children safe.
Develop best practice within Learning Inclusion to promote high quality support and provision for children and young people with SEND.
Ensure the quality and standards of services provided comply with the codes of professional ethics and competencies of the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and the British Psychological Society.
Develop systems and protocols incorporating robust quality assurance, regarding LEA and statutory duties and responsibilities, to ensure compliance, including adherence to statutory timescales.
Lead on the development of policy related to national and local guidance of specific areas of SEN and in the development of policy related to SEN processes and ensure that the City Council’s SEND and inclusion strategies, policies and procedures are consistently applied and service delivery is of a high quality.
Provide effective translation of strategy into operational performance within Inclusion services.
Actively support service delivery across each of the areas of the city, ensuring a cohesive, high quality and co-ordinated integrated intervention, assessment and support process for children with SEND.
Co-ordinate and maintain the Educational Psychology service’s response to critical incidents.
Ensure up to date knowledge and compliance with legislation and provide or arrange appropriate representation at SEND tribunals and other court hearings to defend the Council's decisions against challenge.
Engage in joint development, implementation and better outcomes of the team/service plans in line with professional standards and following feedback from external inspections, reviews and assessments.
To create a climate of continuous improvement.
Build strong and dynamic relationships, networks and trust with individuals and partners to facilitate a multi –agency approach, engaging with partners to provide targeted services centred on the needs of children and young people throughout the city, especially those who are most vulnerable.
Lead and manage all aspects of people management within the service, providing direction, support, and clear objectives to immediate line reports. Ensure effective and timely communication, promoting high performance, and shared accountabilities.
Champion the Leeds aspiration and ambition to become a child friendly city by developing and sustaining a culture that consistently meets the needs of and listens to children, families, and staff to meet the business needs of the directorate and the needs of children and young people.
Deputise for the Chief Officer and represent on all matters relating to the leadership, management and development of the service at a city, regional, and national level.
Implement regular formal quality assurance, audit and performance management and reporting through the use of effective management information systems and ensure this meets statutory requirements.
Positively and effectively shape and deliver the vision and goals of the Children’s and Young People’s Plan as they affect the service.
Support effective partnership arrangements at local and city wide level to bring about change and improvement in families to keep children safe.
To lead and manage effective multi-agency relationships which underpin safe and effective services for children in Leeds.
Be responsible and accountable for all financial resources within the service area ensuring value for money and working within financial regulations.
Ensure that all staff are registered where required with the appropriate professional registration body, receive continuous professional development and practice safely.
Responsible for driving a programme that delivers the Council’s ambitions, in terms of time, budget, quality, quantity and that fits with the Council’s wider strategic goals and values.
Manage, promote and deliver positive solutions to achieving diversity and inclusion in all aspects of service delivery, focussing on equality of outcome.
In line with the Budget Management Accountability Framework be accountable for all financial resources within the service area ensuring value for money and working within financial regulations.
The duties outlined are not meant as an exhaustive list and will also comprise any other duties within the spirit of the post commensurate to the grade.

Qualifications Degree in psychology (with eligibility for graduate membership for the British Psychological Society) and a postgraduate qualification in Educational Psychology through either:

MSc training in Educational Psychology

minimum of 2 years’ experience of working with children and young people and 3 year doctorate training in Educational Psychology.

Working Context -Post holders will work flexibly at home and at various locations in the city and region. All colleagues comply with our hybrid working principles and spend regular time in the workplace to support service delivery, meeting the needs of the team and the requirements of their role.â€¯ Working days are mainly Monday to Friday, however the post holder will be expected to work outside normal working hours, including attendance at evening/weekend meetings or events, if required to meet the needs of the service.

Essential requirements Candidates will only be shortlisted for interview if they can demonstrate that they meet all the essential criteria for the post, as follows:

Significant management experience within the relevant children’s services environment (i.e. schools, colleges, or local authority) with specific responsibility for translating policy via service delivery and outcomes, to shape and influence the delivery of strategic priorities at a City, Directorate and Service level ensuring people issues are kept at the forefront.
Substantial experience in building credible and effective collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
Experience of working within a multi-agency environment, forging and driving successful partnerships and implementing and delivering multi-agency strategies.
Ability to find and implement creative and innovative solutions to complex managerial problems.
Experience of leading, managing, supporting and developing individuals and teams and promoting a ‘can do’ attitude within an environment of continuous improvement and outcomes for children and young people.
Experience of effective people management and financial accountability within recognised rules and procedures and the context of delivering successful outcomes for service users.
Experience of health & safety and risk management to ensure the wellbeing and safety of staff and service users.
Knowledge of current local and national issues impacting upon the service and can demonstrate a clear linkage with the needs of children and children and young people across the city.
Demonstrate an ability to make difficult decisions, to be held accountable, and be comfortable managing targets and outputs.
Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence, negotiate and establish credibility for the service, enhance its reputation, and to form positive relationships.
Demonstrate an understanding of the Child Friendly City concept and the voice and influence of children and young people to underpin this
Knowledge and understanding of evidence based approaches within the context of services to children, young people and families
Understanding / experience of a range of improvement methodologies to drive service improvement.
Able to demonstrate examples of managing services, implementing change and achieving quality transformational outcomes.
Evidence of significant experience and commitment in relation to the engagement of relevant citizens, customers and stakeholders in decision making processes.
Significant experience of developing productive working relationships with Council Members, trade unions and Corporate Leadership Team which commands respect trust and confidence.
Demonstrate knowledge of applicable legislation, regulations, policies, inspections and performance information and relevant strategic functions eg health, safety and security, confidentiality and data protection.
Detailed knowledge and understanding of economic strategy and policy, understanding of local government political systems and experience of working on politically sensitive issues.

Behavioural & other characteristics required

Committed to continuous improvement in all areas and work towards delivering the Best City Ambition of Health & Wellbeing, Inclusive Growth and Zero Carbon
Understand and embrace Leeds City Council Values and Behaviours and codes of conduct.
Be aware of promote and comply with Leeds City Council policies and procedures e.g., health, safety and security, confidentiality, and data protection.
Be aware of and support difference ensuring equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding, and promoting the behaviours, values and standards of Leeds City Council.
Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimisation, and any form of abuse, ensuring compliance with relevant policies and procedures.
Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council equality and diversity policies.
Carry out all duties having regard to an employee’s responsibility under Health and Safety Policies.

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