Educational Psychologist
Office Base: County Hall, Morpeth
Soulbury A Scale for Educational Psychologists, Points 3 - 8 (+ up to 3 SPAs)
Full Time (37 hours) or part time (minimum 0.6), permanent post. Essential car user status agreed and HCPC fees paid at renewal.
We welcome applications from experienced EPs and those completing their doctoral studies.
We also employ Associate Educational Psychologists who support the team during periods of high demand across the local authority, so please also contact us if you are looking for casual work.
Working for Northumberland Psychological Services provides an opportunity to be part of a dynamic and passionate team who prioritise the application of psychology in all aspects of their practice.
We currently operate as a traded service (offering SLAs to schools and other partners such as children's homes and local universities), alongside our statutory work. We also have time protected for early intervention and prevention CORE work. We make a significant contribution to improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND and also to the wider strategic work of the council through involvement in strategic groups.
The team shares a commitment to developing our offer of preventative, early intervention and therapeutic approaches and has a shared interest in consultation, Dynamic Assessment, ACT, VIG, Narrative Approaches, ELSA / MELSA training and supervision and developing research projects. All EPs are expected to have / develop an area of interest and share this with the team. We have a dedicated CPD budget to enable team based training and attendance at external training which is encouraged.
We have close relationships with other education support services and health teams. We seek opportunities for joint working, for example as part of the Mental Health Support Teams and joint training delivery with the primary mental health work team. We aare supported in all our work by Assistant Educational Psychologists and host placements from the Newcastle University training course.
We encourage flexible and agile working, including a helpful flexible work scheme. We work ‘paperlessly' and have excellent ICT (laptop, tablet and smartphone), and fantastic administrative support (dedicated admin team). We provide comprehensive induction and supervision, and most importantly skilled and supportive colleagues. Our office base has free parking and it is generally easy to find places to park at our schools.
Northumberland offers a unique work environment being a large diverse county offering opportunities for rural and urban work, and beautiful beaches! We have work in the far north of Northumberland which may be attractive to colleagues living in Scotland.
You will be able to demonstrate that you are self-motivated, well organised and an innovative and committed professional, with a good understanding of the opportunities for educational psychology. You will have a strong commitment to ethical trading and working within a commissioned environment whilst also being able to balance the demands of SLA and statutory work.
Colleagues are encouraged to work with autonomy with their strengths, for example, developing casework into training opportunities in order to upskill many school staff and therefore reach a wider audience benefitting more children and young people.
At Northumberland County Council, we value having a diverse workforce. We therefore welcome, develop and promote people from all sections of the community. A relocation package may be available for candidates that meet the required eligibility criteria in line with the Council policy. You must be registered with the HCPC as an Educational Psychologist (or currently training). Please also note that this role is subject to an Enhanced DBS Check.
We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria. If you wish to notify us of your eligibility for this scheme, please email
hrrecruitment@northumberland.gov.uk with your name and the job title you have applied for and one of the recruitment team will ensure this is factored in the shortlisting process and kept anonymous. If you have a disability and would prefer to apply in a different format or would like us to make reasonable adjustments to enable you to attend an interview, please also let the team know.
For further information or an informal conversation about the post and working in Northumberland please contact Paula Hesford, Katinka Bryan (Service Managers) or Helen Tamworth (Senior EP) on 01670 624813 or
psychservices@northumberland.gov.uk