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Our benefits
You can also see our full list of employee benefits on our careers site here: Why you should work for us | West Northamptonshire Council
About the role
We are seeking applications for our assistant educational psychologist post from creative and innovative applicants who hold a good degree in psychology and can demonstrate successful experience of working with children and young people, preferably within an educational setting. This role provides opportunity to gain valuable experience of educational psychology practice and supports professional development. Our assistant EPs contribute to improve outcomes for children, young people and their families.
In West Northamptonshire assistants support the educational psychologists in the delivery of core and traded services. This will include early intervention work in schools, early years, and other settings, to support others to overcome barriers to learning and to promote the social and emotional wellbeing of children and young people. This includes work with individuals and small groups, and with staff and parents/ carers. Assistants will gain experience of working with children and young people with a range of special educational needs from early years through to Post 16.
We have extensive links with training universities, with members of our EP team working as tutors on EP training courses – along with other links to local universities.
This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore subject to an enhanced DBS certificate. It is also a regulated activity and will be subject to a Children and Adults Barred List check. West Northamptonshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
What will you be doing?
Successful applicants will be joining a team of qualified EPs, trainees and assistant psychologists who are committed to inclusion and improving the life chances of children and young people through the creative application of psychology. We offer a varied and comprehensive induction and CPD programme, and excellent supervision. This includes access to peer supervision from a team of assistant EPs.
Working under the supervision of qualified educational psychologists, the Assistant EP role includes:
- A universal offer to all schools with a comprehensive training menu and opportunities for facilitating and supporting group work.
- Supporting delivery of the EPS traded, early intervention offer. This can include supporting EPs with assessments, delivering direct work to children and young people (including longer-term therapeutic interventions), supporting the implementation of PATHS and adult circles, and delivering bespoke training and coaching sessions.
- Supporting EPs to provide Psychological Advice for children undergoing an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment
Assistants also have the opportunity to be involved with various early intervention initiatives including the Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) programme, the Mediating Learning Support Approach (MeLSA), the Targeted Mental Health in Schools (TAMHS) programme, and the Emotionally Based School Avoidance schools (EBSA) initiative.
You will also have the opportunity to engage in research and evaluation for the service.
To learn more, please visit our Educational Psychology team and service pages.
Our Educational Psychology team | West Northamptonshire Council
Educational Psychology Service | West Northamptonshire Council
About you
We look forward to hearing from applicants who have:
- An interest in developing innovative and creative practice
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
- A commitment to improving the life chances of others, and particularly those from vulnerable and/or marginalised groups
- An ability to work collaboratively with different professionals
We are expecting applicants for this role to be motivated to apply for doctoral training to qualify as an educational psychologist. Previous assistants have been successful in achieving this.
If you would like an informal discussion about the role, please email:
Kathryn Davidson, Principal Educational Psychologist
Sarah Luxford, Senior Educational Psychologist
About us
At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.
Our vision is ‘to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services.
We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential. We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partner
The following film was created by us to communicate our intentions – watch WNC colleagues explain what DEI means to us.
If you need additional support or reasonable adjustments during the application process, including needing the job description in another format or language, please email [email protected] for support.
West Northants Council, where careers thrive.