Educational Psychologist

Swindon is a borough that embraces diversity, with a rich tapestry of languages, cultures, and backgrounds represented in our schools. We serve a diverse community, where high aspirations meet the realities of significant areas of deprivation. While some children face hurdles like low attendance and lower education outcomes, their potential is limitless—and it’s our mission to help them unlock it. Swindon is a small unitary authority that is easily accessible and is an exciting and innovative place to work; recently having been selected by the DfE as a joint leader within the South West for the SEND Change Programme Partnership. The EPS operates within a newly structured Education and Inclusion Service within Children’s Services and is centrally located close to the town centre. We are currently operating a hybrid working model which involves a mixture of working on site and remotely in order to promote and encourage a positive work life balance.

The EPS is a well-respected, valued team with good relationships with schools and other partners and committed to multi-agency working and improving outcomes for children and families. We provide statutory services on behalf of the Local Authority and have a successful traded service to schools that has enabled us to expand and diversify. Our EPs enjoy an approximate 50:50 split between traded/commissioned work and statutory work and the amount of productive time they are expected to deliver across the year is 183 days.

Within the service we place a particular focus on team well-being and protecting the provision of regular quality supervision. EPs enjoy varied opportunities to develop and deliver interventions and creative ways of working such as group supervision, coaching, consultation clinics, circles of support, organisational research, ELSA and Cygnet. Additionally, the MeLSA programme has become a new edition to our traded offer to schools for the first time this year.

Please consider making an application if you are:

• Committed to supporting the inclusion of vulnerable children and young people
• Place children and young people at the centre of your practice
• Creative, flexible, positive and focused on solutions
• Able to work successfully in a multi-disciplinary team
• Able to develop positive working relationships with other practitioners and partners
• Pro-active in developing and sharing your knowledge and skills

We offer regular support and supervision, appraisals, induction, excellent CPD opportunities and flexible working practices.

An ability to travel throughout the Borough, flexible working and an enhanced DBS disclosure will be required.

All applicants must be registered with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC); operate within the professional code of ethics and practice guidelines; and be fluent in the English language (as a requirement of Part 7 of the Immigration Act – “for the effective performance of a customer-facing role”).

We are committed to making our organisation as diverse as our community and therefore particularly welcome applications from people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, disabled people, and people from other diverse communities who are currently under-represented within our organisation.

Please see the quotes from our current employees:

Why EPs enjoy working within Swindon EPS

• Swindon EPS is a great service to work for, where I feel fully supported and valued by my colleagues and managers.
• We have a lovely team and it is a reflective environment to work within.
• I really enjoy the breadth of work offered within Swindon EPS and find that there are opportunities here to expand my areas of interest.
• I feel that the team is made up of EPs who are forward-thinking, and enthusiastic.
• I feel my time is protected through the allocation model and there are ongoing discussions around wellbeing.

What Swindon EPS has to offer

• I have been given lots of opportunity to engage in a variety of initiatives within the service which allows me to apply psychology across a range of contexts, whilst also supporting my professional development.
• A determination to improve as a service, and apply psychology to support those we work with.
• A good balance between traded and statutory work.
• Opportunities to work at different levels (casework, school, LA) and with different stake holders (virtual school for children looked after, foster care team).
• There is a good balance in Swindon of autonomy (so that I can choose the ways I practice) and boundaries (so that I know what to expect and what is expected of me).

Your next package

Please see our Rewards and Benefits offer for more details.

Please see our new Swindon Plan

Your next steps

Read the role profile and please send your CV and supporting statement quoting reference number 226 outlining your suitability to resourcing@swindon.gov.uk

For an informal and confidential discussion please contact Alexa Denham, Principal EP on adenham@swindon.gov.uk or Suzanne Horgan, Deputy Principal EP on shorgan@swindon.gov.uk

You are also welcome to attend an informal open evening (to be delivered via Microsoft Teams) on Wednesday 13th November, 5.30-6.30pm. This will be an opportunity for you to hear from some of our EPs about what it is like to work in Swindon and to ask any initial questions. Please email EPSenquiries@swindon.gov.uk if you would like to book on to this optional information sharing session.