Assistant Educational Psychologist - South Essex

Please note that this role is offered as a fixed term contract/secondment opportunity for up to 2 years. As an ‘Anywhere Worker’ position, the role will involve a combination of remote and office based working. There will be an expectation for you to attend the office based at Ely House, Basildon, approximately 2-3 days per week in addition to ‘as and when’ there is a business need. There may also be a requirement to attend other Essex County Council offices during the fixed term contract.

To ensure your application is considered, please include a supporting statement. Applications submitted without this will not be progressed.

The role requires you to be mobile throughout an operational area. Having a valid driving licence and access to a vehicle or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means is essential.

Benefits:

• Healthy work life balance; flexible and hybrid working options.
• Wide range of learning and development opportunities.
• IT equipment and home-working equipment supplied.
• 26 days annual leave + bank holidays + choice to buy extra.
• Generous Local Government Salary related pension scheme.
• Access to hundreds of discounts and benefits through Essex Rewards.
• Access to our health and wellbeing support platform with LifeWorks.
• Up to 4 days per year Volunteering leave.

Essex County Council is proud to offer an excellent benefits package to all its employees. More information can be found here pay and reward.

The Role:

An Assistant Educational Psychologist is defined as a psychology graduate from a British Psychological Society accredited undergraduate programme or conversion course who is gaining applied experience in a relevant professional setting and assisting with the work of at least one Practitioner Psychologist, and under their supervision.

The role will importantly enable the development of a range of purposeful experiences and skills, in preparation for progressing to a doctoral training programme for training as an Educational Psychologist.

To read more about our business area, please visit Education

What our Assistant Educational Psychologists say:

“It is a privilege to work as an Assistant EP for ECC. I am part of a network of professionals supporting children and young people to make the best of their lives here in Essex. My peers, colleagues and managers encourage me to develop my application of psychology through a programme of high-quality professional development, shadowing opportunities and supervision.”

“Being an Assistant EP is a varied role with time in different provisions, offering training, supporting assessments, and utilising skills to help staff reflect on their own practice. I am supported, encouraged and mentored by several highly skilled Educational Psychologists offering us access to up-to-date research which supports me to adapt my thinking and be a part of work that offers a safe space to challenge attitudes to SEN and inclusion.”

What will you be doing?

The Assistant Educational Psychologist role will contribute to delivering early intervention work in schools and other settings:

• Deliver Educational Psychology Services: Support the delivery of an educational psychology offer in Essex under the supervision of a qualified Educational Psychologist and line managed by a Deputy Principal Educational Psychologist.
• Professional Development: Support the acquisition of a range of skills and experience in preparation for professional training as an Educational Psychologist. Participate in supervision and undertake further professional development.
• Team Collaboration: Assist the Educational Psychology team in providing an efficient, responsive, and professional service for young people aged 0-25. Work, as appropriate, with colleagues from other teams and services to achieve agreed objectives in line with team, service, and directorate priorities.
• Psychological Services: Assist qualified EP colleagues in providing psychological assessment, advice, consultation, training, and intervention.
• Professional Competence: Remain within the boundaries of professional competence and current skills/knowledge.
• Safeguarding: Comply with Essex Safeguarding procedures to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people.
• Data and Compliance: Adhere to Essex CC secure storage and use of data, corporate governance, and health and safety, ensuring compliance with statutory requirements and legislation.
• Performance Management: Meet specific individual and shared targets and objectives defined annually within the performance management framework.
• Assessment and Reporting: Gather assessment information through direct work with children, young people, and school staff to feed into EP psychological advice as part of EHC needs assessment processes. Write short reports as required that are accessible to a range of audiences. Keep accurate written records relating to the work undertaken to ensure a clear professional account.
• Interventions and Research: Contribute to the planning and delivery of evidence-informed interventions and collect research data.
• Service Improvement: Contribute to the ongoing development and continuous improvement of the service.

About You:

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to maintain high ethical standards both personally and professionally; shows integrity and is reliable and trustworthy.
• Ability to build strong working relationships which are collaborative in nature and engender delivery.
• Knowledge and understanding of SEN and other legislation which impacts upon children and young people.
• Evidence of the ability to be self-driven and autonomous to develop within role and enhance skills, knowledge and experience
• Experience of working with children within either an education setting or within a family-oriented service.
• Experience that demonstrates a desire to apply psychology working with children and young people with Special Educational Needs (SEN)/Disability.

Essential Requirements for the role:

• You must have a psychology degree (2:1 (‘upper second’) or above) or have completed an approved conversion course or a Master’s degree, accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) BPS > Accredited CoursesAND 
• Be eligible for the British Psychological Society (BPS) Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC).

How to apply:

If you have what it takes, hit the APPLY button now! Please ensure that:

• You include a supporting statement with your application. Applications submitted without a supporting statement will be closed without consideration.
• You have included details of your degree and relevant work experience within either your supporting statement or your CV as we may not be able to consider your application if these details aren’t readily available.

Candidates who meet the essential requirements of the role will be asked to complete a short one-way video interview as their first interview. Final interviews will be held in December 2025 at one of our offices.

If you are interested in finding out more about this role or require further information, we would love to hear from you. Please email: Resourcing.Team@essex.gov.uk

Why Essex? 

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process.

We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service.

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community.

Additional Information:

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