Specialist Educational Psychologist

Specialist Educational Psychologist (Soulbury Scale B 3–7+ up to 3 SPA points)

Wirral: Making a Difference for Children and Young People

Join a service that is truly making a difference. Wirral Children’s Services are dedicated to securing brighter futures for all children and young people (CYP). Our Educational Psychology (EP) Service is forward-thinking, and committed to delivering meaningful, lasting impact for families and communities.

If you are an EP who values early intervention and relational approaches, if you are passionate about inclusion, motivated by collaboration, and driven to create widespread positive change, then Wirral offers an exciting opportunity to to make a positive, wide-reaching impact to the lives of children and young people with SEND and their families.

Welcome to Wirral: About Us

Wirral EP Service is a forward thinking and warm, supportive team of skilled practitioners united by shared values and a strong commitment to inclusive practice. Our work is valued and underpinned by positive psychology, consultation, and solution-focused approaches, enabling us to deliver high-quality, impactful support. As part of our welcoming and supportive team, you'll benefit from frequent peer support, collaborative practice, and regular social events that help colleagues stay connected and thrive.

Wirral EP Service is ambitious for Wirral’s children and young people, and this is an exciting time to join us.  We are playing a central role in delivering the Experts at Hand model, helping to improve inclusive outcomes for children, young people and their families through our consultation and systemic working; as well as continuing to promote inclusive practice through a range of initiatives, including:

• The Neuroinclusive Education Network
• Emotional Literacy Support (ELSA)
• Innovative approaches such as the AV1 robot programme

The team’s involvement in the development of LA wide initiatives is highly valued by senior leaders. We have good working relationships with Wirral’s SEND support teams and wider professionals, including Wirral’s Youth Justice Service. We have strong links the University of Manchester’s EP doctorate programme through both our associate tutor EP and our fantastic trainees who always offer an extra vibrancy to our service.

While statutory work remains an important part of the Educational Psychology Service, our extensive locum EP provision enables the core team to focus increasingly on early intervention and preventative practice, supporting the ambitions of SEND reform and Wirral's Experts at Hand model.

Schools and settings value our input and are keen to work with us for positive change.  Our team of EPs, trainee EPs and Assistant EPs, all work collaboratively within a culture of support and professional growth.

About the Candidate:

We are seeking experienced EPs with knowledge and experience in the area of Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH).

In addition to core EP responsibilities, you will:

• Lead and champion inclusive practice across the Local Authority in this area
• Work on embedding relational and trauma-informed approaches in schools, as part of our Experts at Hand work
• Shape and deliver strategic developments to support engagement and belonging in schools, setting and communities, as lead for our emotional barriers to school attendance (EBSA) work
• Work collaboratively across agencies to drive systemic change and boost inclusion
• Promote and embed evidence-based practice across the service
• Support the development of colleagues and strengthen professional expertise in our team; and in wider children’s services

What You’ll Need to be Successful When Applying to Wirral

We are looking for enthusiastic and committed professionals who:

• Thrive in collaborative environments and are passionate about service development
• Hold a recognised postgraduate qualification in Educational Psychology
• Are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
• Have a sound understanding of SEND legislation, safeguarding, and statutory processes

What Wirral Can Offer You

We are committed to supporting your professional and personal wellbeing. Benefits include:

• A welcoming, friendly service with a strong team ethos
• A comprehensive and supported induction
• Soulbury pay scale with up to 3 SPA points and existing SPA points honoured
• Clear and supported career progression pathways for EPs, including Specialist and Senior EP roles
• Reimbursement of HCPC registration fees
• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements to support work-life balance
• Excellent CPD and career development opportunities
• Access to an Employee Assistance Programme, staff networks and employee discounts
• Modern, well-equipped office space in a central location
• Salary exchange schemes, including additional annual leave and cycle-to-work options

Want to Find Out More?

We would love to hear from you. For further information about living and working on Wirral, please see our candidate brochure attached.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact our Senior Eps, Judith Temlett on judithtemlett@wirral.gov.uk or Pauline Mellor on paulinemellor@wirral.gov.uk

This post is subject to an Enhanced DBS check, including a check of the relevant Barred List(s). The Safer Recruitment & Employment Policy and the Disclosures for Recruitment Procedure can be found at : https://www.wirral.gov.uk/jobs-and-training/job-vacancies/safer-recruitment-and-employment

If you’re already a Wirral Council employee, and as part of our Talent Strategy, we’re committed to strengthening opportunities for our people to learn, grow, progress and thrive. For many of you, this may be preparing and applying for your next role with us, and we're passionate about ensuring you feel supported throughout your internal recruitment experience. Please get in touch if you want to know more about some of the ways in which we could support you by emailing recruitment@wirral.gov.uk

If you are a Wirral resident, are unemployed or out of work, and require help with your application, please contact Involve Northwest’s employment and skills team on info@involvenorthwest.org.uk or contact 0151 644 4500 or 0151 652 4349.

Working at Wirral

Wirral offers the best of both worlds: a vibrant, accessible location with excellent transport links to Liverpool and surrounding areas, alongside attractive coastal and green spaces—making it a fantastic place to live and work.

You’ll also want to know what it’s like to work here so, as a start:

Our values are more than just pieces of paper on our walls! We’ve all played a role in developing these, so they reflect the immense pride we have in what we do, what matters to us, what inspires us and inform how we think, approach things and behave.

We believe in ensuring staff are well looked after, staff wellbeing is a priority for us. We’re serious about recognising and rewarding people for the great things they do. You’ll benefit from our track record of developing, growing and investing in our people.

We have a range of staff benefits including staff discounts, enrolment into the local government pension scheme (an excellent defined benefit scheme), immediate life cover and ill-health protection. We have a strong flexible working approach, hybrid working, family-friendly employment initiatives and an annual leave package starting with 28 days leave plus public holidays.

We have an inclusive, engaged culture, everyone has a voice, everyone is valued for their contribution and understands the role they play in delivering our strategic priorities.

Each voice is heard, each contribution valued. We embrace diversity in our workforce and recognise it is critical to our success. We support an inclusive culture that champions differences and nurtures a sense of belonging. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds, who share our values and our commitment to inclusion to apply for roles with us.

We want you to be your best at work, we create the conditions to help you thrive and we mirror this in our recruitment process. If you’d like us to do anything differently during the recruitment process to make it barrier-free and as accessible as possible please contact recruitment@wirral.gov.uk

Please note that in accordance with the Council’s policy, employees who are in a formal redeployment situation will be considered in the first instance for all vacancies.

It is Council policy not to re-appoint any employee who has left under the terms of the Council's Early Voluntary Retirement (EVR) scheme or who have left with a voluntary severance (VS) package, unless in exceptional circumstances.

Applications will be accepted until midnight on the closing date.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy earlier than the specified date should we receive sufficient applications.

Applications can only be accepted through the Jobs page following registration.  Forms received via the post will not be processed.

All applicants invited to interview must evidence their right to work in the UK.  Details of required documents can be found by clicking the link at the bottom of the Jobs page.

The job description and other supporting documents will not be accessible once the vacancy closing date has passed so if a copy is required you should download it now.

We do not accept applications or CV’s from recruitment agencies, unless otherwise stated. Therefore, any candidates submitted via a recruitment agency will not be considered for this role.