Educational psychologist opportunities

We are recruiting for educational psychologists to transform our educational psychology service.

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Images of adults watching children playing with toys.

We are in the process of expanding and developing our offer in support of our commitment to Inclusion and the rights of children to be positively included in their communities

North Yorkshire recognises the value of educational psychology and is increasingly offering diverse and varied working opportunities and are keen to develop these further. As a Principal Educational Psychologist you will provide effective leadership and be responsible for the operational management of our broad-based psychology service. We are also looking to further develop a solution focussed practice framework across the whole of the Inclusion service and this role will be central to the development of this.

This is an exciting time within North Yorkshire Council educational psychology service - we are embarking on an episode of considerable change. In April 2023, we moved to a single new council for North Yorkshire to replace the current two-tier structure of local government.

Within the council we are a small but quickly expanding educational psychology team with a strong growth plan in place. The Principal Education Psychologist reports directly to the Assistant Director for inclusion and is pivotal in shaping the direction of the educational psychology service and the contribution of psychology to the work of the children and young people’s directorate in the council.

We are looking for strong, transformative leaders and innovative educational psychologists to develop our service and support our special educational needs and disabilities hubs and targeted provisions.

This is an exciting opportunity for individuals who are ambitious to drive the transformation and expansion of the service, contribute to the strategic direction of the inclusion service and ensure the best outcomes for the children and young people of North Yorkshire.

We embrace individual specialist interests and value the additional skills and knowledge these areas of interest bring to the team. You will have diverse and varied work, professional development and the opportunity to shape innovative practice. We will invest in your training from day one, which includes Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, to enable you to work in an innovative and inclusive way. You will have clear line management and professional supervision throughout your journey.

You will have the opportunity to have a very visible career with work that is recognised both regionally and nationally and to build your professional network. North Yorkshire is renowned for being a forward-thinking, dynamic and creative authority, that listens to stakeholders including schools, families and young people to continually improve our offer.

Our service includes:

  • embedded support to our new targeted mainstream provisions, including delivering a therapeutic offer to children and young people when needed - all our Educational Psychologists are cognitive behavioural trained
  • working alongside the SEND multi-disciplinary hubs with our hub managers and specialist teams to provide holistic support for children and young people with SEND
  • project work within the SEND hubs - ensuring our services become truly cutting edge and evidence-based
  • allocation of time to support research and recommendations for the children's workforce development in supporting children with SEND
  • oversight and quality assurance of psychological advice as part of the statutory process
  • development of projects and initiatives through alternative funding sources including trading and other contracts and commissions
  • management of our critical incident processes

Join Us

Help us realise our ambition to develop a strong educational psychology service with an outstanding reputation for its statutory and traded work, and which is an embedded and integral part of our SEND and inclusion offer. Supporting development of new provisions and services through the implementation of psychology, you will be a team player keen to influence and participate in wider service developments alongside other SEND and inclusion professionals. Your creativity, ambition and understanding of the SEND landscape will support us to further expand our offer, alongside our colleagues in North Yorkshire Education Services.

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A man holding his head in his hands.

Our current job opportunities

Principal educational psychologist - up to £66,941 plus up to £8,000 relocation support

Job Title: Principal educational psychologist
Location: across North Yorkshire - flexible work bases and hybrid working are available
Salary: Up to £66,941 per annum pro rata, plus 3% recruitment payment and relocation support up to £8,000
Grade: Soulbury B 8-11 plus SPA points
Hours: full time
Contract: Permanent
Closing date: 8 October 2023

You can find out more and apply online.

Apply online: Principal educational psychologist

Specialist senior educational psychologist - Virtual School - up to £57,544 plus relocation support

Job Title: Specialist senior educational psychologist - Virtual School
Location: across North Yorkshire - flexible work bases and hybrid working are available
Salary: From £52,440 up to £57,544 pro rata per annum plus access to up to 3 SPA points, recruitment and retention incentives - plus relocation package
Grade: Soulbury B 3-6 plus SPA points
Hours: part time
Contract: Permanent
Closing date: 8 October 2023

You can find out more and apply online.

Apply online: Specialist senior educational psychologist - Virtual School

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A man watching a child draw a picture.

Hear from some of our team

"Our teams are highly dedicated and actively engaged in shaping and leading transformation and innovation, whilst ensuring families remain at the centre of our decisions."

“I would have to say that the council educational psychology team is a very supportive and encouraging team who have helped me to develop professionally.” 

Our vision for education provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities builds on the SEND Strategic Plan for Educational Provision. This is an ambitious five-year plan, which describes how we intend to transform services and educational provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities in North Yorkshire.

We make a real difference to the lives of children and young people in North Yorkshire. If you share our passion to deliver improved outcomes for children, we would really like to hear from you.

We are looking for educational psychologist professionals at every stage of their career, from those newly qualified to those who can use their well-developed skills to lead and nurture others in the profession. 

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Working for us - what we can offer you

We are a strong performing authority, with supportive political leadership and talented teams providing the platform to have a fulfilling, challenging and successful career in a truly stunning place.

A recent peer challenge found that the council is a good place to work, with strong leadership and a loyal and committed workforce who have access to well-regarded training and development.

We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice, offering a range of training and development opportunities and career progression allowing you to manage your own development journey and empowering you to control your career. Your career can change with your life here in North Yorkshire.

We encourage flexible working and we provide you with the technology you need to work from a wide variety of locations.

We believe in the importance of inclusion, which is why we are always working towards being a more diverse, equitable and inclusive employer. Find out more about our equality, diversity and inclusion work on our working for us page. You can bring your whole self to work, and we will support you to be the best that you can be.

Watch this video to learn about our employee networks.

Our values, behaviours and ambitions underpin everything we do.

Our vision

We want to build on North Yorkshire’s natural capital, strong local economy and resilient communities, to improve the way local services are delivered and support a good quality of life for all. The council plan 2023 to 2027 sets out the council’s vision, ambitions and priorities for the next four years, as well as the approach we will take to achieve them.

What we can offer you in the children and young people's service

You will receive the very best support, working alongside talented and inspirational people.

We will provide you with training and learning in areas such as CBT and other therapeutic approaches and the opportunity to be involved in projects in each of the hub areas which will further inform practice and strategy across SEND. Investment in your continuous professional development continues throughout your career. A number of heads of service across North Yorkshire have used their experience to transition into senior regional and national roles. 

The role has a flexible base. As a council, we are very much committed to encouraging flexible working for our employees, arranged around the demands of the role. You can work from bases across the county as well as working from home. Our head office is in Northallerton, therefore visibility here and throughout the county is required.

You will have the opportunity to join a learning organisation to develop your skills and career alongside having North Yorkshire Council on your CV.

Our relocation package

If you are considering relocating to North Yorkshire we provide a comprehensive relocation benefits package.

This features up to £8,000 to cover reasonable costs such as:

  • removal expenses
  • storage costs
  • legal and estate agent fees
  • travelling expenses

The council's comprehensive benefits package

North Yorkshire Council prides itself on being the biggest employer in North Yorkshire leading from the front and constantly seeking to innovate and finely tune the system with an unwavering desire to continually improve.

We welcome and celebrate diversity and inclusion and the strengths this brings to our communities and workforce, we aim to provide excellent and efficient local services enabling everyone to fulfil their potential, to do this we give everyone equal access to services and job opportunities. 

We can offer you a comprehensive benefits package including:

  • a local government, career average employer contribution pension scheme
  • family friendly leave
  • salary sacrifice schemes
  • modern flexible working practices
  • learning and development packages
  • career advancement opportunities
  • employee discount benefits including shopping and gym discounts
  • green car and cycle schemes
  • travel loans

Find out more about working for the council and the benefits we offer on our total rewards page.

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Views of North Yorkshire country roads.

Living and working in North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a thriving county that adapts to a changing world and remains a special place to live and work. 

North Yorkshire's natural beauty is captured in its three areas of Outstanding Natural Parks, National Nature Reserves, stunning coastlines, scenic rural villages, vibrant cities and market towns. North Yorkshire really is a beautiful, thriving and special place to live and work, rich in heritage and culture.

North Yorkshire features significantly in the ten best places to live in the UK in Halifax Quality of Life Survey. The Quality of Life index aims to quantify where living standards are highest in the UK by ranking local performance across a range of indicators.

Richmondshire was placed second in the list, a position boosted by excellent personal wellbeing factors including life satisfaction and happiness.

Hambleton was placed fourth and Ryedale was placed eighth, a truly commendable achievement and another incredible accolade for North Yorkshire. 

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics bulletin positions North Yorkshire as the safest place in England with extremely low crime rates.  

In addition, the county benefits from excellent road and rail links, with easy access via the east coast mainline, the A1(M) and A19. Leeds, York, Newcastle, Durham and Teesside are all easily commutable, and London and Edinburgh are just two hours away by train. 

From its lively cities to pretty villages, rolling countryside and grand coastline, Yorkshire has so much to offer including great employment opportunities for your family members, along with a higher proportion of schools which are good or outstanding compared to national figures.

You can find out more about what North Yorkshire has to offer on the No place like North Yorkshire website.

Watch this video to see more of what North Yorkshire has to offer.

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