Are you a qualified or trainee Educational Psychologist looking for a role where your expertise, curiosity and commitment to inclusion can make a real difference? At Bracknell Forest, you will be welcomed into a small, supportive and highly skilled Educational Psychology Service, with opportunities to develop your practice, shape innovative SEND services and work collaboratively with schools, families and multi-agency partners to improve outcomes for children and young people.
Please note that this role will work across both the new Experts @ Hand service and the established Educational Psychology Service.
At Bracknell Forest, we pride ourselves on being a council which is stable and well-managed where our employees can thrive in a supportive environment. We understand the importance of a healthy work-life balance and offer a variety of flexible working practices, including options for remote working and arrangements that allow you to work from home, dependent on the needs of the service. This role includes an expectation to work from our Time Square office one days per week, alongside flexible working arrangements.
We are seeking a trainee or qualified Educational Psychologist, with HCPC registration where applicable, who is passionate about using psychology to improve outcomes for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
You will bring strong consultation, formulation and relationship-based practice skills, with the ability to build trusting, collaborative partnerships with children, young people, families, schools and multi-agency colleagues. You will be confident in applying psychological thinking strategically while remaining flexible, responsive and creative in meeting emerging needs across a developing service and the wider local SEND system.
You will share our commitment to inclusion, early intervention, trauma-informed practice and continuous professional learning. Motivated by the opportunity to make a meaningful difference, you will play an important role in shaping responsive, needs-led support for children and young people across Bracknell Forest.
Working across education, health and social care, you will support innovation, influence practice and help shape a more responsive, equitable and needs-led SEND system that improves outcomes for children and young people now and in the future.
The Educational Psychology Service (EPS) is a small team of highly skilled Educational Psychologists who work collaboratively with children, young people, families and professionals across a range of settings. We apply psychology to bring about positive change, support progress in learning and enhance emotional wellbeing and a sense of belonging.
Educational Psychologists in Bracknell Forest pride themselves on being inclusive, person-centred and trauma-informed. We offer all team members, including Senior Educational Psychologists, Educational Psychologists and Trainee Educational Psychologists, a balanced and varied workload. There are also opportunities to develop and extend specialist interests and skills in line with our Service Plan and wider local authority priorities.
We hold regular face-to-face team meetings in our central Bracknell office, alongside peer supervision and continuous professional development opportunities. Collaboration with fellow Educational Psychologists and wider local authority colleagues is actively encouraged.
- Provide consultation, advice, training and intervention to schools, settings and families.
- Support the development of inclusive practice and early intervention across the local area.
- Provide line management and supervision to assistant Educational Psychologists.
- Contribute to shaping the development of the multi-agency Experts @ Hand service, workforce development and system-wide SEND reform.
- Work collaboratively with education, health and social care partners to improve outcomes for children and young people.
- Provide high-quality psychological advice as part of statutory EHC needs assessments.
- Manage a small, traded patch of schools.
- 28 days annual leave increasing to 33 days after 3 years’ continuous service, with the opportunity to buy up to 10 and sell up to 5 days.
- Hybrid working opportunities to support your wellbeing and work-life balance.
- Paid employee volunteering scheme.
- Local government pension scheme, with life insurance cover.
- Electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme (subject to eligibility). only applicable to roles on BG-G and above.
- Reimbursement of one annual professional subscription/registration.
- Reimbursement of HCPC registration.
- Recognition of continuous service attained within the NHS and UKHSA when calculating some benefits. (Terms and Conditions apply).
- Career development through internal and external training opportunities.
- Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and fostering leave.
- Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support your health and wellbeing.
- Inclusive and social working environment with a variety of staff networks and a sports and social club.
At Bracknell Forest Council our values define who we are and what is important to us. Our core values are inclusive, ambitious, and always learning. These values influence the way we work with each other and the way we serve our residents and engage with our communities. We make our values real by demonstrating them in how we behave every day. If you are excited about joining a diverse team that celebrates learning and strives for excellence, we would love to hear from you.
We are committed to ensuring an inclusive recruitment process for all applicants. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application or interview, please let us know by contacting [email protected]. We will work with you to support you throughout the process. Find out more about reasonable adjustments.
Bracknell Forest Council is proud to be an inclusive employer. This means that if you have made us aware on the application form that you have a disability, are an armed forces veteran or you are a care leaver, you will be guaranteed an interview if you meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification.
Shortlisting will be carried out on a regular basis, and successfully shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend an interview at a mutually convenient time. Interviews will be held in person, providing an opportunity to meet the team and gain a real insight into our working environment.
Interviews will be conducted in person, providing candidates with the chance to personally meet the team and experience our work environment.
We will be reviewing applications regularly and reserve the right to close the advert early if suitable candidates are identified. To avoid disappointment, you are advised to submit your application as soon as possible.
Please note AI is prohibited during the interview, any candidate using AI will be withdrawn from consideration.
For an informal discussion or to ask any questions about this role, please contact:
Catherine Reynolds, Principal Educational Psychologist: [email protected] or 01344 351227
Bracknell Forest Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect everyone employed with us to share this commitment. All successful candidates for this role will be subject to a DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) check as part of our pre-employment checks process.
We can only accept applications from candidates currently residing in the UK.
Candidates currently residing in the UK who require sponsorship to work are encouraged to assess their eligibility for a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) based on the relevant criteria. Please be aware that sponsorship availability varies and is subject to eligibility requirements and budget limitations. As a result, we cannot guarantee sponsorship for all roles and will evaluate sponsorship requests on a case-by-case basis.
No agencies please.
Bracknell Forest Council – Working for Equality. We welcome applications from all sections of the community.
Please apply online via the link provided.
Please note, we do not accept CVs submitted without a fully completed online application form.
