Assistant Educational Psychologist

About the role

Are you passionate about improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND? Do you want to gain invaluable experience within a forward-thinking Educational Psychology Service while helping to shape Dorset's innovative Experts at Hand offer?

This is a unique opportunity to join Dorset's Educational Psychology Service and be part of Dorset's Expertise Offer (Experts at Hand) designed to bring specialist support closer to schools, strengthen inclusion, and improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND

Why join us?

• Be part of a pioneering SEND reform programme.
• Work alongside Educational Psychologists and a multidisciplinary team of specialists.
• Develop skills in consultation, coaching, training and early intervention.
• Gain valuable experience for a future career in Educational Psychology.
• Make a tangible difference by helping schools build confidence, capacity and inclusive practice.

What you can expect to be doing

As an Assistant Educational Psychologist, you will support the work of Educational Psychologists and locality teams in a variety of impactful ways, including:

• Contributing to psychological advice for early years children as part of EHC needs assessments.
• Delivering training and co-developing parent workshops as part of the Autism in Schools project and supporting the wider rollout of Neuroinclusive Education Network training.
• Completing school case studies to support the implementation of Therapeutic Thinking .
• Assisting in the rollout of Relational Practice approaches in schools.
• Co-facilitating Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) parent groups alongside school staff.
• Supporting the delivery of ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) training.
• Participating in assessments, observations, and interventions under supervision, and contributing to service development initiatives.

About you

We're looking for someone who

• Holds a degree in Psychology (BPS-recognised).
• Keen to further develop their experience to support application to the doctorate
• Passionate about inclusion and committed to promoting the wellbeing and learning of children and young people.
• Has excellent interpersonal and communication skills, to build positive relationships with children, families, and professionals.
• Organised and reflective, with a willingness to learn and contribute to a team.
• Can be autonomous in their thinking and able to work independently
• Experience working with children or young people in educational or care settings is essential.
• Evidence of experience using psychology to support their practice is desirable.

About Dorset Children's Services

'Dorset Children Thrive' is our locality model to deliver Children's Services. It brings together services and support for children and families into four integrated locality teams. The locality teams include Family Help, Children's Social Care and Learning and Belonging. Through our integrated structure colleagues work in multi-disciplinary integrated teams, educational psychologists are part of the Learning and Belonging strand.

Dorset Council Educational Psychologists are creative, person centred and have excellent relationships with families, children and young people, education settings, social care and health colleagues as well as with each other. Our team values are Relationships, Hope, Diversity, Curiosity and Creativity.

For further details of how we work visit Educational Psychologists.

Location: Various. We are pleased to offer flexibility regarding the locality of this role, subject to the needs of the service. Hybrid working arrangements are also available, enabling a balance between office-based and remote working where appropriate.

Further Information

If you would like to discuss the post informally or visit the team, please call or email Clare Anderson - Principal Educational Psychologist on clare.anderson@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk or 01305 224354.

Closing date for applications 9 August 2026

Interviews will be in person on 14 August 2026

There will be some flexibility around interview dates taking into account annual leave and prior commitments

This post requires significant travel. Applicants are required to hold a driving licence and have access to a vehicle (or transport we deem suitable) available for use as needed.

An enhanced DBS for adults and children is a requirement of the post

This post involves working with children and/or vulnerable adults and/or having access to significant information about them. It will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check. See our policy on the employment of ex-offenders .

See our policy on safeguarding children and young people .

See our adult safeguarding policy .

The friends and family referral scheme applies to this post. If an employee recommended this post to you, mention them when asked on your application form. Employees can share this advert by using the button links alongside the job title.

The key skills recruitment and retention scheme applied to these positions, subject to eligibility. The amount payable will be £2000 (pro-rata for part time positions) after 24 months of employment.

About Us

At Dorset Council, it's not just about the work we do, it's about how we do it. Hear directly from our employees about what makes Dorset Council special in this short video:

At Dorset Council, we are working together to create a fairer, more prosperous, and more sustainable Dorset for everyone, now and in the future.

We

• provide essential services that support over 300,000 residents
• work in partnership to make a real difference
• value every role and the impact it has on our communities
• support our employees to grow, develop, and thrive

You will

• be part of a team that works together for a better Dorset
• have access to a range of benefits and support
• receive training and development opportunities to help your career progress

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation where different skills, perspectives, and backgrounds strengthen both our council and the communities we serve.

We welcome applications from everyone and are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. If you declare a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role, we will offer you an interview. We also want our recruitment process to be accessible, if you need any reasonable adjustments, just let us know on your application.

This role is UK-based, and we will need to confirm your Right to Work as part of the appointment process. We use generic job descriptions and person specifications, so the job title in any attachments may differ from the advert. If needed, we will provide additional details in a context statement.

If you're passionate about making a difference, we'd love you to join us.

Find out more about how to apply.