Registered Psychologist

Post Outline

This is a permanent post supporting the multi-disiplinary team in the delivery of effective clinical services through assessment, intervention and ongoing support to children, young people and families accessing the service. You will contribute to the development and implementation of autism assessment and intervention pathways including diagnostic assessment, post-diagnostic recommendations, guidance, advice, and workshop programmes for children and young people, and the adults working with or caring for them such as teachers, health or social care workers and parents. You will assess, formulate and deliver interventions and evaluate clinical outcomes. You will work as part of a multidisciplinary team that includes Learning Disability Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, Paediatrician, Assistant Psychologists, Clinical Assistants and charity volunteers.

About Caudwell Children

Established in 2000, Caudwell Children is a national charity which works to transform the lives of disabled children and their families, enabling them to challenge the barriers they face throughout childhood by providing practical and emotional support. The Charity is going through an exciting period of growth having recently opened a new state-of-the-art facility for multi-disciplinary therapy programmes for childhood disability and research of neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism, within the grounds of Keele University. It provides a state-of-the-art base for the Charity’s therapies and an environment where ground-breaking research can be undertaken, potentially changing the way some disabilities are treated, affecting millions of people around the world. This is a fantastic and exciting opportunity to join a dynamic and fast moving Charity at a time when it will attract national and international attention. The services of Caudwell Children enrich the lives of our children and families through the delivery of high quality person centred care and support services that promote independence and achieve valued outcomes. We seek to create a safe, homely and supportive environment that enhances the lives of children with autism and associated conditions.

Duties and responsibilities

• Work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in an autism specialist service working primarily with 4 to 11 year olds but may include children and young adults to age 25 years.
• To provide specialist psychological assessments of children referred to the service based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, observations and interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the child’s care.
• To provide specialist knowledge and skills in the assessment and diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders and other neurodevelopmental disorders where appropriate.
• To contribute to diagnostic formulation and implement plans for psychological intervention to promote the child, young person and family to develop strategies to manage challenges arising and promote optimal personal development and child, young person and family functioning.
• To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and intervention plans for children, young people and families accessing the service.
• To contribute to service evaluation and monitoring.
• To monitor progress and evaluate outcomes.
• To contribute to developing and delivering workshops to children, young people, families and staff from other settings.

Main Duties

• Undertake assessments of children and young people and their families accessing the CICC, using relevant standardised and non-standardised assessment tools and processes.
• Prepare reports and communicate the findings to others as required, for example parents, children, and team colleagues taking account of the communication needs of others in doing so. To work as an integrated member of the MDT in doing so and coordinate with colleagues.
• Working with colleagues and independently; provide workshops and individual assessment and interventions.
• To implement a range of interventions for children, young people, carers, families, staff from other settings and groups as required.
• To participate in formulation, and decision making about recommendations and interventions taking into account theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the child, family or group.
• To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to formulation, diagnosis and intervention planning.
• To contribute to risk assessment and risk management and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
• To work as a team member on the assessment and intervention plans in respect of children, taking responsibility for initiating planning and reviewing progress with children, their carers, referring agents and others involved in their network of care as requested.

Teaching, training, and supervision

• To receive regular professional supervision from a suitably qualified Registered Psychologist.
• To ensure personal Continuing Professional Development.
• Where agreed to contribute to professional post-graduate teaching, training of others, trainee placements form Psychology and other disciplines, and to provide supervision support and guidance to others within the service and externally.
• To supervise Assistant Psychologists and Psychologists as delegated and appropriate.
• To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the team’s operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit. To work in conjunction with the research team in doing so.
• To advise service and professional management on psychological aspects of the service provision where requested or otherwise required to do so.
• To support others in managing their workloads where appropriate, for example trainees, Assistants, supervisees.

Customer Care / Quality Assurance:

• Contribute to engaging with service users in future planning and delivery where appropriate in conjunction with other staff and departments.
• Uphold the principles of continuous quality improvement.
• At all times to afford service users dignity and respect taking account of individual needs.
• Ensure that those using services are enabled to comment and complain about any of the services they receive and ensure that all comments and complaints received are dealt with promptly and in accordance with organisational policy and procedures.
• Confidentiality and data protection regarding all personal information and CICC activities must be maintained at all times (both in and out of working hours) in accordance with professional codes of conduct and relevant legislation such as the Data Protection Act 2018 and associated General Data Protection Regulations 2018.
• Contribute and co-operate fully with any regulatory or organisational inspections / audits.
• To carry out duties with full regard to the organisations’ Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy.

Health and Safety

In addition to the organisation’s overall responsibility for your health and safety, you have a personal responsibility for your own health and safety. As such you are:

• Required to inform your line manager of any safety issues that you identify that could affect you or others in the workplace, co-operate with management and colleagues at all times in achieving safer work processes and work places, particularly where it can impact on others.
• To have an awareness of health and safety regulations and legislation as it relates to the workplace and the safe and effective running of the service.
• Responsible for your own health and safety and that of anyone else whom your acts and omissions may affect and maintain a professional and hygienic personal appearance at all times.
• To have knowledge of a range of safer handling and mobility skills relevant to the management of children, young people and families.
• To use equipment when necessary and as instructed, which will include checking the equipment is safe to use, prior to its use, reporting any defects immediately to your line manager.
• Responsible for the implementation and adherence to organisational safety policies and procedures for areas within your remit.
• Required to ensure suitable and sufficient risk assessments are completed for all areas within your remit. The controls identified must be evaluated and implemented where necessary.
• To ensure that your work adheres to Health and Social Care Act 2008 Code of Practice for the Prevention and Control of Infections and Related Guidance as applicable to your role.
• To report any concerns of potential abuse of a service user in line with the organisations Safeguarding Policy and procedures.

Resource Management

• Participate in the recruitment, induction and retention of staff as required and appropriate to the role including supporting the recruitment of other disciplines as required.
• Ensure maintenance and security of physical, financial and information resources, where applicable.
• Comprehensively and effectively maximise all the resources available to the facilities.
• Ensure that all resources and utilities are used prudently and that any waste is minimised and manage, monitor and maintain budgets agreed by management.
• Participate in the routine line management of Assistant Psychologists or others as delegated by the Clinical Lead.

Research and Service Evaluation

• To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
•  To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research within the service as agreed and in conjunction with the research department.
• To undertake and participate in project management, audit and service evaluation, working with colleagues within the service to help develop service provision, as required and appropriate.

General

• It is a requirement of the post that the post-holder must maintain registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as a Practitioner Psychologist and to maintain this registration at all times.
• Demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional development through participation in internal and external development opportunities identified in supervision and appraisal.
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation and as agreed with the post-holder’s professional and service manager and supervisors.
• Contribute to the development and articulation of best practice in psychology across the service.
• Maintain the highest standards of record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and take responsibility in the exercise of professional governance in accordance with professional codes of practice of the HCPC and British Psychological Society and local policies and procedures. Ensure all record keeping is in line with local, professional, organisational and National guidelines.
• Maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to the specific client group.
• Work effectively, co-operatively as a member of a team, maintaining good working relationships with colleagues and professionals from other agencies.
• At all times promote and ensure anti-discriminatory practice in all matters of staff management and service delivery in accordance with the organisation equality and diversity approaches and statutory and regulatory guidelines.
• Adhere to all Caudwell Children policies and procedures
• When necessary work flexible hours, including evenings, weekends and bank holidays to ensure the efficient operation of the service. This Job Description indicates only the main duties and responsibilities of the post. It is not intended as an exhaustive list. The Organisation reserve the right to amend this Job Description from time to time, according to business needs.

Person Specification

Essential Criteria:

• HCPC Registered Psychologist (Clinical, Counselling or Educational).
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment across a range of settings,
• Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
• Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts.
• Experience in the assessment and diagnosis of autism.
• Experience of working with a variety of client groups, including children, young people, families, autism and developmental disabilities across a range that reflect a wide range of clinical severity. Work with children with autism and/or complex needs/ LD.
• Maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive scenarios.
• Experience of working in an MDT.
• Experience of working with families.
• Experience of undertaking standardised formal psychometric assessments, structured professional judgments and informal observations and interviews.
• Formulation and implementation of interventions.
• Knowledge of a range of neurodevelopmental disorders.
• Knowledge and experience in the use of neuropsychological assessment in children.
• High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.
• PBS, person centered and systems approaches.
• Knowledge of statutory/mandatory training requirements
• Understanding of evidence based practice
• Knowledge of relevant legislation.
• Knowledge of current safeguarding and child protection legislation and practice.
• Knowledge of Information Governance Standards.
• Knowledge of Health & Safety legislation.
• Knowledge of Education Health Care Plans.
• Delivering training to a range of audiences.
• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of approaches.
• Understanding of Clinical Governance and its application in practice.
• Excellent team-working and communication skills.
• Excellent time management and organisational skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work under pressure.
• An openness and willingness to learn new skills and to put these into practice.
• A personal commitment to the organisation’s values and principles.
• A commitment to the principles and practice of continual service improvement.
• A commitment to uphold the rights of children; vulnerable and disabled people.
• A commitment to the organisation’s approaches to equality and diversity.
• A positive can-do attitude.
• Ability to demonstrate a flexible approach to work.
• Able to meet the physical requirements of the role after reasonable adjustments have been made for illness or disability.
• Undertake personal and professional development in order to meet the changing demands of the job.
• Able to travel to meet the needs of the post.

Desirable Criteria:

Qualifications in research methodology, staff training, supervision and/or other fields of applied psychology.

Disclosure & barring service checks

The Charity is committed to safeguarding children and young people and therefore adopts a safer recruitment approach through a robust recruitment and selection process. All posts within the Charity are subject to DBS checks, in line with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974). This role is eligible for an Enhanced with barred lists DBS check. 

Competitive

Permanent, full-time (37.5 hours per week)

Job description and full specification:

Download full job description and specification here.

Equal opportunities

Caudwell Children is a Disability Confident employer committed to offering an interview to all applicants who meet the minimum criteria and declare they have a disability. We are committed to creating a diverse environment and will not discriminate for any reason against any person because of their age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex or sexual orientation. We particularly encourage applications from people who identify as Black, Asian or from a Minority Ethnic background and other underrepresented groups.