JOB DESCRIPTION ASSISTANT PSYCHOLOGIST Salary Grade: Scale S02 points 32-34 Accountable to: Head of Integrated Working Responsible for: 3 members of the Behaviour Support Team 1. JOB SUMMARY The post holder will manage The Bridge School Behaviour Support Team (BST) and coordinate all aspects of behaviour management across both primary and secondary sites, including managing staff, supervision and debrief around behavioural concerns. To work closely with and coordinate multi agency working between teachers, CAMHs, social care, therapists and families. To organise and chair TAC, family, integrated and professionals meetings as and when needed. The post holder will have knowledge and skills in positive behaviour management and approaches to promote this. They will lead and promote incident reporting, ensuring all staff are trained in Iris Adapt and will analyse data and present to all school staff on a regular basis. The post holder will manage and coordinate Team Teach training courses internally and externally and ensure that the Team Teach ethos is upheld by all. The post holder will be required to work independently and have the skills and experience to enable autonomous practice in all areas including consultation responsibilities, service delivery and decision making. The main purpose of the post is to develop and maintain a coordinated and consistent approach across the Bridge School and with families who attend the school around positive behaviour management. Main duties To be part of the Extended Leadership Team and to lead and develop systems to support positive behaviour management approaches across the school and to attend Leadership meetings when required. To operationally line manage 3 members of the BST; including providing regular timetabling, meetings, supervision, debrief and supporting prioritisation of workload. To lead and challenge behavioural approaches and strategies for all staff and governors as well as to work collaboratively to develop more effective systems around communicating and sharing information, especially at whole school level To regularly hold one-to-one debriefs and crisis management sessions with staff and to challenge poor practice and set firm boundaries and targets to work towards in relation to managing behaviour To sensitively manage relationships with staff and to develop an effective system to undertake, document and feedback observations of individual children/ and or classes and monitor progress and outcomes. Page 1 of 5
To actively remind and develop systems to ensure staff complete relevant incident forms and provide training sessions around Iris Adapt. To manage daily incident reports on Iris Adapt and to conduct on-going comparative analysis of behaviour across both sites through detailed analysis; with frequent review of individual monitoring/ behaviour diaries for specific children. To develop a system to regularly feedback Incident information to Leadership and all staff To work closely with staff at Iris Adapt on a weekly basis; to ensure all updates and developments are completed or in progress To undertake own caseload of referrals as part of the Behaviour Support Team including observations, using psychological tools and analysis and feedback. To work as part of a larger integrated team to develop Behaviour Support Plans and Guidelines. To coordinate all home visits and ensure risk assessments are completed To keep records of own work, develop record keeping across both sites and support staff to complete records. To work with the outreach team specifically relating to behavioural issues To develop system for ensuring that debriefing of staff is consistent and documented to ensure lessons are learnt. To develop and deliver training; whole site/school staff meetings with the team to support the use of positive behaviour management across the school, including INSET days To organise and chair TAC, family, integrated and professionals meetings as and when needed and to attend and represent the Behaviour Support Team. To become/remain a Team Teach trainer. To develop the confidence of staff to use and reflect on the use of Team Teach principles and physical interventions in real life situations and in training and to challenge poor practice. To coordinate all aspects of Team Teach Training within school including organising regular fortnightly Refreshers, updating and maintaining training databases, allocating trainers and ensuring all paperwork and certificates are in date To develop the Bridge School Team Teach Protocol and liaise with the Training Department and all Trainers to ensure it is followed and reviewed regularly Page 2 of 5
To liaise with the Training Department to manage external courses and coordinate in-house trainers To work with sensitivity and expertise to attend to the needs of an ethnically and culturally diverse client group, many of whom are refugees, asylum seekers or speak English as second language To consult and/or work jointly with multi-disciplinary professionals from CAMHS, where they are working with family issues concerning severe, complex or life-limiting disability and provide senior expertise in this specialist clinical area. To be the lead professional for all fast track CAMHs cases by providing information, attending meetings and liaising with parents and school staff. To maintain records consistent with confidentiality and in keeping with professional practice, particularly attending to accuracy and evaluation. To prepare reports on children and their families and to contribute to multi-disciplinary team reports for internal and external purposes. To ensure the highest professional standards by maintaining, initiating and managing a continuing professional development plan. To participate in performance appraisal as determined. To maintain a highly specialised knowledge base in the field of severe and complex special needs and associated health and other interventions, to be aware of the research basis for these interventions and to update this knowledge regularly. To participate in the dissemination of evidence-based practice developments internally and externally as required. To maintain a highly specialised knowledge and skill base about developments in child protection policy and practice To remain up-to-date with relevant local and national developments in policy, practice, legislation, guidance and associated enquiries in this specialist area. To keep up to date with local information and services and signpost families where relevant Page 3 of 5
Post Title: ASSISTANT PSYCHOLOGIST School: The Bridge London and Professional Training Centre Professional qualities and skills Professional qualities and skills Essential Desirable 1. Experience of undertaking own caseload of referrals including observations, using psychological tools, analysis and feedback 2. Safeguarding/Child Protection through understanding and up to date knowledge 3. Knowledge and experience of positive approaches to behaviour management 4. Experience of working with pupils presenting challenging behaviour. 5. Considerable experience of working in a special school environment 6. Considerable experience of advising staff/parents on behaviour management techniques 7. Experience of engaging successfully with a wide range of agencies 8. Evidence of flexibility and being open to new ideas 9. Minimum level 2 Maths and English qualifications 10. Graduate in Psychology or related discipline 11. Line management experience of a small team 12. Team Teach Trainer 13. An appropriate qualification for the role 14. IRIS software experience Page 4 of 5
Personal qualities Essential 15. Evidence of good interpersonal skills and the ability to work as member of a team and develop and maintain good relations with all members of the school community. To work co-operatively with staff from a range of agencies as required 16. Leadership, training, coaching and mentoring skills 17. Evidence of the ability to communicate clearly and concisely both orally and in writing and to produce technical and financial information in a way that is comprehensible to lay persons 18. Evidence of an understanding and commitment to Equal Opportunities both in service delivery and employment, and an understanding of its effective operation within a school 19. Willingness to undertake additional tasks and responsibilities requested by Head of Integrated Working and the Executive Headteacher 20. Promote the school professionally 21. Undertake training and CPD relevantly This job description indicates in general terms, the type and level of work performed as well as the typical responsibilities of employees in this classification. The duties described are not to be interpreted as being allinclusive to any specific employee. Management reserves the rights to add, modify, change or rescind the work assignments of different positions and to make reasonable accommodations so that qualified employees can perform the essential functions of the job. Page 5 of 5