WESTERN EDUCATION AND LIBRARY BOARD

WESTERN EDUCATION AND LIBRARY BOARD Post Title: Department: Division: Reports to: Salary: Base: Educational Psychologist Early Years Capacity Building Programme Children and Young People s Services Learning Support Services Project Co-ordinator Soulbury Scale To be determined BACKGROUND INFORMATION A project is being established on the basis of Department of Education funding to build the capacity of teachers and other staff within mainstream schools and in DE funded early years settings to better support children facing barriers to learning, in particular, those with Special Educational Needs (SEN). Two pilot studies underpin the development of the work in this area: Pilot A: Early Years Settings and Pilot B: Level A Educational Testing. Pilot A: Early Years focuses on the establishment of pilot Early Intervention Teams in each of the five ELB areas. While differences exist in terms of the constituent components of the pilot programmes across the five ELB areas, common objectives have been identified that should underpin the local framework for delivery. In this regard, Pilot A is designed to facilitate: improving early identification; the assessment and intervention, for children with SEN and/or disability in statutory nursery settings and in their immediate pre-school year in PEAGs funded settings; enhancing their readiness to formal education; improving the skills of pre-school practitioners to identify, assess and meet the needs of those children; improving consistency of SEN provision across these pre-school services; providing a pathway through a comprehensive evaluation process, to a future model of SEN best practice for early intervention, assessment and provision across early years settings. Pilot B: Level A Educational Testing is designed to enhance the skills of SENCos/teachers in mainstream schools to identify, assess and make appropriate provision for children with SEN. In this regard Pilot B focuses on: increasing the educational assessment skills and capacity of staff in mainstream schools to identify and assess the pupils; improving the schools capacity to deliver in-house, relevant and purposeful interventions; developing and/or expanding their in-house expertise/skills base in educational assessment; increasing their confidence and competence in the interpretation of tests; improving the analysis of assessment data; - 1 -

improving capacity to intervene effectively at school based level to ensure the delivery of appropriate school based interventions; engaging effectively with external support, if this is required; becoming more familiar with the terminology used in assessment reports from educational psychologists and from other professionals; improving teacher confidence in their communication with parents regarding the school provision planned. These pilot projects will be managed by the five Education and Library Boards (ELBs) over the financial years 2011/2012, 2012/2013 and 2013/2014. The Educational Psychologist post is part of the core staffing for Pilot A - Early Years and Pilot B - Level A Educational Testing. JOB PURPOSE The post holder will work as part of a multi-agency team within the Board area to support the delivery of a recently approved DE Early Years Capacity Building Programme. This programme will focus on supporting children in their immediate pre-school year in PEAGs funded settings as well as nursery schools, classes and units. It is aimed at improving the capacity of staff in early years settings in the identification and support of children with special educational needs. The Educational Psychologist, under the guidance of the project co-ordinator, will be responsible for the research and evaluation of this project and will be required to facilitate the collection/collation of data/evidence to permit the robust analyses, at both local and regional level, of the pilot projects in line with core project objectives. This will assist DE in reviewing the effectiveness and impact of the projects. The post holder will also work alongside staff in identified early years settings providing advisory support and training in addition to the delivery of targeted support programmes mainly in relation to language and communication although there may also be associated behaviour difficulties. They will also provide advice, support and training to parents of children who have been identified as having special educational needs. MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Duties related to the Educational Psychologist s contribution to the Early Years team include the following:- Research and Evaluation Use agreed methodology for the collection/collation and analysis of data/evidence in relation to the core objectives of the project Complete robust quantitative and qualitative analysis of data/evidence relating to the pilot projects in line with core objectives and DE targets - 2 -

Provide written research reports to the project co-ordinator, regional co-ordinator and other relevant bodies as required Utilise appropriate ICT software packages (eg Microsoft Word, Access, Excel, etc) and data management systems eg EMS Capita Module for Special Education, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), to facilitate data collection/collation and analysis Engage with other Early Years Projects in other Board areas as part of a coherent research implementation programme Project Development Provide regular written reports within expected time frames in relation to project implementation at local level Attend and contribute to regular team meetings in line with the duties of the post Contribute to the established evaluative frameworks for the project to help inform future models of SEN best practice for early intervention mainly in the area of language and communication Facilitate reporting protocols that are required by the Education & Library Board in compliance with DE Resource Allocation Plan (RAP) requirements Assessment and Intervention: Psychological assessment of children in early years settings; Provide advice to the Board in the context of the statutory assessment of children with special educational needs; Provide advice to the Board at the stage of transfer of children with Statements from preschool to primary education; Promote a co-ordinated approach in the assessment and identification of the special educational needs of children with a language and communication difficulty Provide advice and guidance to parents, teachers and early years staff as appropriate regarding the assessment, identification, management and teaching/support of children with SEN and /or disability to ensure consistency and commonality of approaches in all settings; Assist in the development, implementation and review of individualised/group/class educational programmes for children with SEN with particular reference to language and communication and associated difficulties Maintain records of intervention and provide reports at regular intervals Support the transition of children involved in the project to their Year 1 provision - 3 -

Contribute to multi-disciplinary meetings, as appropriate, regarding the special educational needs of individual children Training Contribute, as part of the Early Years team, to the development and delivery of training for staff in early years settings, parents and other professionals as required; Contribute to established evaluative training frameworks in relation to expected outputs and outcomes of the project Raising achievement and organisational development Work within the Board s Corporate Objectives and the Operational Objectives of the Children & Young People s Services Department; Assist in the implementation of the Board s ICT Strategy; Liaise and work co-operatively with colleagues in Children &Young People s Services and other sections of the Board to ensure consistent, coherent and comprehensive approaches in meeting the special educational needs of children in early years settings; Liaise and work co-operatively with Health & Social Services professionals and other statutory and voluntary agencies to promote consistency and coherence of services to children with special educational needs. Continuing Professional Development Attend Continuing Professional Development courses in line with British Psychological Society Regulation guidelines Supervisory Responsibilities Supervision of other staff as required Professional Supervision Appropriate supervision arrangements, to include annual appraisal, will be agreed with the Board s Educational Psychology Service and with the Project Co-ordinator Other Duties Comply with Board policies and procedures in relation to the duties and responsibilities of the post Maintain at all time confidentiality of information received Undertake any other related duties as required by the Board - 4 -

Qualifications and Experience Applicants must be fully qualified Educational Psychologists with a Degree or equivalent qualification in Psychology, a recognised* teaching qualification, recognised* post-graduate training in Educational Psychology and either (a) not less than 2 years full-time teaching experience or (b) a minimum of 5 years experience of working as an Educational Psychologist with a recognised Public Authority. OR Applicants must be fully qualified Educational Psychologists with a Degree or equivalent qualification in Psychology, and recognised post-graduate training in Educational Psychology in the form of a three-year doctorate course. Registration with the Health Professions Council (HPC) is essential on taking up duty as an Educational Psychologist. *Eligibility Within the context of EC Directive 89/28 on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications and the Department of Education s responsibility for determining educational psychologists qualifications, the Board reserves the right to refer the details of applicants to the Department where eligibility has to be established and to be guided by the Department s determination. The person appointed must have access to transport in order to fulfil the requirement of the post. The Selection Panel reserves the right to enhance the criteria in order to facilitate a manageable shortlist. Knowledge, Skills, Personal Qualities Applicants should: have a sound knowledge of current educational developments within the area of Special Education and also within the wider educational context; A thorough knowledge of legislation and policy that impacts on the early years as well as special educational needs in the area of language and communication. be committed to inclusive approaches in meeting pupils Special Educational Needs; have working knowledge of appropriate psychometric tests and assessment techniques; have knowledge of evaluation and research techniques; have the ability to work effectively as a member of a team with a pro-active and flexible approach; - 5 -

possess good presentation, oral and written communication skills; have excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively with inter-agency and multi-professional teams; be a committed and enthusiastic member of the team with the ability to lead and motivate professional colleagues; possess personal qualities of caring, empathy and mutual respect; have a willingness to develop knowledge/skills. Please note the onus is on candidates to provide sufficient detailed information on their application forms in order to demonstrate how they meet each of the criteria. Failure to do so may result in a candidate not being shortlisted since Selection Panels cannot make assumptions in the absence of essential information. Terms and Conditions of Service The main terms and conditions of employment are those for Educational Psychologists as laid down by the Joint Negotiating Council for Education and Library Boards (NI) and are drawn mainly from the conditions of service of the National Joint Council for Local Authorities staff. Salary Scale The salary scale for the post is 32,163-44,308 per annum. Hours of Work The hours of work will not normally be less than 18 hours per week required until 31 December 2013 with possible extension or review by the employing authority, subject to funding. Annual Leave Entitlement Entitlement to annual leave is 25 days in a full holiday year in addition to 12 public and extra statutory holidays. Entitlement to leave in the first year of employment is pro-rata to the number of months completed. General Conditions of Appointment Appointments are subject to (a) (b) the Contracts of Employment and Redundancy Payments Act 1965 as amended and in particular the statutory provisions relating to termination of employment and the period of notice; the provisions of the Local Government Superannuation Act (NI) for the time being in force; - 6 -

(c) (d) (e) (f) production of satisfactory evidence of health; probationary period of six months; sickness and maternity benefit regulations as incorporated in the Board s Scheme for Sickness Allowance, details of which are available on request from the Human Resources Department; the condition that no other employment is entered into during the period of employment by the Board and that no employment by or in the service of another person or body should be undertaken except with express approval of the Board. Canvassing and Referees Canvassing directly or indirectly will entail disqualification. Referees asked for on the application form should not include any officer or member of the Western Education and Library Board. Posts involving work in educational institutions are subject to the provisions of the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults (NI) Order 2007 FEBRUARY 2012-7 -