Salary: £65,423 to £68,884 per year/Soulbury B 6-9 (plus 3 SPAs)
Hours per week: 37
Contract type: Permanent

We are a supportive team of dynamic psychologists, seeking colleagues to expand our in-demand service. The service is central to the delivery of an integrated inclusion service.

Luton is a super diverse unitary authority, within 30 minutes train journey of London. We are highly regarded by our council, schools and community partners. Our educational settings are inclusive and there is a strong emphasis on providing local provision for all Luton’s children.

We have excellent relationships with our educational settings and are excited to grow our service through the Experts at Hand and SEND Reforms.

Our work is oriented around achieving this vision by working in co-production, using person-centred approaches and empowering others. We are committed to working through a trauma-informed framework, promoting relational approaches and being actively anti-racist.

• Long-established traded service which continues to thrive, offering a link EP to educational settings through an early intervention model.
• Well-embedded and growing Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) programme.
• Trainee and assistant educational psychologists embedded within the team.
• EP representation across a range of multi-disciplinary inclusion services including early concerns for neurodiversity team, partnerships for inclusion of neurodiversity in schools (PINS), multi-disciplinary specialist team (MDST), primary SEMH service and others.
• Regular reflexive spaces to develop actively anti-racist practice.
• Specialist senior EPs support multi-disciplinary teams and projects, including Social Care and Virtual School, and Early Years, offering a breadth of knowledge, applied skills and expertise across services.
• Close work with mental health services in developing the local wellbeing strategy, support for children and young people experiencing emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA) and critical incident responses.

Please note this role does not attract sponsorship.

We are looking for an experienced and motivated Senior Educational Psychologist who is HCPC registered and holds a recognised postgraduate professional qualification in Educational Psychology (MSc or DEdPsych). You will have at least three years’ experience working as a qualified Educational Psychologist within a Local Authority context and demonstrate a strong commitment to improving outcomes for children and young people, particularly those who are vulnerable or have additional needs.

You will bring substantial experience of multi-disciplinary working and be confident in developing effective relationships with parents, carers, schools, colleagues and partner agencies. Strong communication, negotiation and influencing skills are essential, alongside the ability to work collaboratively and sensitively with a wide range of stakeholders. You will have a thorough understanding of psychological theories, educational psychology practice and evidence-based interventions, as well as current legislation and developments relating to education, SEND and wider children’s services.

As a senior EP, you will demonstrate effective leadership, management and supervisory skills, with experience of supporting, motivating and developing others. You will be able to contribute to policy and strategy development, lead service improvement initiatives and support the implementation of organisational priorities. Excellent organisational skills are essential, including the ability to manage competing demands, plan effectively, organise people and delegate appropriately.

You will be an effective team player who values the perspectives of others and contributes positively to collaborative working. The ability to produce high-quality, clear and professional reports is essential. We are seeking someone who is committed to continuous professional development and who brings both professional expertise and a passion for delivering high-quality psychological services that make a meaningful difference to children, families and educational settings.

Our ambitious Luton 2040 Vision – that no-one in Luton will have to live in poverty – is at the heart of everything we do. We recognise that our people are remarkable, talented, committed and passionate about serving our residents.

The people of Luton depend heavily on this council – and that means our workforce! Are you ready to realise the remarkable and help us deliver our vision?

We welcome applications from all sections of the community and are committed to developing a workforce that reflects the diversity of our borough

Because of the nature of this job, it will be necessary for the appropriate level of criminal record disclosure to be undertaken. This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare all unspent cautions and convictions; and also any adult cautions (simple or conditional), and spent convictions that are not protected as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020). A person’s criminal record will not in itself prevent a person from being appointed to this post. Applicants will not be refused posts because of offences which are not relevant to, and do not place them at or make them a risk in, the role for which they are applying. However in the event of the employment being taken up, any failure to disclose such offence, as detailed above, will result in dismissal or disciplinary action by the Authority.

We offer a range of excellent staff benefits which include:

• From 25 to 32 days’ annual leave: linked to length of service and grade
• Buying annual leave scheme: buy up to 20 days additional annual leave
• Career Pathways: step up in your career or move into a specialist area
• Pension scheme: with generous employer contributions of up to 19.2 per cent (at April 2026) and 3x salary death in service grant
• Generous relocation package: up to £8,000 (subject to eligibility)
• Employee Assistance Programme: a free, 24/7 confidential counselling and wellbeing support service available to all employees, their partner or spouse and dependent children over 16 still living at home
• Work/life balance: flexible working options including working from home where possible. We welcome requests for flexible working arrangements including part-time hours and alternative working patterns
• Training and support: unlimited access to development courses, mentoring and support and clear career pathways
• Staff offers: includes discounts on your MOT, gym and fitness, restaurants and salons
• Arriva Travel Club: great value savings on local bus travel
• Friday Funday Socials – One Friday every 2 months where we encourage our staff to get together to socialise after work

As an equal opportunities employer, we strongly welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We want our workforce to reflect the diversity of our local communities so that we can all work for a brighter future – together.

If you are interested in joining our fantastic service, please contact Dr Joanne Summers (Principal Educational Psychologist and Head of Inclusion Services) joanne.summers@luton.gov.uk or Dr Jane Reichardt (Deputy Principal Educational Psychologist) jane.reichardt@luton.gov.uk for an informal discussion.