Principal Educational Psychologist
| Posting date: | 08 January 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | Not specified |
| Additional salary information: | Competitive |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 07 February 2026 |
| Location: | Trafford, M33 7ZF |
| Company: | inploi |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 75776790 |
Summary
Principal Educational Psychologist
Location - Sale Waterside, Sale M33 7ZF
Salary range - Soulbury: Senior and Principal Educational Psychologists: Pt 13-15 (£72,095 to £74,790 per annum)
Trafford council is a Living Wage Employer.
Working Pattern Full Time (Monday Friday)
Working hours 36.25 hours per week
We will offer flexibility where we can if you are interested in a role, please speak to the recruiting manager about what flexibility they might consider.
Many of our colleagues can work from home for one or more days a week and/or they flex the hours they work. We call this SMART working, and it gives you the option to flex your days and hours so you can fit your work around your life and life around your work.
Contract type Permanent
Application deadline 05 February 2026
Interview type In person
About the Role
We currently have an exciting leadership vacancy within our team to enable us to continue to build on our success and bring new experience, knowledge, and ideas.
Trafford’s Educational Psychology Service is a successful, thriving and well-respected service driving forward support for children with SEND across the borough and we are looking for a Principal Educational Psychologist to join a dynamic and cohesive, small borough team with a strong track record for recruitment and retention.
Our new Principal Educational Psychologist will have the vision, passion, expertise, and ability to innovatively lead the service forward to ensure the best possible outcomes for our children and young people. You will be able to contribute to supporting and extending our commissioned work streams including supporting the Early Years service and Virtual School alongside the delivery of the Whole School and College approach to Mental Health and the implementation of our Emotionally-Based School Non-Attendance toolkit of support.
As the Principal Educational Psychologist, you will shape local practice, working in partnership with schools and others to drive inclusion and improve SEND practice and you will ensure that our Educational Psychology team has the skills and expertise to influence and lead support across the local area. We are proud of our strong service level agreement offered to our schools including our centralised ELSA training offer.
The EP service also benefits from our strong links with Manchester University and regular involvement in doctoral research commissions and you will enjoy leading and participating in our culture of peer support, our commitment to continuous learning and the professional development of all team members.
About you
You should have proven experience of leadership within an EP service, providing direction and clear vision to those you work with, to ensure service excellence across the SEND sector and we would welcome applications from senior Educational Psychologists with appropriate experience.
You will be able to demonstrate experience in managing and developing staff, alongside excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and have a proven track record of delivering SEND improvements, including experience of planning and budget/financial management.
You must be able to work alongside other managers across the SEND Local Area, to ensure consistency of practice across the borough and to promote the development of a supportive collaborative culture.
You will be able to demonstrate how you have successfully led and managed innovative and developmental projects that addressed the SEND improvement priorities of the local area whilst ensuring children, young people and their families are at the centre of all practice and processes.
You must be able to be flexible and resilient and be able to plan, organise and prioritise a demanding workload to maintain the delivery of multiple and competing short and long term objectives.
You should also have a minimum of 3 years’ Educational Psychology experience and have a Degree in Psychology (or equivalent as recognised by the British Psychological Society) and hold a registration with the Health and Care Professionals Council.
About us
Trafford Council and its partners in the public, private and third sectors have a Vision which sees us working together to close inequality gaps and maximise Trafford’s huge potential.
Our vision: Trafford where all our residents, businesses and communities thrive.
Trafford is a lively, prosperous place to put down roots and build a career. The council and Trafford schools employ around 8,000 people, who are central to making the area great. In return for their commitment, the council offers its employees development opportunities, as well as a fair and flexible workplace. The council is a Living Wage Employer.
Additional Information
Please note the advert may close early if we receive a high number of applications so, please do not delay in submitting your application.
Flexibility will be required to work outside core hours.
A DBS check will be required.
You will have some flexibility in terms of hybrid working at home and in the office.
You will be required to drive in this role.
Contact Details
For further information related to this post, please contact:
Karen Samples, Director of Education, Standards, Quality & Performance
karen.samples@trafford.gov.uk
Tel: 07725 070714
About the benefits
You will be welcomed into a friendly environment where your personal and professional development will be encouraged. You will have the opportunity to work and grow in a people-centered and values-based organisation that promotes a positive permission culture. Your opinions matter so you will have the opportunity to shape how we do things here at Trafford.
To learn more about Trafford as a place to work visit and to view more about our awards and benefits please visit: Trafford - Benefits | www.inploi.com (greater.jobs)
If you are applying under the Guaranteed Assessment Scheme then you need to show that you meet the essential requirements of the job as set out in the ‘About You’ section of the role profile. You may be given the opportunity to demonstrate your skills, talent and abilities at an interview or other form of assessment.
OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION
Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment - greater.jobs | www.inploi.com
For this opportunity, you must be able to prove you have the right to work in the UK - if in doubt please visit the following link Employers' right to work checklist - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Please note we are not a licensed sponsor and we won't be able to support with your work visa.
Privacy Notice - The Council needs to hold and process information about employees, workers and other individuals as appropriate, for various reasons. With the General Data Protection Regulations coming into force we have in place a new privacy notice for staff, contractors, volunteers, trainees, those on work experience and job applicants. To find out more, please click here: Recruitment & Employment Privacy Notice (trafford.gov.uk)
Supporting Documents
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