Berkhamsted School Psychologist

Applicant Information Pack School Psychologist

A foreword from our Principal and Chief People Officer Richard Backhouse - Principal Berkhamsted has led the way in pursuing a ‘foundation structure’. As a group of six schools, it combines scale of resource with individual attention and development of pupils – and staff. We start with our values: we aim for excellence – aiming high with integrity – in all that we do. We are ‘adventurous’, and support development, research, and experimentation in teaching and learning. We ‘serve others’ – at both pupil and staff level: ours is a non-hierarchical school in which the opinions of all matter, and in which we all share in the support and contribution to our local community.

Above all, we are committed to developing remarkable people, both our pupils and our staff.

We are looking for highly committed, ambitious and adventurous people to join a thriving staff body, whom we can support to flourish here, and whom we can help to grow. Our staff are so important that we have a Chief People Officer as one of our most senior members of staff.

Tracey Evans - Chief People Officer Our staff are our biggest asset at Berkhamsted, and so investing in not only their professional development but also their wellbeing, is a key priority. We foster a working environment that supports staff both professionally and personally. We offer a wide range of staff wellbeing initiatives.

Colleagues can easily access financial, physical, emotional and social well-being support from school.

We seek to enable all members of the school community to achieve their full potential in an environment characterised by equality respect and opportunity.

We work hard at Berkhamsted, but we also know how to come together as a community and enjoy downtime, building relationships which simply last a lifetime.

History of Berkhamsted Schools Group

xxxxxxxxx

Berkhamsted School is situated in the historic Hertfordshire town of Berkhamsted, a prosperous community surrounded by Chiltern countryside and within easy reach of London. With Her Majesty the Queen as the School’s patron, Berkhamsted is a leading Independent School for pupils aged 3 to 18 years, the foundation of which dates back to 1541 (when John Incent, the Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, successfully applied to King Henry the VIII for a license to purchase a piece of land for a ‘freescole’).

In 1888 a Girls School was founded in Berkhamsted under the same governing body, and the Boys’ and Girls’ Schools merged to form a diamond school in 1997. The Prep School was also integrated at this stage, and the School became Berkhamsted Collegiate School.

In 2011 the School merged with Heatherton House, a small independent day School for girls in Chesham Bois, and became the Berkhamsted Schools Group. Operating as a satellite Prep School, Heatherton provides a feed of Girls to the Berkhamsted Girls School every year. In 2012 Berkhamsted Schools Group acquired Haresfoot, a small proprietary prep school in Berkhamsted. This site now houses the Berkhamsted Pre-Prep and Berkhamsted Day Nursery Limited, and Berkhamsted Prep takes children from age 7-11.

Berkhamsted is the only School in the Herts, Beds and Bucks region, and one of only a small number of Schools in the country, to offer a ‘diamond’ structure that combines the best of both single-sex and coeducational teaching. Boys and Girls are taught together until the age of 11 (Berkhamsted Pre-Prep and Prep), separately from the age of 11-16 (Berkhamsted Boys and Berkhamsted Girls), before coming back together again in a joint sixth form (Berkhamsted Sixth).

Job Description Reporting to: Make to use Gills Sans Font Vicesure Principal

Purpose: The of School Psychologist is a whole-School post working as a clinical psychologist and consultant Hours work: 8.30am-5pm Monday to Friday, all year round. with all members of the teaching staff, students, and parents in the school community to develop the essential social-emotional competencies in pupils at Berkhamsted School that will support the pupils’ thriving and the school’s purpose and values.

The School Psychologist will be expected to adhere to the ethical standards and codes of the profession and to the established rules, regulations and laws governing counselling.

Hours of work: To be negotiated, but in the range of 0.5-1.0 FTE, school term times plus five weeks of school holiday per year, i.e., 39/52 of the year. The post-holder may be expected be able to work flexibly to be available to senior colleagues outside of normal office hours to meet specific urgent needs of members of the school community.

Remmuneration: Between NHS pay bands 8a to 8b plus 10%*, dependent on experience. An applicant with strong experience, knowledge, and skills should expect to receive 8b plus 10%.

The appointee will also be eligible for all the other benefits available to pupil-facing, i.e., teaching staff, including staff fee remission.

The appointee will be enrolled in the School’s defined contribution pension scheme, more details of which are available on request. *Currently 8a=£47,126 and 8b=£63,862. Remuneration therefore to be in the range: £51,839 to £70,248.

Job Description Responsibilities 1.Strategic: Make sure toperiodically, use Gills Sansand Fontwhere necessary to the Principal concerning any critical area of school activity, and to the Board of Governors occasionally.

Hours of work: 8.30am-5pm Monday to Friday, all year round.

2.Indirect Clinical: reporting to the Vice Principal (Heads of Senior Schools and the Designated Safeguarding Leads) to advise and direct on all significant matters relating to institutional relationships and their management within the School community.

3. Direct and Indirect Clinical: with the Heads of schools, and working within the Schools' pastoral structures, to help to manage the more complex pastoral issues in those Schools.

4.Direct Clinical: To provide guidance on allocation of pupils to modalities available in the in-house counselling service.

5. The successful applicant will be expected to play an active role in School life.

Specifically, the post-holder will be expected, over the course of a school term or year: To report annually to the Board of Governors concerning the health of the school communities; To attend Wellbeing Committee meetings and related case-working meetings as requested and required.

To meet weekly with the Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs); To join pastoral middle leaders’ meetings with their Heads as required; To meet weekly with the Head of Learning Support; To meet regularly with the Vice Principal and with the Deputy Head Pupil Wellbeing/Development;

Job Description To liaise with, and whenever required, support in a consultative* role: Heads of House, Tutors, Make sure to use Gills Sans Font Matrons, Chaplain, Deputy Heads of House, the School Doctor(s), Medical Centre staff and the

Learning Support Team; maintain contacts with relevant external Hours ofTo work: 8.30am-5pm Monday to Friday, all year round. agencies to ease referrals; To design, arrange and deliver parenting and psychoeducational courses for year groups of parents, House groups of parents and other bespoke groups, in a variety of formats including on-line; To provide relevant training for teachers, Tutors, and non-teaching staff; To enable strategic initiatives in pastoral care by providing references and resources and, in addition, participating in, as well as the planning and delivery of, induction, ongoing Inset and Away Days; To contribute to the development of the School’s pastoral policies and practices; To advise on content within the new Personal Development programme and to assist the Head of Department and Senior Management Team in its development; As a clinical psychologist, to receive referrals from the Safeguarding Committee, related pastoral groups or School Doctor(s) and from Heads of the Schools of students who need specialist support for cognitive, emotional, and behavioural difficulties which are beyond those which members of the teaching staff, including pastoral middle leaders and the Chaplain are able or qualified to give. *Consultation is an indirect approach in which the School Psychologist meets with a third party to talk about pupils’ interests and progress. This might include individual and group meetings with teachers, parents, and members of Senior Management. It could involve the Medical Centre, Health Education professionals and other adults who have an influence with the pupil. It might also consist of meeting with a pupil who is concerned about another pupil or group of pupils.

Job Description Where necessary and in support of the above, to arrange to meet with parents and groups of students as appropriate; To assess risks in relation to students’ mental or emotional state, and to report back to the Vice Hours of work: 8.30am-5pm Monday to Friday, year round.

Principal, the Deputy Head PupilallWellbeing/Development, and the Heads of Sixth, Boys and Girls, as necessary; To Undertake or join in with research initiatives in the school setting as appropriate and feasible; Helping to interpret psychometric assessments where necessary, to parents, teachers, pupils, or the learning support team.

When appropriate and following the Schools’ protocols, to inform the Vice Principal, directly or through another member of the Senior Management Team, of the identity and nature of referrals made outside the channels of Safeguarding Committee; To be self-sufficient in terms of administration and to maintain accurate and up to date electronic and manual records, as required by the position and the School.

Make sure to use Gills Sans Font

Skill and Experience Required Qualified clinical psychologist Experience in treatment of adolescents – across the genders.

Familiarity with most recent research in respect of adolescence and the psychological difficulties of this period of development: a strong track record of continuing professional development.

Empathy.

Professional boundary setting.

Strong personal administration and organisation skills.

Strong presentation and communication skills.

Strong prioritisation skills.

Job Description Make sure to use Protection Gills Sans Font L3 Child and Safeguarding training.

Consonance with the School’s values.

Understanding of, and sympathy with, the Schools’ educational aims and objectives.

Hours of work: 8.30am-5pm Monday to Friday, all year round.

Outstanding professional discretion.

Ability to inspire confidence in colleagues.

An ability to communicate effectively with young people, and track record of doing so.

Desirable Attributes Network of relationships within local CAMHS (Child and Adolescence Mental Health Service) departments.

Ability to adopt a coaching posture in conversations with fellow professionals.

An ability to support parents and educate them about mental health An ability to represent the School on the wider stage.

Benefits Benefits We boast a competitive salary structure, alongside other benefits, which includes access to a comprehensive pension scheme.

The wellbeing of our staff is a priority. We have a developed programme for staff with initiatives and support in the areas of Economic, Physical, Emotional and Social wellbeing.

Free classes and advisory services. memberships and discounted rates in local establishments, together with cycle to work scheme, free on-site parking, free daily lunch, and fee reduction for staff's children are examples of some of the non-contractual benefits on offer in this programme.

Safeguarding and Child Protection Berkhamsted is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and visitors to adopt a child centred and coordinated approach to child protection and safeguarding.

A copy of the School’s Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy can be found HERE The school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and visitors to adopt a child centred and coordinated approach to child protection and safeguarding. Berkhamsted Schools Group is a registered charity dedicated to education: 310630.

Application and Next Steps The closing date for applications is: 26 January 2022 sure to use Gills Sans Font Interviews will be held 4th FebruaryMake 2022.

Applicants should send a completed application form (available on our website) to the HR Department by email to recruitment@berkhamsted.com Please note that CVs without an accompanying application form will not be accepted.

It is an offence to apply for this role if you are barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children; applicants must be willing to undertake a number of safeguarding checks including an enhanced Disclosure and Barring (DBS). This post is also subject to receipt of written references which must be satisfactory to Berkhamsted Schools Group along with documentary evidence of qualifications.

Successful applicants will need to provide confirmation of permission to work in the UK. Please note that under the Immigration Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, the school has an obligation to ensure applicants have the right to work in the UK prior to commencement of employment. (If it is found that those documents do not meet the legal requirement, an offer of employment will be withdrawn).

Where the successful candidate has worked or been a resident overseas in the previous five years, such checks and confirmations as the school may require in accordance with statutory guidance.

We aim to be an equal opportunities employer and we are determined to ensure that no applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, age, disability, religion, belief, sexual orientation, marital status, or race.

If you have any questions relating to this role please contact the HR department at recruitment@berkhamsted.com.