Assistant Educational Psychologist - ELCI

This position has a starting salary of £34,525 based on working 36 hours per week across 42 weeks per year (term-time, plus an additional 15 days per year), pro-rata to £37,265 (Soulbury AEP scale, point
2).

We have a number of opportunities available, based in the Guildford area for the west position and Elmbridge, Epsom and Ewell for the East position. You will be able to express your preference in your application.

Our Offer to You

A generous local government salary related pension
Up to 5 days of carer's leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year
Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, and shopping
A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents

About the Role

This role offers a psychologically rich opportunity to work at the point where early development, learning environments, and adult understanding intersect. ELCi is an evidence-based approach which has been designed and implemented within Surrey. It aligns with the Department for Education's SEND reforms outlined in "Every Child Achieving and Thriving", particularly the "Experts at Hand" model. The initiative has been shown to strengthen the capability of mainstream education settings to meet children's needs earlier, more effectively, and inclusively.

Some children enter Reception with needs that are not yet fully understood, and this role is fundamentally about supporting others to notice, make sense of, and respond differently. You will be working in the early stages of children's school lives, where patterns of communication, interaction, and emotional regulation are still emerging, and where adult interpretation plays a crucial role.

A central assumption of ELCi is that when adults feel more confident and psychologically informed, their environments become more attuned, and this benefits all children.

Your Role in Practice

You will spend time in Reception classrooms, working alongside teaching staff in a way that blends observation, modelling, discussion, and reflection. Your work will focus on supporting the adults in class to include children who experience differences in social communication, interaction, and/or emotional regulation through implementation of whole class approaches. Your impact will be seen in shifts in how adults understand and respond to need.

By supporting staff to think differently, you will help create classroom environments where more children feel understood, regulated, and able to engage in learning.

As an Assistant Educational Psychologist you will:

Assess social communication and emotional regulation supports in Reception classes using a SCERTS framework
Deliver weekly classroom input, supporting staff to develop emotionally attuned and communication-friendly learning whole-class environments
Model strategies in situ, helping staff to see how approaches translate into everyday interactions
Engage in shared problem-solving, supporting staff to think about children's needs in a nuanced and balanced way
Support the development of meaningful targets, and reflective cycles of monitoring and review
Offer information, advice, and signposting in a way that builds confidence and maintains professional respect
Engage actively in supervision, using it as a reflective space to develop your psychological thinking and professional identity
Contribute to project development, including evaluation and data interpretation
Support the analysis of data and producing written reports

This role would be particularly suited to someone who is developing their identity as a psychologist and is curious about the underlying processes that shape children's behaviour and learning. You will enjoy working collaboratively, value different perspectives, and have a natural ability to notice patterns across children, adults and their environments. The role is ideal for someone who is comfortable with uncertainty and sees it as an opportunity for reflection and deeper understanding.

You will value relational approaches, recognising that…