Senior Clinical Psychologist - Early Child Development

Devon Partnership NHS Trust

The closing date is 20 April 2025

Job summary

We are recruiting to a 0.7 WTE Clinical Psychologist post within the Early Child Development Pathway in Children and Family Health Devon (CFHD). The role is available at Band 8a, or as a Band 7 preceptorship, with structured support to progress to Band 8a once agreed competencies are met.

This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to psychologically informed care for young children under the age of 5 and their families, particularly where there are concerns about development, early mental health, or attachment.

You will work as part of a multi-disciplinary and multi-agency team, delivering assessment and intervention in a way that prioritises the parentchild relationship, supports trauma-informed care, and aligns with NICE guidance, including the use of video feedback and parentinfant psychotherapy models.

You will also contribute to the assessment of autism (ASD) in children under 5, bringing psychological insight into early neurodevelopmental diagnostic pathways and supporting families through formulation and feedback.

If you are looking for additional hours, this post can be considered alongside other Clinical Psychology roles within CFHD, depending on interest and service need.

Main duties of the job

Deliver psychological assessment, formulation and intervention with children under 5 and their caregivers
Contribute to the diagnostic assessment of autism in early childhood, alongside other professionals
Provide consultation, supervision and reflective practice within the wider multi-disciplinary team
Support service development and quality improvement, including audit, research and co-production
Engage in trauma-informed, relational and developmentally sensitive practice across the team
Receive regular clinical supervision and benefit from a structured job plan to support your professional growth

We Offer:

A preceptorship pathway from Band 7 to Band 8a
A supportive clinical network of psychologists across CFHD
Regular supervision, peer support and CPD
Opportunities for research, service development and links with local doctoral training programmes
A values-led team committed to inclusion, co-production and early intervention

If you are anexperienced (or newly qualified) Clinical Psychologist, passionate about improving early outcomes for young children and their families, we would love to hear from you.

About us

Children and Family Health Devon (CFHD) comprises an Alliance of NHS organisations working together to improve health outcomes for children and young people in Devon.

CFHD provides integrated care and treatment for children and young people across physical and mental health which are provided by Torbay and South Devon Foundation Trust and Devon Partnership Trust. We are working closely with other organisations and providers to ensure we deliver locality and county-wide based integrated access to all of our services, based on the i-Thrive Framework.

CFHD works closely with our local universities of Plymouth, Exeter & the Peninsula Medical School where we support students in clinical training placements and in addition support our own staff to undertake post graduate training.

Our integrated care and treatment has been developed and refined in partnership with children, young people and their families/carers.

Our children and young people say

We would like the people who work for Children and Family Health Devon to be understanding, patient and respectful. They should be trustworthy and make us feel safe and comfortable. It is important that they use their skills and experience to listen carefully in a non-patronising and non-judgemental way. When staff are positive and friendly, they help to create an environment that is informal and without pressure.

Date posted

09 April 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8a

Salary

£53,755 to £60,504 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time, Flexible working

Reference number

C9369-25-0299

Job locations

Integrated Childrens Services

Fishleigh Road

Roundswell Business Park

Barnstaple

Devon

EX31 3UD

Honeylands Hospital

Pinhoe Road

Exeter

EX4 8AD

Lescaze Offices

Shinner's Bridge

Dartington

Totnes

TQ9 6JE

South Devon Healthcare

187 Newton Road

Torquay

TQ2 7BA

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description for the full person specification and a more comprehensive role description

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description for the full person specification and a more comprehensive role description

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

A Professional Doctorate in Clinical Psychology or equivalent e.g. Masters level qualification in Clinical Psychology if qualified before 1996.
Active registration as a Practitioner Psychologist with the HCPC.
Post qualification specialist therapy/assessment training relevant to children and young people.
Post qualification training or proven equivalent experience in supervision

Experience

Essential

Experience of undertaking specialist psychological assessments and therapeutic interventions for CYP with a wide variety of mental health problems and/or neurodiversity and/or learning disability, reflecting all levels of clinical severity; including risk assessments of self-harming/dangerous/challenging behaviour.
Experience of teaching and/or training
Experience of delivering clinical supervision
Experience, and/or training in diversity awareness and social inequality

Desirable

Experience of work in psychological interventions with children, young people and their families in a range of service settings or agencies Experience in undertaking leadership roles within clinical psychology services in the NHS, and in contributing to the development, implementation and evaluation of strategies and clinical policies in multi-disciplinary, multi-agency contexts

Knowledge, skills and abilities

Essential

Specialist knowledge of child development and the impact of adverse childhood experiences.
Broad knowledge of psychological services; and of the services in the NHS where psychology is applied to the needs of children and young people
Knowledge of psychometric assessment tools and their appropriate use
Detailed understanding of relevant legislation (e.g. Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity, Section 25 of the Childrens Act)
Advanced psychological assessment and formulation skills including risk assessment.
Ability to travel across the geographical service area as required

Desirable

Knowledge and experience of undertaking neurodevelopmental assessments, including Autism assessments

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

A Professional Doctorate in Clinical Psychology or equivalent e.g. Masters level qualification in Clinical Psychology if qualified before 1996.
Active registration as a Practitioner Psychologist with the HCPC.
Post qualification specialist therapy/assessment training relevant to children and young people.
Post qualification training or proven equivalent experience in supervision

Experience

Essential

Experience of undertaking specialist psychological assessments and therapeutic interventions for CYP with a wide variety of mental health problems and/or neurodiversity and/or learning disability, reflecting all levels of clinical severity; including risk assessments of self-harming/dangerous/challenging behaviour.
Experience of teaching and/or training
Experience of delivering clinical supervision
Experience, and/or training in diversity awareness and social inequality

Desirable

Experience of work in psychological interventions with children, young people and their families in a range of service settings or agencies Experience in undertaking leadership roles within clinical psychology services in the NHS, and in contributing to the development, implementation and evaluation of strategies and clinical policies in multi-disciplinary, multi-agency contexts

Knowledge, skills and abilities

Essential

Specialist knowledge of child development and the impact of adverse childhood experiences.
Broad knowledge of psychological services; and of the services in the NHS where psychology is applied to the needs of children and young people
Knowledge of psychometric assessment tools and their appropriate use
Detailed understanding of relevant legislation (e.g. Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity, Section 25 of the Childrens Act)
Advanced psychological assessment and formulation skills including risk assessment.
Ability to travel across the geographical service area as required

Desirable

Knowledge and experience of undertaking neurodevelopmental assessments, including Autism assessments

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.