Job summary
- Main area
- Psychology
- Grade
- Band 8a
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 199-8171961-NA
- Employer
- Croydon Health Services NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Bernard Weatherill House
- Town
- Croydon
- Salary
- £63,665 - £70,887 p.a incl of HCAS
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 08/10/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Clinical Psychologist - Children Looked After (CLA)
Band 8a
Croydon is a busy, exciting and diverse place to work. The borough has one of the youngest populations in London and continues to grow.
Croydon Health Services cares for local people at Croydon University Hospital, Purley Memorial Hospital and in clinics and people’s homes all across the borough.
We are a very close-knit and friendly organisation where everyone of our 3600 members of staff is valued. We strongly believe that our employees are our greatest asset and so through Listening into Action – our way of engaging staff - we empower everyone at any level to initiate and bring about real improvements in our care.
Join us and be a part of the team that is making Croydon proud. #choosecroydon
Job overview
The Specialist Clinical Psychologist will provide expert psychological assessment, formulation, consultation and trauma-informed clinical leadership within the Children Looked After (CLA) Health Service. The post holder will lead on supporting the emotional wellbeing and mental health needs of Children Looked After who have experienced developmental trauma, attachment disruption, abuse, neglect, loss and adversity.
Working within a trauma-informed and psychologically informed model of care, the post holder will undertake highly specialist assessment, formulation and intervention for children and young people with complex emotional, behavioural and mental health needs.
The post holder will work closely with health, social care, education and CAMHS colleagues to inform care planning, placement stability, risk management and multi-agency decision making. In addition, they will provide consultation, supervision, training and psychological leadership.
Interview TBC
Main duties of the job
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Provide highly specialist psychological assessment, formulation and intervention for Children Looked After (CLA) with complex emotional, behavioural, attachment and mental health needs.
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Act as the clinical lead for trauma-informed practice within the CLA Health Service.
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Maintain a small specialist clinical caseload through the CLA Waiting Well pathway, offering psychological assessment, formulation, consultation and brief evidence-based interventions to support children awaiting CAMHS assessment or treatment.
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Work collaboratively with CAMHS, Social Care, Community Paediatrics, SEND and other partner agencies to support integrated care pathway.
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Provide specialist consultation and psychological advice to CLA Nurses, Social Workers, Foster Carers, Residential Providers, Education Professionals and other members of the professional network.
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Contribute to safeguarding processes, risk assessment and management.
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Provide specialist expertise in understanding the interface between developmental trauma, attachment difficulties and neurodevelopmental presentations.
This is a unique opportunity to work within an innovative integrated model across CLA Health, CAMHS and Social Care. The post offers excellent access to specialist CAMHS supervision, ongoing CPD, training in developmental trauma, attachment and neurodevelopmental assessment, and opportunities to contribute to service development, teaching, leadership and system-wide improvements for Children Looked After
Working for our organisation
Croydon Health Services NHS Trust provides hospital and community services across Croydon through a range of clinics and specialist centres. Formed in August 2010 from the integration of Croydon Community Health Services and Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust, we employ around 4,100 staff serving a diverse population of over 360,000 people.
Our main site, Croydon University Hospital, is one of the busiest in London. We are also leading the way in delivering more healthcare in community settings and people’s homes. Our district nursing teams, Allied Health Professionals and community matrons care for people of all ages across the borough.
Like the wider NHS, we are working hard to meet increasing demand. With the right people on board, we continue to innovate and transform our services to provide the highest quality care for local residents. We place strong emphasis on education, training and career development for all staff.
If you want to make a real difference, challenge yourself and be part of a Trust that’s shaping local healthcare, Croydon Health Services could be the place for you.
At Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, we are committed to supporting flexible working arrangements. Applicants are encouraged to discuss any flexibility they may need during the recruitment process.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
See attached documents ***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Person specification
EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS
Essential criteria
- • Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsych) or equivalent qualification recognised by the British Psychological Society (BPS). • HCPC Registration as a Practitioner Psychologist. • Eligibility for Chartered Membership of the British Psychological Society. • Evidence of continuing professional development relevant to children, young people and trauma-informed practice.
- • Registered with the HCPC
Desirable criteria
- Post-doctoral training in one or more other additional specialised areas of psychological practice relevant to the role, such as Trauma-Focused CBT, EMDR, DDP-informed approaches, Mentalisation-Based Therapy, Compassion Focused Therapy or Systemic Practice.
- Training in neurodevelopmental assessment pathways including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and ADHD
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
Essential criteria
- • Doctoral level knowledge of clinical psychology, psychological assessment, formulation, psychometrics, psychological therapies and developmental psychology.
- • Highly developed knowledge of developmental trauma, attachment theory and the impact of adverse childhood experiences on emotional wellbeing, mental health and development.
- • Advanced knowledge of evidence-based psychological interventions for children and young people with complex emotional, behavioural and mental health needs.
- • Knowledge of the interface between trauma, attachment difficulties, neurodevelopmental presentations and mental health.
- Knowledge of NHS, Social Care and Education systems relevant to vulnerable children and young people.
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge of specialist interventions for looked after children and care experienced young people
EXPERIENCE
Essential criteria
- • Experience of trauma-informed psychological assessment, formulation and intervention.
- Experience of risk assessment and management, including self-harm, emotional dysregulation and safeguarding concerns.
- • Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients’ psychological care and interventions both professionally and within the context of multidisciplinary care planning.
- • Experience of providing teaching, training and professional /clinical supervision.
- • Experience of undertaking research, service evaluation and audit and dissemination of findings.
Desirable criteria
- Experience contributing to neurodevelopmental assessments for Autism and/or ADHD.
- Experience of service development and pathway redesign initiatives.
skills and abilities
Essential criteria
- • Well-developed communication skills to share highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, and their support networks.
- • Skills in delivering training, reflective practice and psychologically informed workforce development.
- • Advanced skills in psychological assessment, formulation and intervention for children and young people with complex needs.
- • Ability to integrate trauma, attachment, developmental, systemic and neurodevelopmental perspectives into formulation and care planning.
- • Ability to manage competing clinical demands and complex caseloads.
Desirable criteria
- • Skills in delivering trauma-informed training programmes across organisations.
- • Skills in neurodevelopmental assessment and formulation.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Diana Korczynska
- Job title
- Named Nurse for Children Looked After Team
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07901513576
- Additional information
Tel: 020 8604 7591
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