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Job summary

Main area
Autism
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 5
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week (9-5)
Job ref
363-SS7434422
Employer
East London NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Lord Lister Health Centre
Town
Forest Gate
Salary
£35,763 - £43,466 Per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
14/09/2025 23:59

Employer heading

East London NHS Foundation Trust logo

Assistant Psychologist

NHS AfC: Band 5

 

Our Offer in Specialist Children and Young People’s Services (SCYPS) at East London NHS Foundation Trust

What matters to our specialist teams in SCYPS,ELFT is delivering care to our patients in partnership with both our patients and careers, and the other organisations we work with. By doing this we are able to provide high quality care that is easy to access; the care we would want for our children. We are working with our patients, our teams and our partner organisations to transform our services so that they not only do a great job now but also long into the future. To achieve this we work differently, try new things and constantly learn and evolve. 

SCYPS provide specialist paediatric, community physical health services, which vary from therapy, nursing and paediatrician services.  We also have statutory services for child protection, adoption and fostering, and child protection services. Working across North East London Integrated Care System, along with 0-19 Health  Services in the Local Authority, our aim is for children to grow well and live their best life.  Our work with local voluntary sector organisations and community forums are key to this work.

Working As A Team

We are always looking to find people who share our passion for providing the kind of care we would want for our children and young people. We also want to find talented people who want to work as part of a diverse team, provide leadership and try new things. The role of clinicians and administrators in SCYPS is evolving.  As part of our team you will use your skills to help contribute to children’s and young people’s care. Any job in community paediatric services is a challenging job and for our teams to work together our clinicians and administrators all need a system designed to support everyone, so that we can do the best for our patients.

As a team, we champion joy at work, sharing compliments via our GREATIX system and are winners of 4 trust staff awards in 2021. Growing our staff and having a solid leadership team comes as part of the package, along with encouraging and supporting staff to learn new skills and complete training to develop their careers and roles in SCYPS.

About ELFT

ELFT has been recognised as a centre of excellence for community and mental health care, innovation and improvement. So it is a very exciting time for you to come and work for us. Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an Assistant Psychologist to join the Specialist Children and Young People’s Services (SCYPS) in Newham. 
SCYPS are a range of busy, forward thinking and thriving child health services with a positive work culture and excellent CPD opportunities. This post sits within the Child Development Service, working in the CHAND (CHildren with Autism in Newham Diagnosis) team.

Main duties of the job

The role of the post will be varied including: 

  •  Supporting screening referrals and triaging in the pathway
  •  Liaising with schools to gather clinical information necessary for diagnostic assessments.
  • Reviewing referrals and supporting clinical decisions for allocations of appointments to the different disciplines
  • Liaison with referral partner services      
  • Direct clinical role in assessments of children for autism and ADHD, including ADOS, Qbtest, and school observations
  • Pre and post diagnostic supports alongside experienced multi-disciplinary clinicians 
  • Joint management of the database of referrals and streamlining of data processes 
  • An active role in audit and quality improvement projects
  • Working together with the CHATA research project (GOSH, ICH) on creating a virtual autism assessment tool being piloted in the NHS. The AP offers an important role to bridge the gap between clinical research and practice.

SCYPS will provide an interesting and supportive work environment, with good training and supervision making this role an ideal opportunity for an Assistant Psychologist wanting to develop in their career.

Working for our organisation

Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

You will join an enthusiastic multidisciplinary team of Doctors, Nurses, Psychologists and Speech Therapists as part of the CHAND (CHildren with Autism in Newham Diagnosis) Service. CHAND is a branch of the child development service in the Specialist Children and Young People's Services (SCYPS) in East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT) -  which is recognised as a centre of excellence for innovation and improvement. Quality improvement is at the heart of our service delivery, ensuring children and their families are able to achieve the best possible outcomes. 

East London NHS Foundation Trust provides the bulk of community services for children and young people within the Specialist Children and Young People's Services, which is a multidisciplinary team that works across the Child Development Service, Children’s Therapy Service, Community Children’s Nursing Service, Community Sickle Cell and Thalassemia Service and Looked After Children team. 

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The clinician will join an experienced multi-disciplinary team of clinicians who provide a range of diagnostic and support services to children young people and their families with autism and ADHD.  The post holder will contribute, under the supervision of a qualified psychologist, to the provision of assistant psychology services to children and young people in Newham who are referred for an autism diagnostic assessment.  The post holder will be involved in referral screening, summarizing case files, liaising with schools and other referrers, completing screening questionnaires, carrying out school observations and joining clinic appointments with other members of the multi- disciplinary team. The post holder will contribute to ADOS, ADHD and adaptive functioning assessments. There will be opportunities for joint working with Newham CAMHS.
We welcome applicants who enjoy working effectively as part of a team, are highly organised and have competencies in working with families from diverse cultures and ethnicities.

To provide an Assistant Psychology service to the multidisciplinary autism assessment pathway for children and young people in Newham. 

The CHAND team is an integral clinical pathway within the Child Development Service of SCYPS. The service provides screening, assessment, pre and post diagnostic support for children referred for neurodiversity assessment under the age of 13 in the diverse borough of Newham.

CHAND, AUTISM AND NEWHAM 

CHAND is the autism diagnostic service for children  in Newham. It is a newly established multidisciplinary service, committed to advocacy for neurodiversity, joint-working, innovation and embracing complexity. The service has recently received significant investment with increased staffing and reduction in waiting lists.  Newham has the highest level of autism in primary schools in England. We receive around 800 referrals per year and see 80-110 children per month.  

CHAND is the Urdu or Bengali word for the moon and comes from the old French and old English word for candle. It was voted for by health, education and service users and reflects the ethnic diversity of our borough in Newham where 71% of our populations are BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic). In line with our neuropositivity approach – the tag line for CHAND is ‘Every Child Deserves to Shine’. 

The role of the post will be varied including: 

  •  Supporting screening referrals and triaging in the pathway
  •  Liaising with schools to gather clinical information necessary for diagnostic assessments.
  • Reviewing referrals and supporting clinical decisions for allocations of appointments to the different disciplines
  • Liaison with referral partner services      
  • Direct clinical role in assessments of children for autism and ADHD, including ADOS, Qbtest, and school observations
  • Pre and post diagnostic supports alongside experienced multi-disciplinary clinicians 
  • Joint management of the database of referrals and streamlining of data processes 
  • An active role in audit and quality improvement projects

Person specification

Training Qualification

Essential criteria
  • Degree (1 or 2.1) in psychology
  • Eligibility for Graduate membership of the BPS
Desirable criteria
  • Specialist training or knowledge in Neurodevelopmental conditions

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Experience in a healthcare setting
  • Interest in or experience of work with children and young people with Neurodevelopmental conditions
Desirable criteria
  • Work in a multi-cultural setting, including working with interpreters.

Knowledge and Skills

Essential criteria
  • Communication & Relationship skills: Well developed skills and ability to communicate effectively orally, and in writing complex, highly technical and or sensitive information for dissemination both within and outside the NHS
  • Analytical & Judgmental skills Understanding of the impact of learning difficulties on a child’s future opportunities, on their siblings and families
  • Planning and organisational skills: Able to plan, organise and prioritise own workload.
  • Information resources: Able to record and report on clinical information as required
  • Competent in use of range of IT packages – PowerPoint, Excel and Access, word processing, e-mail and internet
  • Cultural awareness: Aware of the potential impact of discrimination & disadvantage on mental health.
  • Flexibility: Able to be flexible and adapt approach according to need.
  • Able to work independently and to seek support as appropriate
  • Able to use supervision well to improve output
Desirable criteria
  • Research & Guidance: Good research and statistical skills, including ability to access and search evidence based resources

Personal

Essential criteria
  • Able to contain and work with organisational stress and able to hold the stress of others.
  • Physical effort: Able to sit in constrained positions for a substantial proportion of working time.
  • Mental effort: Able to concentrate intensely for a substantial proportion of working time, during client contact, teaching sessions, team meetings, preparing written work etc.
  • Emotional effort: Able to manage effectively frequent exposure to highly distressing/highly emotional circumstances and exposure to traumatic circumstances.
  • Values: Respectful approach to service users, families, carers, colleagues and other professionals. Willing to negotiate and can handle confrontation effectively and professionally.

Other

Essential criteria
  • Able to work to professional guidelines. Must be capable of accountability for own work, of being guided by precedent and of working towards defined results.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Capital Nurse, LondonCommitted to being an Inclusive EmployerApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyPositive about disabled peopleAge positiveHSJ Best places to workArmed Forces Covenant (Silver Award)Mindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Disability confident employerCare quality commission - OutstandingStonewall equality policy. Equality and justice for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people.

Applicant requirements

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

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Marion Levine
Job title
Head of Children's Therapies
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
07741704013
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