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South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust

About

South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust (SWFT) provides the hospital services to South Warwickshire from four hospitals:

Warwick Hospital
Leamington Spa Hospital
Stratford Hospital
Ellen Badger Hospital

We also deliver out-of-hospital community services to the whole of Warwickshire and beyond serving a population of more than half a million from various clinics. This includes our Community Teams in North Warwickshire.

What is a Foundation Trust?

South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust was formed on 1 March 2010. A foundation trust status gives us greater freedom to manage our own affairs, and makes us more directly accountable to local people through our Members, who are drawn from the local population and staff.

We are managed by a Board of Directors and the Trust is overseen by our Council of Governors. Find out more about our organisational structure and meetings and papers.

We continue to be part of the NHS and treat patients in accordance with core NHS principles – healthcare that is provided according to clinical need, not ability to pay, that it is free at the point of delivery, and that it meets the needs of everyone.

Our Members actively influence the progress of the Trust and help us to be genuinely patient-centred in every aspect. Find out about becoming a Member.

Contact

Address: South Warwickshire Hospital; Lakin Road; Warwick; Warwickshire; CV34 5BW
Contact Number: 01926 495321

Find out more

Jobs Website

Open

Ref: 203-SS1203 Vacancy ID: 8061626

Assistant Psychologist

Accepting applications until: 14-Jul-2026 23:59

Vacancy status: Open

Accepting applications until: 14-Jul-2026 23:59

Location

Site: Central England Rehabilitation Unit
Address: Heathcote Lane
Town: Leamington Spa
Postcode: CV34 6SR
Major / Minor Region: Warwickshire

Contract type & working pattern

Contract: 12 months (fixed term)
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week

Salary

Salary: £28,392 - £31,157 per annum
Salary period: Yearly
Grade: (Band 4)

Specialty

Main area: Neuropsychology

South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust is one of the top performing organisations within the NHS. Our staff think this is a great place to work and we hope you will agree. We have recently been rated as 'Outstanding' by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following our most recent inspection.

We provide services across Warwickshire and beyond ranging from Hospitals in Warwick, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Royal Leamington Spa and Shipston-on Stour to Community Services across the whole county. This includes our Community Teams in North Warwickshire.

We are a progressive, expanding organisation with great ambition around improving quality, integrating pathways and delivering high levels of productivity. Over 6000 people work for the Trust and many of them have been here a long time. People find they don’t need to go elsewhere to find a fulfilling career in healthcare.

The first thing you will notice about us is how we take our values seriously. We believe that our values underpin everything we do. If you are interested in a role with us you need to make sure our values match your own.

Our values can be summed up in one sentence. We are ‘Trusted to provide inclusive, safe, effective and compassionate care’. Throughout the recruitment process you will be asked to think about how you demonstrate these values and how they impact on your work. It doesn’t matter what role you do, whether it is patient facing or not, we are all working in the same way with our values at the core.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Checks

Many of the roles we advertise have a requirement for a DBS check to be carried out. If you are successful for a role and it requires a DBS check the Trust will carry out the initial check and subscription to the DBS Update Service, however successful candidates will be expected to cover the associated costs . Details of this will be sent to successful candidates in their offer letter.

Probationary Period

All new staff to the Trust will be subject to a standard 6 month probationary period, the details of which will duly follow in your contract of employment.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust is committed to creating and sustaining a positive and inclusive working environment for all our employees. Our aim is to ensure that employees are equally valued and respected and that our organisation is representative of all members of society. We define diversity as valuing everyone as an individual – we value our employees, job applicants, students, patients and visitors as people. This is reflected within our values of being Inclusive, Safe, Effective, Compassionate and Trusted.

As part of our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion we encourage all applicants to complete a short survey. This can be accessed via the link below:

https://forms.office.com/e/ahWY3eAGM2

We appreciate you completing the survey.

Agile and Flexible Working

All our staff will have a work base. However the Trust operates as an Agile Working Team therefore staff may be working from home on a regular basis as required by the service. However, occasionally travel around Warwickshire and into your base will be required so access to your own transport would be helpful.

The Trust also welcome staff to work flexibly and we would welcome the conversation at interview regarding flexible working.

Staff Benefits

The Trust offer a wide range of additional benefits to staff. Anyone who joins us on a substantive basis can assess things such as the Lease Car Scheme, Electronics Scheme, Discounted Leisure and Travel, Cycle to work scheme amongst many others available.

Car Parking

The Trust currently have limited availability of car parking spaces, as such are operating a waiting list for new starters joining the organisation.

To keep up to date on our latest recruitment activity follow us on twitter @swftrecruit or look us up on Facebook (Recruitment - South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust).

Visa Sponsorship

The Trust will only consider sponsoring staff for certain roles, however this will be considered on a case by case basis in line with current legislation. As an employer we are unable to offer sponsorship to all roles in particular we cannot offer sponsorship for roles below Band 5.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Knowledge skills and experience required:

Makes judgements and responds appropriately to patient’s responses and mood during therapeutic interventions.

Analyses patients’ progress when facilitating therapeutic activities and makes recommendations to the qualified psychologist in relation to possible adjustments required to the activities.

Identifies non-routine situations and escalates to qualified staff.

Responsible for recognising signs of patient harm and risk including abuse or neglect, poor clinical practice, and reporting all such concerns to the qualified psychologist.

Responsible for maintaining appropriate boundaries with patients.

Undertakes basic analysis of data from clinical audits and behavioural data

Work is checked and monitored through regular clinical supervision from qualified psychologists, in accordance with professional practice guidelines.

Carries out delegated duties in accordance with agreed care plans, policies and procedures within range of own competency and scope of practice.

Measurable Result areas:

Clinical Responsibilities

Undertakes psychological assessment of patients under supervision, using structured tests and reporting results to the qualified psychologist for further assessment

Assists the qualified psychologist in the formulation of neuropsychological interventions.

Delivers psychological interventions and well-being activities under supervision and reports progress to the qualified psychologist for further consideration. Patients with acquired brain injury may present with behaviours that challenge and may display aggression.

Administrative Responsibilities

Undertakes administrative tasks in relation to own work and as requested.

Uses Microsoft Office applications on a daily basis.

Prepares test materials and visual aids. Uses basic psychometric testing equipment.

Assists in the development of self-help and other educational material for use by clients, carers and other healthcare staff

Responsibility for Information Systems

Responsible for maintaining accurate and comprehensive patient records in accordance with the Trust and professional record keeping standards.

Responsibility for Planning/Organising & Strategic/Business Development

Organises own workload on a day to day basis, prioritising work as appropriate.

Plans and organises therapeutic activities for individual patients or groups in accordance with care needs.

Policy Development

Contributes to the development of policies and procedures in own area as part of the team.

Service Development, Project Management

Contributes to continual safety and quality improvement activities as part of the team.

Financial Responsibilities

Personal duty of care to complete time sheets, mileage forms, expense claim sheets etc, accurately and in a timely manner, providing receipts as required.

Responsibility for Physical Resources, Estates, Hotel Services

Has a personal duty of care to ensure all equipment is used safely and effectively, following manufacturer’s instructions, immediately reporting any defects in accordance with local procedures.

Uses available resources efficiently and effectively.

Research and Audit

Keeps up to date with new developments in the field, undertaking literature searches to inform evidence-based practice.

Demonstrates an awareness of the audit process within the clinical governance framework and the relevant standards that are required and monitored within the team.

Assists in clinical audits in own work area, undertaking data collection and basic analysis using statistical software programmes.

Staff Management, Training and Development

Participates in the induction of new staff into the clinical area.

Communications and Working Relationships:

Communicates in a way which recognises difference and ensures that people feel included and their individual communication needs are met.

Communications with patients must at all times be appropriate in content, effective and respectful and made compassionately and positively to minimise anxiety and distress related to their health and well-being.

Uses appropriate communication methods to ensure effective therapeutic engagement with patients where understanding may be limited.

Attends multi-disciplinary team meetings providing structured, objective clinical information to assist in decision-making.

Ensures that communication with members of the public is professional and courteous at all times.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Sometimes we get a lot of applications for our roles. On those occasions we might close the job early. If you don’t want to miss out we recommend submitting your application as early as possible.

The Trust use an Applicant Management System called TRAC which helps us manage the recruitment process. All communications regarding your application will come via TRAC (even if you applied via NHS Jobs).

Please check your TRAC account regularly and ensure your email is set up to accept messages so they don't go into your junk/spam folder.

We aim to shortlist all vacancies within 2 days of the vacancy closing, we will get back to all candidates ASAP.

Please ensure all sections of the application form are completed fully. Please particularly ensure that you provide full details of all referees including business email address, telephone contact details and postal address.

South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust is an equal opportunities employer who is committed to Equality and Diversity and does not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the grounds of any protected characteristic as defined by the Equality Act 2010.

All South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust sites are smoke free. We feel it’s a great way to help our patients, visitors and staff stay healthy.

The Trust is part of a ‘Foundation Group’ through a strategic alliance with Wye Valley NHS Trust, George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust and Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. This partnership is great for the sustainability of all four organisations and allows us to share learning and maximise opportunities to ensure the delivery of high quality health and care services for our local populations.

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.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

BPS accredited Degree in Psychology at 2:1 or higher.
Eligible for graduate membership of the British Psychological Society

Desirable criteria

Post graduate training in relevant areas of professional psychology, mental health practice and/or research design and analysis

Experience

Essential criteria

Experience of working psychologically with people with acquired brain injury (paid or voluntary)
Experience as a psychology assistant (paid or voluntary)
Experience of using psychometric assessments

Desirable criteria

Experience of clinical audit, research or service evaluation.
Experience using statistical software packages e.g. SPSS.

Skills

Essential criteria

An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with acquired brain injury
An awareness of the application of psychology to health care and neurorehabilitation
Understanding of confidentiality
Awareness of the British Psychological Society Code of Conduct.
Ability to communicate information (verbal and written) effectively in a manner appropriate to the individual and situation
Record Keeping (within agreed timescale)
Methodical and accurate approach to data collection and analysis.
Competence in using psychometric assessment tools (within agreed timescale)
Competencies in administering and scoring psychometric tests

Desirable criteria

Post-graduate training in applications of psychological interventions

Personal Qualities

Essential criteria

Able to work in accordance with the Staff Compact and Trust Values and Behaviours.
Compassionate in meeting the needs of vulnerable people and their families and carers.
Able to engage with vulnerable people and work effectively in distressing or emotive circumstances
Ability to work on own in a variety of settings using initiative appropriately
Able to work flexibly and cooperatively as part of a team. • Committed to continual quality and service improvement
Committed to promoting a positive image of people with mental health conditions and/or learning disabilities • Committed to promoting a positive image of the service
Self-aware and committed to continual personal development.
Able to accept and respond positively to feedback from clinical supervision.