Assistant Psychologist (Aspiring Clinical Psychology Programme)

Assistant Psychologist (Aspiring Clinical Psychology Programme)

Band 4

Main area Mental Health Grade Band 4 Contract 11 months (Fixed Term 11 Months) Hours Part time - 22.5 hours per week Job ref 351-BAY1109-SH

Site Harvey House Town Lancaster Salary £28,392 - £31,157 Per Annum Salary period Yearly Closing 28/10/2026 23:59

Our Vision is to provide the best mental health, learning disability, autism, community, and physical health services for the populations we serve.

As an integrated Trust, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT) delivers a comprehensive range of services, including:

• Primary and secondary mental health care for children and adults, including specialist inpatient child and adolescent mental health provision, perinatal mental health, and forensic services with low and medium secure care.




• Specialist mental health inpatient care for individuals with learning disabilities, alongside specialist community support for children and adults with learning disabilities and autism, including intensive support.




• Extensive community physical health and well‑being services for children and adults, covering prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and long-term condition management.

The Trust was first established in 2002 and employs approximately 7,500 staff who provide care from more than 400 sites. The organisation offers opportunities for medics, mental health, general nurses, children’s nurses, allied health professionals, psychology, administration and clerical staff, apprentices and volunteers, as well as those specialising in learning disabilities and community physical health services.

This post forms part of the Aspiring Clinical Psychology Programme, designed to provide paid clinical experience for graduates from underrepresented or disadvantaged backgrounds who aspire to train as Clinical Psychologists.

The postholder will support the delivery of psychological care within CYPMHS The Bay, working across:

• Lancaster & Morecambe CAMHS / Children’s Psychological Service (CPS)




• South Cumbria CAMHS

Main duties of the job

The role combines clinical, research, administrative, and service development responsibilities, offering a broad foundation for progression into clinical psychology training.

• To support the professional and psychological care of clients within the service; providing psychological assessment and manualised psychological interventions.




• To assist in the implementation of audit and research projects, such as outcome measure research, across the Service. To assist in the administration and interpretation of research related measures, collation and recording of statistics and production of relevant reports.




• All work and actions take place under the management and supervision of practitioner psychology staff according to an agreed plan and associated goals within parameters set out by departmental policies and procedures.




• Formal supervision with a named member of practitioner psychology staff to take place on a weekly basis, with regular opportunities for informal contact for guidance and advice.

Working for our organisation

LSCFT values diversity and inclusion, recognising that talent from varied backgrounds creates a flexible, creative, and effective workforce. We actively challenge discrimination and welcome applications from all, regardless of age, disability (including those with experience of accessing or caring for someone who has accessed mental health or learning disability services), ethnicity, gender, religion, belief, or sexual orientation.

Our aim is to reflect the communities we serve, so we particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups. If you’d like to discuss your application, please ask.

We also welcome individuals with lived experience relevant to the role or service area, as your insight brings authenticity to our services.

LSCFT support flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as term time, part time, compressed hours and flexi-time.

The wellbeing of our people is at the heart of everything we do. We offer a wide range of resources, tools and support to help you thrive both in and out of work.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For more information about this vacancy please review the attached job description and person specification.

Person specification

Qualifications

• An upper second class (2) honours degree or higher in psychology. Entitlement to Graduate membership of the British Psychological Society

Knowledge

• Ability to undertake psychologically informed research projects.




• Knowledge of psychological methods and theories, especially child development and an ability to apply this knowledge within a clinical context. An understanding of the needs and difficulties of children/ young people with psychological/mental health difficulties or other disabilities.




• High level communication skills (written and verbal) including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive.

Experience

• Experience of, or demonstrable interest in working with mental health difficulties and/or other disabilities.




• Work with children and/or young people. To have worked as part of a team within a care setting.

You are advised to consider applying for LSCFT vacancies as soon as possible as in some instances vacancies are closed as soon as a sufficient number of applications have been received. If you are not invited to interview within four weeks of the closing date then please assume that on this occasion you have been unsuccessful, as it is not possible to contact all unsuccessful candidates.

Please note that further communication from LSCFT will normally be to the email address given on the application form. You should also ensure that email addresses and telephone numbers are provided for your referees, to enable LSCFT to contact them.

Please ensure that you read the person specification as your application will be measured against this document.

If you use AI to assist with your application, you must declare this. Undeclared use may result in withdrawal. Please ensure your application reflects your own skills and experiences. While AI tools can assist, they may produce generic or inaccurate content. We encourage you to provide personal examples that demonstrate how you meet the essential criteria.

For all posts which require a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check please be aware of the Disclosure and Barring Service Code of Practice, a copy of which is available by logging on to the DBS website. If the post is subject to DBS disclosure, a charge will be made to the successful candidate(s).

Employer certification / accreditation badges

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.

Application numbers

This vacancy may close early if it receives a high number of applications. You are therefore advised to consider applying for this vacancy as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

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