Associate Counsellor

BDSIP Counselling Service is looking to appoint an experienced and enthusiastic Integrative Counsellor to work in a Primary School, starting in September 2025. The role consists of one day per week, offering four counselling sessions per day on a Friday. (RM10).

The school is a welcoming close-knit community of staff, pupils and parents. They are dedicated to fostering a culture of striving for excellence and wellbeing in every child, empowering young learners to dream big, and set goals to achieve them.

As part of our growing team, you would benefit from an excellent Associate Counsellor Day rate which includes monthly online group supervision, CPD and access to clear systems and resources for providing counselling as a BDSIP Associate.

What we are looking for:

• A qualified Integrative Counsellor with experience in a school or child focussed environment
• A commitment to creating a safe, inclusive and nurturing environment
• A warm and empathic approach
• An exceptional range of communication skills and record keeping
• Have a passionate commitment to the emotional wellbeing of your clients
• Knowledge of the latest research and best practice in relation to counselling children, young people and adults
• BACP or equivalent Membership / Accreditation

What BDSIP offer you in return?

• £120.00 day rate.
• Monthly online group supervision.
• A commitment to your continuing professional development.
• Share knowledge and expertise within a team of Associate Counsellors.
• Collaborate in the development of BDSIP’s strategy to promote counselling in schools which secure the best possible outcomes for vulnerable learners.

If your values match ours, we welcome an application from you.

How to apply

• To apply, please complete the BDSIP application form and return it to us by Monday 1st September 2025 at 9am via info@bdsip.co.uk. Please note we do not accept applications by CV.
• For more information, please see Careers – BDSIP https://bdsip.co.uk/about-us/careers/
• Interviews will take place on 12 September 2025.
• If you have any questions about the role, please contact the counselling service lead, Fauzia Hoque via email: Fauzia.Hoque@bdsip.co.uk or telephone: 07971 111782 for an informal discussion.

BDSIP is a not-for-profit organisation who provide professional educational services to schools as a trusted partner.

We are an equal opportunities employer.

As an organisation, we value the diversity of our borough and want our workforce to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. Accordingly, we welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds, particularly those currently underrepresented in our workforce.

Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children, young people and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and post holders to share this commitment.

Recruitment process

It is extremely important to us that we attract the best people to join BDSIP. As a diverse organisation serving diverse communities, we are also keen to attract a broad range of candidates for every role. To help us do this, we follow a consistent recruitment process, as outlined below.

Our recruitment procedure is designed to ensure that everyone joining our organisation:

• Has the technical skills, experience, abilities and potential to be outstanding in the role to which they are appointed.
• Is a strong cultural fit – both with regard to how we work together, and to our focus on customer service.
• Understands the nature of BDSIP and is able to make an informed choice about whether it is the right organisation for the next stage in their career.

Our recruitment process is also designed to:

• Be fair and transparent.
• Incorporate a range of recruitment tools, tailored to each role, which allow us to consider candidates ‘in the round’.
• Promote equality of opportunity, supporting BDSIP to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve across all roles and levels of seniority.

As an organisation, we are proud to be leading work with our schools to address issues of race and social justice. We value the diversity of the communities we serve and want our workforce to reflect this. Accordingly, we welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds, particularly those currently underrepresented in our workforce.

Advertising vacancies and applying for a job

All externally advertised vacancies at BDSIP will be widely promoted, typically in the national press as well as via social media. To ensure potential candidates have a full opportunity to apply, vacancies will normally be advertised for at least two weeks. All jobs will be accompanied by a job description and person specification which clearly set-out the role and the skills and experience we are looking for.

Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates, irrespective of their background.

We will only accept completed application forms – CV’s will not be considered. We do this to support safer recruitment, ensuring we have full and consistent information about every candidate.

Our application form includes an equality and diversity information section. We include this so that we can better understand the diversity of the candidates we attract to apply for jobs, the diversity of shortlisted candidates and of those appointed. If we are not attracting and recruiting a diverse range of candidates this information helps us to understand at what stage in the process we need to adapt our approach.

Shortlisting

The equality and diversity information section of the application form, as well as each candidate’s name, is removed prior to shortlisting so that this information cannot bias the shortlisting process.

When we shortlist for interview, each application is considered against the person specification for the role, with applications which most closely meet the criteria, and which provide the most robust evidence of the relevant experience, skills and abilities, being prioritised for interview. At least two people will shortlist independently for every role to help ensure shortlisting is completed robustly and consistently.

The interview process

Finding and appointing the best candidates is extremely important to us. This is reflected in our interview process, which is designed to explore candidates’ technical suitability for the role and how they might contribute to the culture of our organisation. All interviews will include a face-to-face interview. Most interview processes will also include a range of other activities or tasks designed to test candidates’ suitability for the role. All shortlisted candidates will be given details of this process prior to interview.

Interview panels at BDSIP will always be diverse and will usually be chaired by the person who will be managing the person recruited.