Olwyn Billcliff 1944-2023

Olwyn Billcliff, who was Principal Educational Psychologist for Bradford Council for 20 years, died on 25 August 2023.

She was born in Bradford and loyally devoted her whole career to all the children and families of Bradford, first as a teacher then as an educational psychologist. Committed to inclusive practice, her knowledge and understanding of Bradford provided her with deep insight into what action would enable this to be best achieved.

Olwyn was a highly principled and insightful in her thinking and was one of the longest serving Principal Educational Psychologists both locally and nationally. She was a nurturing manager and through her calm, supportive and encouraging management style, she developed a service of creative and innovative practice. She looked to provide a service that was representative of the Bradford community it served, ensuring that professional development was tailored to the development of individual educational psychologists. She was committed to both initial and doctoral training valuing links with a number of universities.

As a highly respected education officer within Bradford, she promoted the relevance of psychology as the foundation of sound educational practice. She actively supported the involvement of the service in a wide range of national, regional and local initiatives.

As a generous and accessible leader with a great sense of humour and a keen intelligence, it will be hard to find another like Olwyn. She placed psychology at the heart of everything highlighting the synergy between the contribution of psychology and all educational needs.