Education Mental Health Practitioner

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen in the Gloucestershire Mental Health Support Team for the recruitment of Qualified Education Mental Health Practitioner’s (EMHP) or Children’s Wellbeing Practitioners. In line with the government’s priority to increase access and availability of mental health and wellbeing support for children and young people, the EMHP role is an exciting opportunity to deliver evidence-based early interventions for children and young people, working across both educational settings and healthcare sectors.

Successful candidates will be employed on a full-time basis based within Gloucestershire, and will play a key role as members of the Mental Health Support Team, who will have the responsibility for delivering schools’ overarching approach to providing mental health and wellbeing support for children and young people.

Potential candidates will have already successfully completed the HEE commissioned 1yr ‘Education Mental Health Practitioner’ course or the equivalent ‘Children’s Wellbeing Practitioner’ course.

As part of this role there may be a requirement to travel across the localities.

Please be advised that this vacancy may close ahead of schedule due to a high volume of applicants.

Main duties of the job

To allow the post holder, with appropriate supervision, to work as an autonomous and responsible practitioner as their training affords and within the scope of their job description, to engage in; • Delivering evidence-based intervention for children and young people in education setting with mild to moderate mental health problems • Helping children and young people within these settings who present with more severe problems to rapidly access more specialist services • Supporting and facilitating staff in education settings to identify and where appropriate manage issues related to mental health and wellbeing • Working with and within education environments to afford better access to specialist mental health services and to use the acquired skills, knowledge and abilities to deliver a service based within education settings that builds on and reinforces but does not replace those initiatives that already exist within these environments.

The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Assess and deliver outcome focused, evidence-based interventions in educational settings for children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties, working at all times in collaboration with and giving respect to the education function of the setting in which the post-holder is deployed.
• Work in partnership to support children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties and their parents/carers, families and educators in the self-management of presenting difficulties.
• Work in effective, evidence-based partnership with children, young people, their families and their educators in the development of plans for the intervention and agreed outcomes.
• Support and empower children, young people, their parents/carers and families and their educators to make informed choices about the interventions being offered.
• Support the Participation and Engagement of children, young people, their parents/carers and families and their educators. Actively increasing autonomy and the ability for children and young people to make positive changes for themselves and future service-users.
• Operate at all times from an inclusive values base, which recognises and respects diversity.
• Accept referrals within educational settings according to agreed local and national and local protocols.
• Undertake and record accurate assessments of risk and operate clear risk management processes in line with locally agreed procedures including the safeguarding protocols of the educational setting and Local Safeguarding Board guidance

We provide a Multi-professional preceptorship programme that is aligned to the National Preceptorship Framework for Nursing and have been awarded the Interim quality mark from NHS England. Our programme is provided to all Newly Qualified; Nurses, Nursing Associates, Internationally Educated Practitioners, Allied Health Professionals and Return to Practice Practitioners. In addition to the programme we also offer all preceptees the opportunity of enrolling and completing the level 7 (Masters) 15 credit validated module “Preceptorship for Healthcare” (AP7026).

Newly qualified Social Workers are offered the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment programme (ASYE) which is similar to a preceptorship programme.