Qualified Education Mental Health Practitioner / Child Wellbeing Pract

Job overview

We are looking for a qualified Educational Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP) or Children's Wellbeing Practitioner (CWP)  who wishes to join an existing school based Mental Health Support Team (MHST).

The post-holder will work in the St Albans team which is a fully established MHST; one of the first trailblazer sites nationally.   The St Albans team is a caring, supportive, fun and flexible environment to work in with good leadership providing clear objectives and direction with regular supervision.  The St Albans team supports 30+ educational settings across the borough with an ongoing expansion plan to further this coverage. We have built solid working relationships with each setting.

All applicants must be registered with a relevant governing body, i.e. BPS, BABCP.

Main duties of the job

This role will involve working alongside qualified and trainee EMHPs, Senior Practitioners and a Team Leader. The service provides early interventions to children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health concerns in an educational setting.

The Mental Health Support Teams operate year-round, providing support to young people during school holidays in addition to term time. The core hours will be Monday - Friday 9-5 but some work (facilitation of group work/workshops) may be required outside of these times

The post-holder will work with people of different cultural backgrounds and ages, using interpreters when necessary and should be committed to equal opportunities.

This post affords opportunity for involvement in, and contribution to service development.  The Hertfordshire MHST is continuing to expand year on year and therefore offers plenty of opportunity for career development.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Develop and maintain professional relationships with education staff,
• Be on site at allocated educational settings each day of the week,
• Provide 1-1 interventions such as low intensity CBT (guided self-help) for children, young people, parent/carers and school staff,
• Group interventions,
• Workshops for children, young people, parent/carers and school staff
• Drop-in surgeries for children, young people and school staff,
• Facilitate co-production to support service development,
• Support the team in resource development,
• Any other duties commensurate with the grade which may be required to enable effective and efficient running of the service.

The aim of these interventions is to:

• Reduce stigma around Mental Health,
• Enhance emotional wellbeing by promoting and building resilience in children and young people through educational workshops, assemblies and PSHE lessons.
• Deliver psycho-education and support to parent/carers and teachers to improve their understanding of children and young people’s needs.
• Support children and young people at the early stages of emotional wellbeing challenges to prevent further Mental Health intervention later in life.