Trainee Childrens Wellbeing Practitioner - Supporting Smiles

Job description

Job responsibilities

Location: Norwich Hub (with travel across Norfolk & Waveney and to Anna Freud, London for training)

Salary: £25,147 per annum

Hours: Full-time, 37.5 hours

Start date: January 2026

Contract: 1-year fixed-term training post

About the Role

CYP-MH

The Children and Young People's Mental Health Programme (CYP-MH) is a service transformation Programme delivered by NHS England that aims to improve existing children and young people's mental health Services (CYP-MHs) working in the community.

This is a training position post holder will undertake training at University College London alongside working in service for Supporting Smiles. They will be taught to deliver evidence based guided self-help interventions for children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties. They will also be taught how to deliver interventions in the community, for example, participation activities, training and group delivery. The post holder will use their newly developed skills to support children and young people who are referred into the service and trainees will receive supervision to support their professional development, as well as be expected to actively engage local communities.

Applicants will need to be ready to start work in early/mid-January 2025 and posts cannot be offered to candidates unless they can guarantee this start date. Shortlisted candidates will also need to submit an application form to UCL for a place on the Diploma in Child Wellbeing Practice. The application form details are in the CWP Recruitment Pack and will need to be completed at the same time as your application for a post.

For more information about UCL, please click on the following link:

https://www.annafreud.org/ucl-postgraduate-study/ucl-postgraduate-programmes/child-and-young-persons-psychological-wellbeing-practice-pg-dip/

As a trainee, you will:

• Assess and deliver, under supervision outcome focused, evidence-based interventions to children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties within the community
• Attend and fulfil all the requirements of the training element of the post including practical, academic and practice-based assessments.
• Gain a UCL Postgraduate Diploma in Child Wellbeing Practice upon successful completion.

About Supporting Smiles

Supporting Smiles provides professional mental health support to children and young people across Norfolk and Waveney through our therapeutic pathways and Childrens Wellbeing Practitioner teams. Our holistic approach combines the expertise of therapeutic practitioners, counsellors, and childrens wellbeing practitioners.

Our services name, Supporting Smiles, was co-created with input from the children and families we support. We are part of Norfolk & Waveneys Children and Young Peoples Alliance, an integrated mental health service network guided by the THRIVE principles ensuring support is needs-led, accessible, outcome-informed, promotes shared decision-making, partnership working, and proactive prevention.

Within this framework, Supporting Smiles primarily delivers care within the Getting Help quadrant of the THRIVE Framework. This means we provide focused, evidence-based interventions for children and young people who need more targeted support with their mental health and emotional wellbeing, but who do not require highly specialist or intensive services.

We also work closely with partners across the other quadrants Getting Advice, Getting More Help, and Risk Support to ensure children, young people, and families receive the right level of support at the right time.

For more information on the THRIVE Principles, please see:

https://implementingthrive.org/principles-of-the-thrive-framework/

About You

We are looking for enthusiastic and motivated candidates who are:

• Passionate about improving children and young peoples mental health.
• Committed to evidence-based practice, accessibility, equity, and inclusion.
• Able to study and write at postgraduate level (degree-level qualification required).
• Flexible and willing to travel across Norfolk & Waveney and to London for training.
• Experienced in working with children/young people in a mental health or related setting (desirable).

For further information and to apply please visit our websitehttps://www.ormiston.org/work-with-us/our-vacancies

Apply separately to UCL for the academic programme.

Direct UCL application link:https://evision.ucl.ac.uk/urd/sits.urd/run/siw_ipp_lgn.login_enc?0qhYzuG1h9udTFM8i9sPhtGiUgIR6D6iP0QBDHq24aV3AVw8VNXRYxDmc3LlBtzaVi6cWmaNYWo=

Application guidance document:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17bbinRzAlIfH8SKe3t18I2m14L7sli5e?usp=drive_link

Any queries, please email: stephanie.hillier@ormistonfamilies.org.uk

Closing Date: 9am, Friday 26th September 2025

Safeguarding and Equal Opportunities

Ormiston Families is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and adults at risk, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS checks or police vetting will be required for relevant posts.

We are an equal opportunities employer. We value diversity and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

Person Specification

Skills / Competencies

Essential

• Ability to study as a self-motivated learner and implement training with appropriate support
• Demonstrates high standards in written and verbal communication
• Demonstrates ability to work well with other professionals/ colleagues
• Ability to personally manage a sensitive, traumatic and potentially emotionally distressing caseload.

Desirable

• Ability to manage own caseload and time
• Demonstrate ability to present mental health psychoeducation to non-mental health audiences

Qualifications

Essential

• Undergraduate degree, upper second class or above, in Psychology OR related subject (e.g., Psychology, Education, Childhood development, Social Work etc), OR any subject with further training or experience in a relevant field (e.g., Teaching/TA; Learning Support; HCA; Youth Work; Counselling etc)
• OR relevant professional experience in CYP Mental Health/Education/Mentorship (to be considered on a case-by-case basis)

Desirable

• Training in nursing, social work, occupational therapy, counselling or
• within a specific psychological therapy
• Psychology or other health /social care/youth related undergraduate degree
• Other relevant postgraduate degree

Experience

Essential

• Previous experience of working with children and young people

Desirable

• Experience of working in mental health
• or related services
• Worked in a service where agreed targets in place to demonstrating outcomes
• Experience of working with diverse populations

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

Ormiston Families

Address

Ormiston Families

11 Prince Of Wales Road

Norwich

NR1 1BD

Employer's website

https://www.ormiston.org/work-with-us/ (Opens in a new tab)