Job summary
We are looking for aqualifiedEducational 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.
About us
Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of 'Outstanding' from theCare Quality Commission
Our family of over 4,000 members of staff provide health and social care for people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. Everything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout:
Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- Develop and maintain professional relationships with education staff,
- Be on site at allocated educational settings each day of the week,
- Provide 1-1interventions 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 peoples needs.
- Support children and young people at the early stages of emotional wellbeing challenges to prevent further Mental Health intervention later in life.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- Develop and maintain professional relationships with education staff,
- Be on site at allocated educational settings each day of the week,
- Provide 1-1interventions 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 peoples needs.
- Support children and young people at the early stages of emotional wellbeing challenges to prevent further Mental Health intervention later in life.
Person Specification
SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE/ABILITY KNOWLEDGE
Essential
- Demonstrates an understanding of anxiety, depression and challenging behaviour and how it may present in universal services
- Demonstrates understanding of the need to use evidence based psychological models and how it relates to this post
- Knowledge of capacity and consent issues including Gillick competence
- Knowledge of educational environments
- Knowledge of safeguarding issues
- Ability to carry out 1:1 therapeutic mental health interventions with children/families
- Ability to conduct group parenting programmes
- Ability to work within educational settings to increase mental health awareness within the staff group
- Ability to conduct mental health assessments of children and young people
- Ability to make an assessment of risk and to record and communicate it appropriately
- Ability take appropriate action to mitigate or manage risk
Desirable
- Knowledge of factors affecting acceptability and accessibility of mental health care
- Demonstrates knowledge of the stressors young people may encounter in an educational setting and the impact that these can have on mental health
- Knowledge of the functional operation of specialist CAMHS teams
- Knowledge of the school's safeguarding procedures and who the Designated Safeguarding Lead, (DSL), is in each establishment that they work in
- Ability to teach others about mental health issues
- Ability to conduct other group therapeutic interventions with children and their families
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE
Essential
- Experience of working with children and young people, their families and others
- Experience of working and liaising with a wide variety of agencies and stakeholders
- Experience working in a service which has agreed targets in place demonstrating clinical outcomes
- Experience in using an electronic clinical records and data collection system
- Experience of working with children and young people who have social, emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, and those who have experienced a mental health problem
- Experience of working with anxiety disorders, affective (mood) disorders
- Experience of the delivery of specific therapeutic interventions to children, young people or their families (e.g. CBT, solution focused brief therapy)
Desirable
- Experience of working with children and their families in a healthcare and education setting
- Experience of monitoring and recording outcome measures for children's emotional wellbeing
- Experience of navigating complex social systems and environments, who may have conflicting priorities or agendas
- Experience of working with looked after children
- Experience of working with other vulnerable groups
QUALIFICATIONS/EDUCATION/TRAINING
Essential
- Successful completion of the HEE commissioned 1yr 'Education Mental Health Practitioner' or the 'Child and Young Persons Psychological Wellbeing Practice' course
- A further relevant degree qualification
Desirable
- Teaching qualification
- Youth Mental Health First Aid trained
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Essential
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Able to write clear reports and letters
- Ability to work within a team and foster good working relationships
- Ability to use clinical supervision positively and effectively
- Ability to facilitate psychoeducation sessions to professionals (i.e. teachers)
- Skills in delivering Guided Self-Help interventions
- Ability to deliver interventions to groups (Young people and parent groups)
Desirable
- Able to develop good therapeutic relationships with young people
ANALYTICAL SKILLS
Essential
- Ability to be self-reflective, whilst working with service users, in own personal and professional development and in supervision
- Ability to assess risk assessments and understanding of the importance of assessing risk
PHYSICAL SKILLS
Essential
- Good IT skills and experience of use of software such as word and excel
- Car driver
- Able to travel independently across the Trust
PHYSICAL EFFORT
Essential
- Ability and willingness to work outside office hours when required by the role.
MENTAL EFFORT
Essential
- Ability to manage own caseload and demonstrate good time management and prioritisation skills
EMOTIONAL EFFORT
Essential
- Regular requirement to deal with distressing or emotionally charged situations
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Essential
- Values/Motivational/Personal Qualities/Diversity in line with HPFT's values (Welcoming, Kind, Positive, Respectful & Professional)
Person Specification
SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE/ABILITY KNOWLEDGE
Essential
- Demonstrates an understanding of anxiety, depression and challenging behaviour and how it may present in universal services
- Demonstrates understanding of the need to use evidence based psychological models and how it relates to this post
- Knowledge of capacity and consent issues including Gillick competence
- Knowledge of educational environments
- Knowledge of safeguarding issues
- Ability to carry out 1:1 therapeutic mental health interventions with children/families
- Ability to conduct group parenting programmes
- Ability to work within educational settings to increase mental health awareness within the staff group
- Ability to conduct mental health assessments of children and young people
- Ability to make an assessment of risk and to record and communicate it appropriately
- Ability take appropriate action to mitigate or manage risk
Desirable
- Knowledge of factors affecting acceptability and accessibility of mental health care
- Demonstrates knowledge of the stressors young people may encounter in an educational setting and the impact that these can have on mental health
- Knowledge of the functional operation of specialist CAMHS teams
- Knowledge of the school's safeguarding procedures and who the Designated Safeguarding Lead, (DSL), is in each establishment that they work in
- Ability to teach others about mental health issues
- Ability to conduct other group therapeutic interventions with children and their families
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE
Essential
- Experience of working with children and young people, their families and others
- Experience of working and liaising with a wide variety of agencies and stakeholders
- Experience working in a service which has agreed targets in place demonstrating clinical outcomes
- Experience in using an electronic clinical records and data collection system
- Experience of working with children and young people who have social, emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, and those who have experienced a mental health problem
- Experience of working with anxiety disorders, affective (mood) disorders
- Experience of the delivery of specific therapeutic interventions to children, young people or their families (e.g. CBT, solution focused brief therapy)
Desirable
- Experience of working with children and their families in a healthcare and education setting
- Experience of monitoring and recording outcome measures for children's emotional wellbeing
- Experience of navigating complex social systems and environments, who may have conflicting priorities or agendas
- Experience of working with looked after children
- Experience of working with other vulnerable groups
QUALIFICATIONS/EDUCATION/TRAINING
Essential
- Successful completion of the HEE commissioned 1yr 'Education Mental Health Practitioner' or the 'Child and Young Persons Psychological Wellbeing Practice' course
- A further relevant degree qualification
Desirable
- Teaching qualification
- Youth Mental Health First Aid trained
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Essential
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Able to write clear reports and letters
- Ability to work within a team and foster good working relationships
- Ability to use clinical supervision positively and effectively
- Ability to facilitate psychoeducation sessions to professionals (i.e. teachers)
- Skills in delivering Guided Self-Help interventions
- Ability to deliver interventions to groups (Young people and parent groups)
Desirable
- Able to develop good therapeutic relationships with young people
ANALYTICAL SKILLS
Essential
- Ability to be self-reflective, whilst working with service users, in own personal and professional development and in supervision
- Ability to assess risk assessments and understanding of the importance of assessing risk
PHYSICAL SKILLS
Essential
- Good IT skills and experience of use of software such as word and excel
- Car driver
- Able to travel independently across the Trust
PHYSICAL EFFORT
Essential
- Ability and willingness to work outside office hours when required by the role.
MENTAL EFFORT
Essential
- Ability to manage own caseload and demonstrate good time management and prioritisation skills
EMOTIONAL EFFORT
Essential
- Regular requirement to deal with distressing or emotionally charged situations
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Essential
- Values/Motivational/Personal Qualities/Diversity in line with HPFT's values (Welcoming, Kind, Positive, Respectful & Professional)
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.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
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.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
