School Counsellor

15 hours per week (set two days to be confirmed, working 8:30am - 4:30pm) – term-time only / £33,795 per annum pro rata / permanent

Our mission is to help children and young people have a fair chance to be who they want to be. We do this by providing a safe home, increasing life skills and self-confidence, and improving emotional wellbeing and mental health.

Established in 1996, Dialogue School Counselling is a BACP accredited school counselling service covering Sussex and Surrey. We are recruiting for an experienced and qualified School Counsellor on a permanent basis at our well-established Dialogue School Counselling service at Felpham Community College in Felpham, Bognor Regis. You will be working with a range of clients within the Dialogue Thresholds and working to a 6-8 session model. You will be working alongside another experienced Dialogue School Counsellor and working closely with the Student Services Pastoral team at the college.

Key responsibilities

• Run a suitable appointment system flexible to the needs of the school, offering students appropriate assessments and counselling appointments
• Manage the tight time boundaries of the role and the often complex and varied workload
• Liaise with school staff over referrals, waiting lists and appointments
• Carry out initial clinical and risk assessments and establish appropriate referral pathways with other services where appropriate. Continually assess risk throughout each student’s counselling.
• Follow YMCA Dialogue safeguarding procedures; to know who the School’s Designated Safeguarding Officer/s is and how to contact them when a safeguarding concern arises
• Work at all times within the BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions
• Maintain individual membership of the BACP and to become a Registered Member (or other professional body such as HCPC)
• Establish good professional working relationships with key school staff

If you’re enthusiastic about this opportunity but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every requirement, we encourage you to apply anyway and demonstrate how your experience is transferrable. You may be just the right candidate.

Qualifications, knowledge, and experience

• You will have a Counselling or Psychotherapy qualification, minimum Level four and ideally level six, and two years’ post qualifying experience in individual counselling or therapy with young people. This will include working with risk issues
• You will also have a sound understanding of child protection and vulnerable adult safeguarding issues, policies, and procedures
• You will have proven experience in safeguarding children and young people, responding to, managing, and referring safeguarding issues
• You will have a BACP Membership; BACP Registered or Accredited. Or other professional body e.g. HCPC
• You will have a keen interest in working with children and will be familiar with using creative therapeutic approaches, along with experience of working in a school setting

CLOSING DATE: Tuesday 17 June at midnight, with proposed interview dates of Tuesday 24 June/Friday 27 June

TO APPLY: Please scroll down the page to the application form

Successful candidates will already have the right to live and work in the UK without restrictions. We are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role.

An inclusive workplace

We are committed to policies and practices of equity, diversity, and inclusion and to supporting our people to make sure our culture is consistent with this commitment.

Accessibility

If you require assistance or have questions regarding the application process, please do contact us.

YMCA DLG requires all staff and volunteers to be committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and to respond proactively to safeguarding concerns. Successful applicants are required to undertake an Enhanced DBS (including the Children’s and Adults’ barred lists) check, along with a reference and background check carried out by a third-party service provider.