Senior Practitioner (23068)

An opportunity has arisen for a senior supervising practitioner to join the Moving Mindsets Mental Health Support Teams (MHST) in South Cumbria. We wish to employ people who enjoy working therapeutically with children and young people in schools, and who want to make a difference to their emotional and mental wellbeing.

We're seeking a practitioner who has direct experience of working with evidence-based therapies in child mental health. The role involves providing therapeutic support to children, young people and their parent-carers and working in partnership with education settings. It also involves providing supervision to a small number of Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs) who work in the service.

The practitioner in this role will work in schools across South Lakes and the Furness areas covering Barrow, Millom, and Dalton. The South Cumbria MHST works with 22 education settings which include 15 secondary schools, 2 higher education colleges, 3 special education schools and 1 pupil referral unit (PRU) across the community.

Role Summary

We're seeking an experienced mental health practitioner to work collaboratively with education settings, with children, young people and their families and the care community that support them. The post-holder will undertake direct clinical work under supervision across a range of education settings to deliver high-quality, evidence-based early interventions for children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health needs.

Senior Practitioners play a key role as members of the Mental Health Support Teams, supporting safe and effective practice, and enabling a whole school & college approach to promote positive mental health and wellbeing. They work collaboratively with schools, families and partner agencies to ensure that children and young people receive the right support at the right time.

The post holder will provide clinical skills and/or clinical case management supervision for a small number of Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs) working in the service. They will be required to attend supervisor training to enable their ability to work as EMHP supervisors (if not already completed). They will need to be either already qualified in a higher-level evidence-based therapy or will be required to attend relevant therapeutic training for the role.

Principal Accountabilities

• Consultation with Education (providing advice, guidance and joint planning to support early intervention)
• Assessment and Formulation with Children and Young People (including risk-informed formulation and intervention planning)
• Evidence Based Therapy (delivering outcome-focused interventions within MHST remit)
• Working with Parents and Carers (supporting engagement, psychoeducation and collaborative care planning)
• Linking with Specialist Services (supporting smooth pathways and escalation where thresholds are met)
• Clinical Skills and Clinical Case Management Supervision (supporting EMHPs with formulation, outcomes review, and appropriate escalation of risk/complexity)
• Whole School Approach (supporting wellbeing planning, staff training/psychoeducation and prevention activity)

Qualifications and Training

Essential Criteria

• Graduate qualification in an evidence-based therapy e.g. senior wellbeing practitioner, cognitive behaviour therapy, education mental health practitioner - or ability to attend identified training once in employment
• Appropriate and valid UK professional registration with BABCP or British Psychological Society (with accreditation where appropriate)
• Clinical supervision training/qualification (e.g. CYP IAPT Supervision Skills) or ability to attend identified training once in employment
• Minimum of 24 months post qualification experience working with children's mental health

Desirable Criteria

• Relevant core professional qualification (minimum Diploma / Degree) e.g. mental health nursing, social work, occupational therapy, psychology (health or education), teaching
• Appropriate and valid UK professional registration e.g. social work, nursing, occupational health, psychology, teaching
• Experience of working in child mental health services and/or education

MHST Background

Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) are a national programme jointly delivered with the Department for Education and NHS England. The programme has three core functions:

• Delivering evidence-based interventions for children and young people with mild to moderate mental health needs
• Supporting the senior mental health lead in each education setting to introduce or develop their whole school/college approach
• Giving timely advice to school and college staff, and liaising with external specialist services, to help children and young people to get the right support and stay in education

MHSTs support the promotion of wellbeing and good mental health with particular focus on early intervention. They work with existing social, emotional, mental health and wellbeing support within education settings, building relationships with each education setting and with children, young people, parent-carers, and partners in the local system to co-design and evaluate the support offer required.