Education Mental Health Practitioner/Children\'s Wellbeing Practitioner | NELFT NHS Foundation Trust

Overview

Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) support children, young people and their families that have links to identified school settings. Each designated MHST will work in collaboration with schools and other agencies who cover a population of up to 7,000 children and young people. Trailblazer sites were established in Kent in 2019, with the service aim to cover 50% of the schools across Kent and Medway by 2026. It is expected that this will increase early access to services and offer greater preventative provision.

We also work with our schools to support their development of a Whole School Approach (WSA) to emotional wellbeing and mental heath as well as their development of curriculum content to ensure pupils are taught about mental health in the classroom.

Locations

• Medway & Swale
• Maidstone
• Tonbridge
• Tunbridge Wells

You will be able to make your preference at interview.

Role Details

Kent Emotional Wellbeing Team and Medway Emotional Support Team

Information for school staff, families and professionals to find out more about the services the Kent and Medway Mental Health Support Teams provide.

• Assessment and Treatment of Children and Young People under the MHST 3 Core functions (Targeted Intervention, Whole School Approach & Consultation and Liaison)
• To work as part of a team with a set number of schools to deliver the core components of the service
• Active participation in local and county wide meetings and supervision forums

(Please see corresponding Job Description for more details)

Opportunities & Development

We hope successful candidates will come with a passion for participation and service development; there are research and co-production projects in progress. It is hoped that successful candidates will be keen to develop skills to consider career prospects within MHST services.

Our Values 2025 – 2030

We have co-produced three new values to embed in our culture: We are kind. We are respectful. We work together with our communities. These values help us strive to provide the best care by the best people.

Starting with NELFT

NELFT places importance on welcoming and inducting new starters. Induction on the first Monday of each month with up to two weeks of training, systems training and equipment allocation. New starters may meet the executive team, senior managers and attend drop-in sessions focusing on engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. Induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.

Probationary Period

This post will be subject to a probationary period.

Flexible Working

We will consider part-time hours (30 hours plus) and flexible working pattern applications will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to promote a healthy work life balance.

Candidate Profile

We are looking for Qualified Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHP) / Children\\’s Wellbeing Practitioners (CWP) to join the teams and work with us to develop the service further and ensure we meet the core components;
• Whole School Approach
• Targeted Treatment (main evidence base is low intensity CBT individual and group)
• Consultation and Liaison

(if you are about to qualify from an EMHP / CWP course please apply as posts can be held for successful applicants)

Career & CPD

Our senior Clinical Team are passionate about the careers of EMHP\\\’s and CWP\\\’s and we have exciting CPD program happening in service and are working closely with Health Education England (HEE) and NHS England to look at the career pathways of this new work force.

We have good working relationships with University of Surrey and Kings Collage London and are looking at developing our staff to progress into senior positions and consider senior EMHP / CWP training opportunities and supervisor training.

Sponsorship & Recruitment

Certificates of Sponsorship
Although we are a registered sponsor organisation, we are unable to offer sponsorship for all job roles. Please check your eligibility under the UKVI points-based system. When calculating the basic salary for sponsorship, HCAS (High-Cost Area Supplement) is not included to ensure fairness and consistency within our Trust.

Use of AI

Please see attached document regarding acceptable use of AI during the recruitment process.

Fair Recruitment

As part of NELFT fair and legal recruitment we want to ensure reasonable adjustments are in place for anyone that has a disability during their interview process. We would be grateful if you can disclose on your application if you have a disability requiring reasonable adjustments.

This advert closes on Monday 13 Oct 2025