Locality Clinical Lead - SE Essex Locality - MHST | NELFT NHS Foundation Trust in Southend-on-Sea

NELFT is the largest provider of Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) in England. Our North East, Southend, Essex and Thurrock services cover 144 schools currently. The service is developing and expanding with an aim to cover all secondary schools in Mid and South Essex by September 2025. We currently cover 48% of secondary and primary schools within Southend, Essex and Thurrock.

The Mental Health Support Teams (MHST) deliver evidence-based individual interventions and group interventions in educational settings for children experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties aged 5 to 18 years old. The teams also have a strong focus on whole school approaches to improve mental health outcomes for children and young people.

The South East Essex Mental Health Support Team (MHST) covers a large geographical area incorporating the districts of Southend, Castlepoint, Rochford and Canvey Island. We are an early intervention and prevention evidence-based service and as a team we are supportive and passionate in what we deliver. We are a friendly team of professionals who come from multidisciplinary backgrounds. We recognise the need for a healthy work-life balance, and we will consider flexible working applications in line with the trust policies and process. We encourage Continual Professional Development (CPD) and are keen to support our staff to grow and progress. Finally, we are a welcoming team, working hard to improve the mental health of our community.

The Locality Clinical Lead should:

• Have a current and in date professional registration with a regulatory body (e.g. ACP, UKCP, HCPC, BABCP).
• Have substantial experience (more than 2 years, post qualification) working therapeutically with children and families with mental health needs.
• In-depth knowledge and experience of evidence-based practice with children and families (including CBT).
• Experience of providing and receiving supervision (including CBT-informed practice).
• Clinical experience and in-depth understanding of effective use of routine outcome measures.
• Enthusiasm for and knowledge of early intervention and prevention including low intensity support for emotional wellbeing and mental health difficulties in an education context.
• Knowledge of evidence-based interventions for low mood, self-harm, anxiety and common behaviour difficulties in young children in education settings.
• Knowledge and understanding of whole school approaches to emotional wellbeing and mental health.
• Experience of providing consultation in education settings.
• Experience of service development and multi-disciplinary and multi-agency working.
• Hold evidence of ongoing continuing professional development in a relevant subject.

Our Values 2025 - 2030: Working with our colleagues, patients and carers we have co-produced three new values that we aim to embed within our culture here at NELFT. They are: We are kind. We are respectful. We work together with our communities. These three values help us to strive to provide the best care by the best people.

We are looking for an experienced Mental Health Practitioner with a UK Professional Registration to join our Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs). MHSTs are a new service designed to support children and young people with mild to moderate mental health and emotional wellbeing difficulties within education settings; ensuring children and young people receive faster access to early intervention mental health support.

In this post, you will be a senior clinical team member, holding a clinical caseload and supervising junior staff and trainee EMHPs. You will work alongside partner agencies to develop and co-produce training materials and support the delivery of whole school approach models for mental health.

The successful applicant would have completed the Supervisors Course, a fundamental requirement for the post.

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.

This advert closes on Tuesday 25 Nov 2025.