Trainee Children\'s Wellbeing Practitioner - Southwark CAMHS

Employer South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Southwark Borough Town London Salary £31,944 – £34,937 per annum Incl. of HCAs Salary period Yearly Closing 22/10/2025 23:59

Trainee Children\’s Wellbeing Practitioner – Southwark CAMHS

NHS AfC: Band 4

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We deliver specialist services in the London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Wandsworth and Richmond.

We are committed to provide a high quality and specialist care to our service users and we are recognised for our care and treatment we provide. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’.

We launched our five-year strategy, Aiming High; Changing Lives in 2021 together with Our Care Improvement System as our quality management system methodology to make a positive impact on patient care, outcomes and staff experience. By joining SLaM, all staff will get the opportunity to be part of this exciting improvement journey supported with learning and development to harness everyone’s potential as change makers.

The trust recognises the unique and valuable contribution that people with lived experience of mental illness can bring to a role.We therefore welcome applications from people with lived experience and consider them as an asset to the Trust.

Our Values

We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values and our promise to be caring, kind, polite, prompt, honest, listen and do what I say I’m going to do is at the heart of everything we do. When you join us, you’ll be part of something special.

As a Trust we are happy to talk flexible working.

Job overview

The Children Wellbeing Practitioners (CWP\’s) are part of the Children and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme (CYP IAPT) is a service transformation programme that aims to improve existing children and young people’s Mental Health Services (CYP MHS) working in the community.

This advert is for Trainee CWP positions in Southwark CAMHS ONLY.

These are training role posts and the post-holders will work as Trainee CWP\’s within the CWP Team embedded in Southwark CAMHS as part of a multi-disciplinary team delivering, under supervision, high-quality; outcome–informed, focused, evidence-based interventions for Children and young people experiencing, mild to moderate anxiety, low mood, behavioural difficulties.

Please note that you will need to submit an application form to Kings College London (KCL) for a place on the Postgraduate Diploma in Child and Young Person Mental Health (CYP-MH) Child Wellbeing Practice alongside the application to this service.

KCL webpages provide further information -see link below:

Please direct all queries to KCL using this email address: cyp-mh@kcl.ac.uk

The university\’s application portal closes on Tuesday 25th November 2025 at 23.59 pm. Applications to the service that haven’t met this deadline or KCL criteria will be rejected.

• This is a training role within the Children and Young People’ Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme (CYP IAPT). The post-holder will work within a CYP MHS as part of a multi-disciplinary team delivering, under supervision, high-quality; outcome–informed, focused, evidence-based interventions for Children and young people experiencing, mild to moderate anxiety, low mood, behavioural difficulties.
• The training and service experience will equip the post holder with the necessary knowledge, attitude and capabilities to operate effectively in an inclusive, value driven service.
• The post holder will attend all university based taught and self-study days required by the education provider, as specified within the agreed national curriculum, and work in the service for the remaining days of the week using their newly developed skills.

Working for our organisation

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK as well as substance misuse services for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King\\\’s College London and are part of King\\\’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. There are very few organisations in the world that have such wide-ranging capabilities working with mental illness. Our scope is unique because it is built on three major foundations: care and treatment, science and research, and training.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

Therapeutic skills

• Assess and deliver, under supervision outcome focused, evidence-based interventions to children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties.
• Working in partnership, support children, young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties and their families in the self-management of presenting difficulties.
• Work in partnership with children, young people and families in the development of plans for the intervention and agreed goals.
• Support and empower children, young people and families to make informed choices about the intervention.
• Operate at all times from an inclusive values base, which recognises and respects diversity.
• Accept referrals within agreed national and local protocols.
• Undertakes accurate assessment of risk to self and others.
• Adhere to the service referral protocols. Under supervision signpost unsuitable referrals to the relevant service as necessary.
• Through close case management and supervision, escalate cases where the level of need becomes beyond scope, or more severe, ensuring adherence to other relevant elements of service delivery.
• Provide a range of information and support for evidence based psychological treatments. This may include guided self-help. This work may be face-to-face, by telephone or via other media.
• Adhere to an agreed activity schedule relating to the overall number of children and young people contacts offered, and sessions carried out per week in order to improve timely access and minimise waiting times.
• Attend multi-disciplinary meetings relating to referrals or CYP in treatment, where appropriate.
• Keep coherent records of all activity in line with service protocols and use these records and outcome data to inform decision making. Complete all requirements relating to data collection.
• Assess and integrate issues relating to transitions, education and training/employment into the overall therapeutic process.
• Work within a collaborative approach involving a range of relevant others when indicated.
• Work in collaboration with children, young people and communities to enhance and widen access.

Training & Supervision

• Attend and fulfil all the requirements of the training element of the post including practical, academic and practice based assessments.
• Apply learning from the training programme to practice.
• Receive supervision from educational providers in relation to course work to meet the required standards.
• Prepare and present case load information to supervisors within the service on an agreed and scheduled basis, in order to ensure safe practice and the governance obligations of the trainee, supervisor and service are delivered.
• Respond to and implement supervision suggestions by supervisors in practice.
• Engage in and respond to personal development supervision to improve competences and practice.

Professional

• Ensure the maintenance of standards of practice according to the employer and any regulating bodies, and keep up-to-date on new recommendations/guidelines set by the relevant departments.
• Ensure that confidentiality is protected at all times.
• Ensure clear objectives are identified, discussed and reviewed with supervisor and senior colleagues on a regular basis as part of continuing professional development.
• Participate in individual performance review and respond to agreed objectives.
• Keep all records up to date in relation to Continuous Professional Development and ensure personal development plans maintains up to date specialist knowledge of latest theoretical and service delivery models/developments.
• Attend relevant conferences/workshops in line with identified professional objectives.

General

• Support the collection of data and facilitate data flow to the New Workforce Development team.
• Contribute to the development of best practice within the service.
• Ensure a comprehensive understanding of the relevant safeguarding legislation, guidance and best practice.
• Maintain up-to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and procedures in relation to children and young people’s mental health
• All employees have a responsibility and a legal obligation to ensure that information processed is kept accurate, confidential, secure and in line with the Data Protection Act (1998) and Security and Confidentiality Policies.
• It is the responsibility of all staff that they do not abuse their official position for personal gain, to seek advantage of further private business or other interests in the course of their official duties.
• This Job Description does not provide an exhaustive list of duties and may be reviewed in conjunction with the post holder in light of service development.

Person specification

Qualifications

• A minimum of a second-class Bachelor\’s degree from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard in a relevant subject (e.g. psychology)
• Evidence of working with children and young people with mental health difficulties
• Training in nursing, social work, occupational therapy, counselling or within a specific psychological therapy
• Psychology or other health /social care/youth related undergraduate degree
• Ability to study as a self-motivated learner and implement training with appropriate support
• Demonstrates high standards in written and verbal communication
• Team Player
• Ability to personally manage a sensitive, traumatic and potentially emotionally distressing caseload.
• Ability to manage own caseload and time
• Is proficient in a second language

Experience

• • Evidence of working with children and young people with mental health difficulties
• Experience of working in mental health or related services
• Worked in a service where agreed targets in place to demonstrating outcomes

Other

• Full, enhanced and current satisfactory DBS disclosure for the role
• Able to travel to meet post requirements

The Trust is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and that promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Confident Employer, we welcome applicants from all sections of the community and people of all protected characteristics. We provide reasonable adjustments for candidates with a disability and are committed to treating people fairly with compassion, respect and dignity and in promoting equality and human rights. We aim to put this commitment into practice by:

• Embedding our commitment to tackling inequality, eliminating discrimination and harassment; promoting equality of opportunity and fostering good relations in our everyday practice
• Ensuring that all our services and all staff understand and support our commitment
• We believe that people who use our services, their carers and our staff, should be treated with compassion, respect and dignity

Please note:

• That all applications for this post will need to be made online
• That you read and understand the Job Description and Person Specification attached to the role. Your Statement in Support should reflect the requirements specified as your application will be judged against these criteria
• That the closing date listed is a guide only and that the vacancy may close earlier should sufficient number of applicants have been received. We advise that you submit your application as early as possible
• That once you have submitted your application you agree to your application being transferred to a 3rd party e-recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs
• That should you not have heard from us within three weeks from the closing date your application has not been successful
• That priority consideration for applications may be given to at-risk NHS employees
• That should you be successful and appointed, you authorise South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust to confirm your previous NHS service via an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process
• That we are a smoke-free Trust

SLaM is a Stonewall Diversity Champion , Stonewall is the largest Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans (LGBT) rights charity in Europe’

Helpful Resource: How to Use TRAC for Job Applications
If you\’re preparing to apply for a role, this guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to use TRAC effectively throughout the application process: Using TRAC to apply

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name Iris Varela Job title CWP Supervisior Email address iris.varela@slam.nhs.uk Telephone number 0203 228 7777 Additional information

Lola Pacheco, CWP Service Lead @ lola.pacheco@slam.nhs.uk

0203 228 7777