Assistant Practitioner

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust; Norwich; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 31,000; Full time

Job summary

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is recruiting an Assistant Practitioner for the day care service at HMP Norwich Town. The role supports psychoeducational and therapeutic group interventions for individuals at risk of self-harm and other behaviours, within a safe, therapeutic prison setting.

The post is a full-time, permanent contract, offering 37.5 hours per week with flexible working options. Training in physical intervention is required and ongoing professional supervision is provided

Qualifications

• Foundation degree in Health and Social Care/mental health or H&SC/L5 apprenticeship.
• Experience with service users with complex mental health needs.
• Experience within Multidisciplinary Teams (MDT).
• Knowledge of the CPA process.
• Experience working in a secure environment.

Responsibilities

• Assist with running groups with a range of disciplines.
• Carry out joint assessments with staff and help plan care.
• Input into MDTs and manage your own workload.
• May work 1:1 with prisoners delivering interventions under supervision.
• Attend referral meetings and engage in clinical supervision to develop expertise.

Skills

Communication

Problem solving

Confident

Approachable

Time management

Education

Foundation Degree in Health and Social Care/mental health or apprenticeship in H&SC/mental health L5

Job description

Main area Assistant Practitioner Grade Band 4 Contract Permanent Hours

• Full time
• Flexible working

37.5 hours per week (Monday -Friday 8-4) Job ref 246-GYW8002168-A

Site HMP Norwich Town Norwich Salary £28,392 - £31,157 gross per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 03/09/2026 23:59

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust provides child and adult mental health services, learning disability, wellbeing, older people's and eating disorder services across Norfolk and Suffolk.

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and want to reflect the diversity of our local communities within our teams. We welcome applications from all talented individuals with the relevant qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience.

Please note due to the nature of our roles and patient demographic, you will be required to undertake physical intervention training and remain trained, as required by your role.

Job overview

The day care service (Platinum Suite ) is located within HMP Norwich and provides

The service is designed to support individuals presenting with risks of self‑harm, suicide, and self‑destructive behaviours.

Delivered in a safe and therapeutic setting separate from the prison wings, the service provides structured and creative psychoeducational and therapeutic group interventions.

These interventions are tailored to individual needs to promote learning, skill development, and sustained behavioural change .

Main duties of the job

As an assistant practitioner, you will be expected to assist with running groups with a range of disciplines, carrying out joint assessments with staff, assisting with the planning of care and discharge reports, inputting into MDT’s and taking responsibility for your own work.

You may also be expected to work 1:1 with prisoners in delivering interventions under supervision. In addition, you will be invited to attend and contribute to ongoing referral meetings and discussions and engage in regular clinical supervision to access support and continue developing your expertise

Working for our organisation

Here at NSFT we pride ourselves on being a welcoming, talented, friendly and supportive team who like nothing better than sharing experiences and learning from each other. In addition to ongoing training and development opportunities, we are committed to providing an environment in which you can thrive.

Why work for us? We have challenges as a Trust, but we have ambitious aspirations, are pushing ahead with exciting transformation work and we need dedicated individuals to support us on our journey. We have strong, established professional networks coupled with an exceptional leadership team who will ensure you are truly cared for and cared about.

Why Norfolk and Suffolk? The people here are warm and welcoming, you’ll never be far from the beautiful coastline or Broads National Park. We’re an hour and a half away from London and have an international airport in Norwich too. Our villages, towns and cities are packed full of history, independent cafes, shops and theatres. We have excellent shopping, eating out, top ranking schooling and affordable house prices too.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please find attached our Job Description and Person Specification for more detail on your Key Accountabilities, then if you feel you have what it takes to make a difference in your local communities,,

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Foundation Degree in Health and Social Care/mental health or apprenticeship in H&SC/mental health L5

Experience

• Working with Service Users with complex mental health needs
• Working within Multidisciplinary Team (MDT)
• Working knowledge and understanding of CPA process.
• working within a secure environment

Skills

• Ability to communicate widely in a clear manner
• Ability to problem solve
• Confident manner.
• Approachable, tactful and diplomatic
• Ability to self-manage time and meet agreed deadlines

Please be aware that, due to the high number of applications for certain roles, this vacancy may close earlier than the advertised closing date. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible.

YOUR APPLICATION

We can provide all our job application materials in alternative formats so that these are accessible to everyone. Should you require any documents within this job pack in an alternative format, please do not hesitate to contact us at [e-mail].

PLEASE NOTE: If you use a hotmail, msn or yahoo e-mail account, you will need to check your "junk" mail regularly as these email providers will divert any communication from this Trust/NHS JOBS straight into your " junk" inbox.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES Apart from its legal duties in relation to equality and diversity, the Trust recognises and actively promotes the benefits of a diverse workforce and is committed to treating all employees with dignity and respect regardless of race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief.

As a part of the Disability Confident Employer Guaranteed Interview Scheme we interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job vacancy (outlined in the Person Specification).. We encourage you to indicate your eligibility through TRAC jobs when applying.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post may be subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

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 Julie Lemmon Job title Specialist Service manager - prison teams Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 01603 708845 Additional information [e-mail]