Clinical CAMHS Social Worker

West London; Greater London; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

West London NHS Trust is seeking a Social Worker with CAMHS experience to join the Tri-borough CAMHS Alliance. This full-time Band 7 post focuses on working with children, young people and families in crisis, providing brief interventions and risk assessment within a multidisciplinary team.

The post requires experience in CAMHS settings, strong communication with professionals and young people, and a commitment to evidence-based, client-centered care.

Qualifications

• Active Professional registration with Social Work England (SWE)
• Evidence of accredited courses in child and adolescent mental health practice
• Training in prevention and management of violence and aggression
• Post registration training in CAMHS
• Working towards Masters Level in a CAMHS related subject.

Responsibilities

• Undertake comprehensive assessment of children and young people with mental health needs.
• Provide direct work to families and young people in crisis.
• Assist CAMHS/paediatrics team with treatment planning and give consultation to families and other professionals.
• Deliver specialist mental health services across the West London CAMHS 3 Boroughs Service and crisis pathway.
• Provide brief interventions and outreach work to prevent admission to CAMHS units.

Skills

Crisis intervention

Communication with young people

Team collaboration

Risk assessment

Engagement with diverse populations

Education

Degree or Diploma in Social Work

Active SWE registration

CYP IAPT trainings

Masters level CAMHS (in progress)

Job description

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West London NHS Trust provides a full range of mental health, community and physical healthcare services for children, adults and older people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow.

We also provide some specialist services that are commissioned regionally, such as our medium secure services; and nationally, such as the Cassel Hospital for people with complex and severe personality disorder and our high secure services at Broadmoor Hospital.

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for Social Worker with experience of working with young people and their families to work in Tri-borough CAMHS. This is a full-time Band 7 permanent post in the CAMHS Alliance Service. We would be delighted to hear from Social Workers who have experience working in CAMHS using social work skills and are interested in this role. Candidates who have Crisis and/or Home Treatment experience will be prioritised for this role.

We are looking to appoint a Social Worker who is able to demonstrate a commitment to creative engagement with a culturally diverse population of young people, shows initiative, is a team player and is able to communicate ideas clearly to both professionals and young people alike. Ability to demonstrate knowledge, competence and an interest in working with children who present with complex mental health needs is essential for the role. The Social Worker will also need to be flexible and have the necessary skills and experience to provide high quality care that is both evidence based and client focussed.

Main duties of the job

The Alliance Crisis Team serves 3 key pathways:

• Acute Trust and out of hours’ service
• Intensive community support/ Home Treatment service & Post A&E Review
• Intensive community support/Home Treatment + service with Tier 3 CAMHs interface and Tier 4 diversion/Tier 4 step down

The post holders will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team, holding a clinical caseload and undertaking the comprehensive assessment of children and young people with mental health needs (including risk assessment and the development of risk management plans) who present in crisis to CAMH Services, hospitals and sites covered by the Alliance Crisis Care.

In addition to providing direct work to families and young people, the post holders will also assist the CAMHS and/or paediatrics team with treatment planning and provide consultation to families/carers and other professionals involved in the life of the young person.

The post holder will participate in delivering the provision of specialist mental health services to children and young people and their families and carers across the West London NHS Trust 3 Boroughs CAMH Service and crisis pathway.

The role will include providing brief interventions and outreach work to children and young people presenting with acute psychological and mental health problems where intensive support is required to prevent admission to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Units.

Working for our organisation

West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation.

Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ over 5,000 staff, of whom 59% are BME. Our turnover for 2024-25 is over £500m.

The Trust is rated as ‘Good’ overallby the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as ‘Outstanding’.

The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached.

The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Degree or Diploma in Social Work
• Active Professional registration with Social Work England (SWE)
• Evidence of accredited courses in child and adolescent mental health practice
• Training in prevention and management of violence and aggression
• First or higher degree in appropriate subject area or equivalent post registration training and experience
• Practice Educator Professional Standards (PEPS) stage 2 qualification
• CYP IAPT Trainings, e.g. CBT, Systemic Family Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy [IPT],
• Other post-graduate qualifications in: DBT, Systemic Foundation Years, EMDR, Mindfulness. Mentalizing Trainings
• Post registration training in CAMHS
• Working towards Masters Level in a CAMHS related subject.

Experience

• Demonstrable experience of assessment and working therapeutically with children, adolescents and their families within a mental health setting
• Demonstrable experience working with young people with in a community CAMHS setting
• Experience of working in a number of ways i.e. assertive outreach, clinic based settings, home, school or other appropriate environments
• Experience of using therapeutic skills, such as CBT, Solution Focused Therapy, Family Work
• Experience of interagency and multidisciplinary working
• Experience of assessing risk and formulating safe and effective risk management plans
• Clinical Supervision / Reflective Practice
• Experience of teaching other professionals
• Experience of management of child protection emergencies
• Experience of therapeutic work with children and families where abuse or neglect has occurred
• Experience of audit and/or research
• Experience of contributing to and implementing new service developments
• Knowledge of legislation relevant to the Children’s Act 2004, Mental Health Act 1983 & Safeguarding Guidelines
• A sound working knowledge and application of relevant professional code, i.e. professional Code of Practice
• Knowledge of the legal issues relating to consent and capacity in children and young people.
• An awareness and understanding of the issues facing, children, adolescents and their families
• Knowledge of the various assessment tools used in CAMHS
• Knowledge of the Care Plan Approach
• Skills in communicating with children, adolescents and their families or carers
• Ability to contain the anxieties of severely unwell young people and their parents.
• Skills and sensitivity in working with difficult to engage families
• Ability to deal with challenging behaviour in possibly distressing situations.

As an employee of West London NHS Trust, you have a responsibility to maintain a sound understanding of, and a commitment to uphold the National Health Service values and principles set out in the NHS Constitution.

We reserve the right to close adverts prior to the closing date stated should we receive a high volume of applications.

By applying for this post you are agreeing to West London NHS Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, you will be required to undergo a pre-employment checks which can take between 4-8 weeks . After which your information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system (ESR ).

Please ensure you include email addresses for your referees which MUST be at supervisory or managerial capacity covering the last 3 years of employment to date to avoid delay in the recruitment process.

West London NHS Trust is committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We encourage the thoughtful use of technology as a demonstration of strong time management and a commitment to innovation. However, we encourage applicants to personalise their recruitment application to showcase their unique skills and experiences.

While AI-generated content can be a helpful tool, relying solely on generic responses instead of highlighting your own strengths and achievements may impact the success of your application. The success of an application will always be assessed against the essential and desirable criteria for the role, so it is important to ensure that your application and any supporting information clearly demonstrate how you meet these requirements.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

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.

At West London NHS Trust, we want you to support you to build a career you can be proud of and this starts before your first day with us. Our people live our values every day as they deliver, manage and work to improve our services to patients, carers, families and other professionals.

We’re committed to making our recruitment process clear and efficient. It’s in everyone’s interest that we get the very best people on board as soon as we can.