Duty Practitioner

Compass; Banks; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

27 days holiday + bank holidays

Life assurance at 2 x basic salary

Contributory pension scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Learning & development opportunities

Annual salary review

Job summary

Compass is seeking a Duty Practitioner to join our Leyland Mental Health Support Teams, helping children and young people access timely support for mild to moderate mental health needs across education settings. Youll coordinate referrals, oversee triage and assessment bookings, and work closely with parents, carers, schools, and partner agencies to ensure referrals reach the most appropriate service.

Youll also help develop our duty system and ensure safeguarding concerns are recognised and

Qualifications

• Qualification in mental health or working with children & young people such as Diploma in Youth Work, Diploma in Social Work, Psychology degree, accredited counselling.
• Evidence of continued professional development.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate referrals, oversee triage and assessment bookings, and work with parents, carers, education settings and partner agencies.
• Develop the duty system, provide information, advice and signposting, and escalate safeguarding concerns appropriately.

Skills

Mental health qualification

Experience with CYP mental health

Inter-agency collaboration

Safeguarding knowledge

Communication & IT skills

Education

Diploma in Youth Work

Diploma in Social Work

Psychology degree

Accredited counselling

Tools

IT systems

Job description

Help children and young people access the right support.

Youre someone who cares about making a difference to the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people.

As a Duty Practitioner, youll join our Leyland Mental Health Support Teams (MHST), helping children and young people access timely support for mild to moderate mental health and emotional wellbeing difficulties across education settings.

Youll coordinate referrals, oversee triage and assessment bookings, and work closely with parents, carers, education settings and partner agencies to ensure referrals reach the most appropriate service.

Youll also help develop our duty system, provide information, advice and signposting, and work collaboratively with colleagues to ensure safeguarding concerns are recognised and escalated appropriately.

Main duties of the job

Youre an organised, proactive practitioner who thrives in a busy environment and is passionate about improving outcomes for children, young people and families.

Youll bring:

• A relevant qualification in mental health or working with children and young people, alongside evidence of continued professional development.
• Experience of working within a children and young peoples mental health service, community or educational setting, engaging effectively with children, young people and families.
• Experience of working across agencies and multidisciplinary teams, including coordinating or delegating duties.
• An understanding of safeguarding, child protection, confidentiality, consent and information sharing, with the ability to recognise and escalated concerns appropriately.
• Strong communication, organisation and IT skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities, work under pressure and maintain accurate records.
• A collaborative, adaptable and solution focused approach, with the confidence to use your initiative, build positive relationships and contribute to service improvement.

Knowledge of common mental health difficulties experienced by children and young people, MHST service models or relevant legislation would be welcomed. A therapeutic postgraduate qualification would also be beneficial.

Access to your own transport, or evidence of being able to commute efficiently between community venues, is essential.

About us

Compass is committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults. For 40 years, Compass is a national charity which works in communities across the UK providing services spanning substance misuse treatment and rehabilitation, early interventions for vulnerable young people, school-aged health programmes and associated prevention as well as treatment and health promotion initiatives.

All Compass posts are subject to appropriate level DBS checks.

We positively encourage applications from all members of the community, regardless of gender, race, faith, disability, age, or sexual orientation, and encourage applications from people who have experiences in life which enrich skills and empathy. This is part of our commitment to equality and developing a truly inclusive and representative workforce.

We are happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments individuals may require in the recruitment process, on commencement, or once in post.

We offer a range of benefits including:

• 27 days holiday + bank holidays, rising to 32 days over time (pro rata)
• Life assurance at 2 x basic salary
• Competitive contributory pension scheme
• 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme and OH service
• Excellent learning & development opportunities and career progression
• Annual salary review

Help us to make a positive change to the lives of children and young people!

Closing Date: 13.11.2026 #LI-BE1 #CompBloom

Job description

Job responsibilities

As a Duty Practitioner, youll join our Leyland Mental Health Support Teams (MHST), helping children and young people access timely support for mild to moderate mental health and emotional wellbeing difficulties across education settings.

Youll coordinate referrals, oversee triage and assessment bookings, and work closely with parents, carers, education settings and partner agencies to ensure referrals reach the most appropriate service.

Youll also help develop our duty system, provide information, advice and signposting, and work collaboratively with colleagues to ensure safeguarding concerns are recognised and escalated appropriately.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Qualification in mental health or working with children & young people such as Diploma in Youth Work, Diploma in Social Work, Psychology degree, accredited counselling.
• Evidence of continued professional development.

Desirable

• Therapeutic post graduate qualification

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working within a CYP mental health service OR in a community and/or educational environment
• Experience of working in a high demand fast paced role.
• Experience of effective engagement with CYP and families
• Experience of Inter agency and multi-disciplinary working
• Experience of directing/delegating team duties

Additional Criteria

Essential

• Understanding of safeguarding and child protection procedures, including recognising indicators of abuse, neglect, exploitation, self-harm and other safeguarding concerns, and knowing when and how to elevate concerns
• Understanding of confidentiality, consent and information sharing, including parental responsibility, young people's rights to confidentiality, Gillick competence, safeguarding exceptions and data protection requirements
• The ability to delegate and co-ordinate referrals
• Recognition and escalation of risk, contributing to control measures
• Planning workload, time management
• Work under pressure and able to manage changing priorities
• Understand need for evidence and statistical data collection, and achieving targets
• IT skills
• Team player and a dynamic personality
• Multi-agency/disciplinary working
• Excellent communication skills and able to relate to CYPFs
• Innovative practice and ability to influence others
• Positive attitude; flexible and adaptable; solution focused; and tenacious.
• Has a strong degree of personal integrity.
• Access to own transport or evidence of ability to commute efficiently between community venues.

Desirable

• Knowledge of common mental health and emotional wellbeing difficulties experienced by CYP, including anxiety, low mood, emotional regulation difficulties, school related anxiety and behavioural presentations associated with underlying emotional needs
• Understanding of MHST service models and scope, including the role of Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs), evidence-based interventions for mild to moderate mental health difficulties, and the boundaries of the MHST offer
• Working understanding of Children Act 1989, Children Act 2004, Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026
• Ability to analyse data support service improvement

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is 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 details

Employer name

Compass

Address

Unit 8, Balfour Court

Off Hough Lane

Leyland

Lancashire

PR25 2TF

United Kingdom

Employer's website

https://www.compass-uk.org/ (Opens in a new tab)