Education Mental Health Practitioner

NHS; Derby; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a dedicated Education Mental Health Practitioner to enhance mental health support for children and young people. This role is pivotal in delivering evidence-based interventions within schools, fostering collaboration with families and educational staff to create effective support plans. The ideal candidate will possess a teaching qualification or relevant mental health training and demonstrate a commitment to professional growth. Join a compassionate team focused on making a positive impact in the lives of young people, while enjoying ongoing training and development opportunities in a supportive environment.

Benefits

27 days holiday + bank holidays

Life assurance at 2 x basic salary

Competitive contributory pension scheme

24/7 Employee Assistance Programme

Excellent learning & development opportunities

Annual performance/salary review

Qualifications

• Experience in delivering therapeutic interventions to children and families.
• Strong knowledge of safeguarding and consent issues.

Responsibilities

• Deliver evidence-based mental health interventions in educational settings.
• Collaborate with families and educational staff to create support plans.

Skills

Therapeutic interventions (CBT, solution-focused)

Communication skills

Knowledge of safeguarding

Risk assessment

Mental health awareness

Education

Teaching qualification

Youth Mental Health First Aid training

Job description

Supporting young minds with impactful interventions Join the team!

Are you passionate about making a real difference in the mental health and well-being of children and young people? If so, this is the perfect role for you!

As an Education Mental Health Practitioner, you'll play a pivotal role in improving access to high-quality mental health support within educational settings. Guided by expert supervision, you'll deliver evidence-based interventions to children and young people with mild to moderate mental health needs, empowering them to thrive in their learning and personal lives.

Your role will involve assessing and delivering tailored interventions directly in schools while collaborating with children, young people, families, and educational staff to co-create effective support plans. You'll provide guidance and signposting to help schools build a robust Whole School Approach to mental health, ensuring every step aligns with safeguarding and risk management protocols.

This is more than a job; it's an opportunity to build transformative relationships with schools, families, and multi-agency teams, shaping the mental health landscape of education. With a commitment to ongoing training and development, you'll continually grow in your role while staying at the forefront of evidence-based strategies.

Join us and become part of a team that champions compassion, resilience, and innovation. Together, we'll create a brighter, healthier future for our young people.

Main duties of the job

We are looking for a motivated professional passionate about supporting the mental health and well-being of children and young people. With a qualification as an Education Mental Health Practitioner, teaching credentials, or Youth Mental Health First Aid training, you bring a strong foundation to the role.

Some essential criteria for the role include:

1. Experience delivering therapeutic interventions like CBT or solution-focused brief therapy to children and families.
2. Knowledge of safeguarding, capacity, and consent, including Gillick competence.
3. A proven track record of working in educational or healthcare settings with children and young people.
4. Strong communication skills for effective collaboration with families, schools, and multi-agency teams.
5. The ability to conduct assessments, manage risk, and maintain clear, accurate records.

We'd also appreciate additional strengths that enhance your suitability. Experience working with vulnerable groups, such as looked-after children or those facing emotional or behavioural challenges, is desirable but not a dealbreaker.

Your ability to promote mental health awareness and teach staff within educational settings will show your skill in fostering inclusive environments.

Your commitment to professional growth, paired with our values of respect, integrity, and reliability, ensures you're ready to make an impact in young people's lives.

If this sounds like you, we'd love to hear from you!

About us

Compass is committed to safeguarding children, young people, and vulnerable adults. Established for over 30 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 performance/salary review

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

Interview date: TBC

Job responsibilities

As an Education Mental Health Practitioner, you'll play a pivotal role in improving access to high-quality mental health support within educational settings. Guided by expert supervision, you'll deliver evidence-based interventions to children and young people with mild to moderate mental health needs, empowering them to thrive in their learning and personal lives.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Teaching qualification
• Youth Mental Health First Aid trained

Experience

• Knowledge of educational environments
• Knowledge of safeguarding issues
• Knowledge of capacity and consent issues including Gillick competence
• Experience of working with children and young people, their families and others
• Experience of working and liaising with a wide variety of agencies and stakeholders
• Experience of working with children and young people who have social, emotional and/or behavioural difficulties
• Experience of working with anxiety disorders
• Experience of working with affective (mood) disorders
• Experience of the delivery of specific therapeutic interventions to children, young people or their families (e.g. CBT, solution focused brief therapy)
• Knowledge of the functional operation of specialist Children and Young Peoples Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing services teams
• Experience of working with children and their families in a healthcare setting
• Experience of working with children and their families in an education setting
• Experience of monitoring and recording outcome measures for children's emotional wellbeing
• Experience of navigating complex social systems and environments, who may have conflicting priorities or agendas
• Experience of working with looked after children
• Experience of working with other vulnerable groups

Additional Criteria

• Ability to carry out 1:1 therapeutic mental health interventions with children
• Ability to carry out 1:1 therapeutic mental health interventions with families
• Ability to work within educational settings to increase mental health awareness within staff group
• Ability to conduct mental health assessments of children and young people
• Ability to make an assessment of risk and to record and communicate it appropriately
• Ability to take appropriate action to mitigate or manage risk
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Excellent time management and organisational skills
• Access to own transport or evidence of ability to commute efficiently between community venues.
• Ongoing commitment to maintain registration in core profession
• Willingness to study further if required
• Ability to teach others about mental health issues
• Ability to conduct other group therapeutic interventions with children and their families
• Proven commitment to continuous professional development

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.