Educational Mental Health Practitioner

NHS; Castleford; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional healthcare provider is looking for an Educational Mental Health Practitioner to deliver interventions to children and young people experiencing mental health issues. This role requires an EMHP Post Graduate qualification and experience in health and educational settings. It involves assessment, consultation, and collaborative work within schools to improve mental health support. Candidates must be proactive and capable of delivering evidence-based services under supervision.

Qualifications

• Must have an EMHP Post Graduate qualification and be registered with a professional body such as BPS or BABCP.
• At least one year experience delivering low intensity evidenced-based CBT interventions for mild to moderate mental health issues.
• At least one year experience of work within both health and educational settings.

Responsibilities

• Deliver evidenced based interventions to children and young people.
• Conduct holistic and child-centred mental health assessments.
• Develop and deliver psychoeducation sessions.
• Provide advice to education staff.
• Work as an autonomous practitioner under supervision.

Job description

Overview

Educational Mental Health Practitioner role within CAMHS Future in Mind MHST (Mental Health Support Team) at South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Trust. Closing date: 10 October 2025. You must have an EMHP Post Graduate qualification and be registered with a professional body such as BPS or BABCP.

Main duties of the job

Responsibilities of the Education Mental Health Practitioner include:

• Delivering evidenced based interventions to children, young people, parents/carers through individual and group work.
• Carrying out holistic and child-centred mental health assessments.
• Developing and delivering psychoeducation sessions to children, young people, parents/carers through assemblies, classroom, and parent sessions.
• Ensuring children/young people play an active part in decision making about the support they need.
• Providing advice/consultation to education staff to support children/young people getting the right help at the right time.
• Supporting education settings in developing and embedding whole school approaches to mental health through collaboration and coproduction within the school.
• Participating in the delivery of training programmes for education settings and community services.
• Developing local knowledge of services to enable effective signposting and planning, particularly in relation to mental health.
• Under supervision, working as an autonomous practitioner, offering Low-Intensity CBT interventions while promoting a Whole School Approach to mental health and wellbeing.

At the time of advertising, this role meets the minimum requirements set by UK Visas and Immigration to sponsor candidates to work in the UK.

All employees of the Trust are strongly encouraged to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect patients.

About us

We are a specialist NHS Foundation Trust that provides community, mental health and learning disability services for the people of Barnsley, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield. We also provide low and medium secure services and are the lead for the west Yorkshire secure provider collaborative.

We encourage and welcome applications from all protected characteristic groups, value diversity and want our workforce to be reflective of our communities.

Join us and you will be one of over 4,500 staff committed to supporting and improving the mental, physical and social needs of the thousands of people we meet and help each year.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expect all colleagues and volunteers to share this commitment.

Job responsibilities

JOB SUMMARY

The CYP IAPT programme aims to improve existing children and young people’s mental health services (CYP MHS) by integrating Children and Young People Wellbeing Practitioner training within CYP MHS and linking to the CYP IAPT collaborative.

As part of Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs), Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs) will work in both education and healthcare settings to support children and young people with mental ill health, contributing to the Government’s priority to increase access to mental health support for young people.

The post is for a team player who has already qualified through the Education Mental Health Practitioner framework.

JOB PURPOSE

This role works within a CYP mental health service delivering, under supervision, high-quality, brief outcome-focused evidence-based interventions and guided self-help for children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties. The training and service experience will equip the post holder with the knowledge, attitude and capabilities to operate effectively in an inclusive, value-driven service. The post will work under the direction of the Senior CAMHS Practitioners within the project, across education settings within the Wakefield District.

Principle responsibilities

• Therapeutic skills: Assess and deliver under supervision outcome-focused, evidence-based interventions to children and young people with mild to moderate mental health difficulties.
• Work in partnership with children, young people and families in developing plans for intervention and agreed outcomes.
• Support and empower children, young people and families to make informed choices about the intervention.
• Operate from an inclusive values base that recognises and respects diversity.
• Accept referrals within agreed national and local protocols and adhere to service referral protocols; under supervision, signpost unsuitable referrals to the relevant service.
• Under supervision, undertake accurate risk assessments and, when needed, escalate cases following relevant service delivery guidelines.
• Provide information and support for evidence-based psychological treatments, primarily guided self-help (may be face-to-face, by telephone or other media).
• Adhere to activity contracts regarding caseloads and session numbers to improve timely access and minimise waiting times.
• Attend multi-disciplinary meetings as appropriate and keep coherent records in line with service protocols, including data collection and outcomes.
• Assess and integrate issues relating to transitions, education and training/employment into the therapeutic process.
• Work collaboratively with relevant others when indicated and engage with communities to widen access.

Training and supervision

• Be supervised and assessed to deliver outcome-focused interventions in educational settings for children and young people.
• Apply learning from the programme to practice and prepare caseload information for supervision.
• Respond to supervision guidance in practice and engage in personal development supervision to improve competence.
• Undertake Core Skills training as required.

Professional

• Maintain standards of practice and keep up-to-date with new guidelines; ensure confidentiality and keep clear objectives through supervision and CPD.
• Participate in performance reviews and maintain up-to-date records, including CPD plans and knowledge of latest models.
• Attend relevant conferences/workshops aligned with professional objectives and use Routine Outcome Measures in daily practice.

General

• Support data collection and contribute to best practice within the service.
• Ensure understanding of safeguarding legislation and keep knowledge of relevant policies and procedures for children and young people’s mental health.
• Maintain data protection and confidentiality standards and safeguard against conflicts of interest.

Health & Safety

• Maintain a high standard of safety and safeguard welfare in line with Health & Safety at Work Act; comply with safety policies and report accidents/incidents promptly.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Relevant qualification or experience within an educational setting.

Experience

• At least one year experience delivering low intensity evidenced-based CBT interventions for mild to moderate mental health issues.
• At least one year experience of work within both health and educational settings.
• Experience of consultation and liaison with education and multidisciplinary colleagues.
• Experience of service development.
• Experience forging new working relationships within complex interagency frameworks.

Skills and Competencies

• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to deliver low intensity evidenced-based interventions under supervision to children and young people.
• Ability to devise and deliver group-based interventions to children and young people.
• Ability to deliver parent-led interventions where children have a mental health need.
• Ability to keep clinical records to a high standard.
• Skilled at engaging and building relationships with children, young people and parents.
• Ability to work collaboratively with young people, parents, colleagues and partner agencies.

Knowledge

• Good working knowledge of nationally agreed routine outcome measures within the CYP-IAPT Programme.
• Working knowledge of the educational system.
• Knowledge of children and young people gained through study in child development, wellbeing or mental health.
• Knowledge of safeguarding issues and legal framework.
• Knowledge of capacity and consent issues when working with young people.
• Knowledge of the whole school approach to mental health.
• Knowledge of other neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions; both in type and severity.
• Knowledge of service pathways and ability to navigate processes.
• Knowledge of how contextual factors affect children and young people’s mental health and their impact on delivering effective interventions.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and requires a Disclosure to be submitted to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for any previous convictions.

South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Trust