MHST Trainee Education Mental Health Practitioner

NELFT NHS Foundation Trust; Colchester; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 30,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Clinical supervision

Mentorship

Peer support

Professional development

Job summary

NELFT NHS Foundation Trust in North East Essex offers a full‑time Trainee Education Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP) programme based in Colchester. The role combines paid employment with a funded postgraduate qualification, leading to a qualified EMHP and a meaningful career in early mental health support in schools.

You will work with children and young people with mild-to-moderate difficulties, undertake the University of East Anglia PGDip/PGCert, and gain supervised clinical practice from

Qualifications

• Ability to study successfully at postgraduate level.
• Understanding of child and adolescent mental health.
• Commitment to working in educational settings.

Responsibilities

• Deliver low‑intensity, evidence‑based mental health support in schools.
• Collaborate with families, schools and CYP to plan care.
• Engage in reflective practice and supervision.
• Maintain confidential records and report progress.

Skills

Postgraduate study

Child & youth work

Essex travel readiness

Education

Degree in a relevant field

Job description

Job overview

Trainee Education Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP) – North Essex

Start your career in children's mental health and make a lasting difference to young lives.

Are you passionate about supporting the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people? Do you want to develop a rewarding career while gaining a fully funded postgraduate qualification? If so, we would love to hear from you.

We are excited to offer an incredible opportunity to join our Mental Health Support Team (MHST) as a Trainee Education Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP). This unique role combines paid employment with specialist training, equipping you with the skills, knowledge and experience to become a qualified EMHP and play a vital role in delivering early mental health support within schools and educational settings.

What You'll Be Doing

As a Trainee EMHP, you will work alongside experienced mental health professionals to support children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties. Through evidence-based interventions and close collaboration with schools, families and young people, you will help build resilience, improve emotional wellbeing and ensure support is available when it is needed most.

Your Training Journey

This is a full-time, year-long employment and training programme, leading to qualification as an Education Mental Health Practitioner.

You will undertake a fully funded Postgraduate Certificate/Diploma with:

• University of East Anglia (UEA)

The programme combines academic learning with supervised clinical practice, enabling you to develop both professionally and academically while making a real difference from day one.

University of East Anglia offers both a PGDip and a PGCert.

Postgraduate Route

Applicants for the Postgraduate Diploma must provide evidence of academic attainment at degree level or above.

Graduate route

We welcome graduate entry applicants. Applicants for the Graduate Diploma will need to demonstrate their ability to work at degree level and should provide evidence in their application of their previous academic attainment; this should include good basic numeracy and literacy qualifications at a minimum of level 2. Successful applicants to the graduate route will be offered access to additional support throughout their training to ensure that they are able to meet the academic requirements of the course.

PGDip Educational Mental Health Practitioner 2026/27 | UEA

What We're Looking For

We are seeking enthusiastic, compassionate and motivated individuals who:

• Have the ability to study successfully at postgraduate level
• Are passionate about improving outcomes for children and young people
• Have an understanding of mental health and emotional wellbeing
• Can build positive and supportive relationships with young people, families and professionals
• Ideally have experience working with children and young people
• Experience within education settings is welcomed but not essential.

Why Join Us?

You’ll be joining a well‑established and highly experienced Mental Health Support Team, where learning, development and wellbeing are at the heart of what we do.

We offer:

• Comprehensive clinical and educational supervision
• Dedicated mentorship throughout your training
• Strong peer support from fellow trainees and practitioners
• Opportunities for ongoing professional development
• The chance to make a meaningful impact in local communities every day

Location

This role is based in North East Essex during your training year, supporting children and young people across:

• Colchester
• Tendring

Ready to Make a Difference?

This is more than a training programme. It's an opportunity to launch a fulfilling career while helping children and young people access the support they need to thrive.

Join us and become part of a passionate team committed to transforming mental health support in schools and shaping brighter futures for young people across Essex.

Main duties of the job

As a Trainee EMHP, your responsibilities will include:

Clinical duties:

• Under supervision, assess and manage a caseload of children and young people (CYP).
• Deliver low‑intensity, evidence‑based interventions such as guided self‑help, group sessions.
• Deliver assemblies in schools and psychoeducation to parents, staff and young people.
• Collaborate with CYP, families, and educators to co‑produce care plans and agree on treatment outcomes.
• Conduct risk assessments and follow safeguarding procedures.
• Promote inclusive, anti‑discriminatory practices and engage with issues of power, diversity, and equity.

Training and Development:

• Attend and complete all academic components of the Postgraduate Diploma.
• Engage in university‑based teaching, self‑directed study, and supervised practice placements.
• Apply course content to clinical work and demonstrate progression through assessments and supervision.
• Participate in reflective practice and personal development to enhance clinical competence.

Teamwork and Leadership:

• Participate in service development, audits, and quality improvement projects.
• Share knowledge through supervision, peer learning, and training activities.

Administrative and Communication Duties:

• Maintain accurate and confidential documentation.
• Communicate effectively with CYP, families, colleagues, and external partners.
• Support caseload planning and administration.
• Contribute to the development of clinical and training materials.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Successful candidates will be offered a full‑time educational programme specifically for the role. The course fees are fully funded (with employees signing a training contract), and the salary support for the job post will be funded at NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) at beginning Band 4. You will gain credits towards completing with a postgraduate degree diploma level qualification, plus guaranteed employment on successful completion of training, with a starting salary projected to be based on the NHS AfC Band 5 scale. For the training year, successful candidates will be employed by NELFT based in educational settings in across Essex. Due to the vast area covered by North East Essex, including rural and urban school sites, an ability to travel independently to school settings and university is essential.

Please note: The EMHP posts are training positions subject to 18 months fixed term contracts, successful candidates will be expected to travel to the University of East Anglia in the first year to complete their training.

*Please note the training will be provided by University of East Anglia (UEA). 100% attendance is required to complete the course, please only proceed to application if you are able to meet this requirement.

Face to face interviews will be completed by NELFT. Please do not apply if you cannot attend face to face on one of the following dates:

26th October

27th October

28th October

Working for Us

Joining #TeamNELFT means you’ll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We’re CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London and Essex. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.

The Trust has award‑winning equality and diversity initiatives, along with staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest significantly in your development because when you feel valued and supported, we can deliver the highest quality care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been recognised in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for five consecutive years, and hold a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Through our staff networks and training opportunities, we strive to foster a just and compassionate culture at NELFT.

Our Values 2025 - 2030

Working with our colleagues, patients and carers we have co‑produced three new values that we aim to embed within our culture here at NELFT. They are:

• We are kind.
• We are respectful.
• We work together with our communities.

These three values help us to strive to provide the best care by the best people.

Starting with NELFT

NELFT place a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers, and attend a number of drop‑in sessions focusing on engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Goodmayes Hospital.

Probationary Period

This post will be subject to a probationary period.

Certificates of Sponsorship

Although we are a registered sponsor organisation, we are unable to offer sponsorship for all job roles. Please check your eligibility under the UKVI points‑based system. When calculating the basic salary for sponsorship, HCAS (High‑Cost Area Supplement) is not included to ensure fairness and consistency within our Trust.

Please see the attached job description and person specification for more information about this role and working at North East London NHS Foundation Trust. We encourage you to refer to this when completing your application.

For an informal chat, please contact:

Name: Peta Waterman

Job title: Team Lead

Email: [e-mail]