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Barnardo's; Metropolitan Borough of Solihull; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 30,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Disability Confident employer

Job summary

Barnardo's in Solihull is recruiting a Trainee Educational Mental Health Practitioner as part of the Solar MHST. The role combines university training with delivering low-intensity CBT-informed guided self-help to children and young people.

The post involves working across Solihull schools and weekly travel to the University of Derby, with full supervision and a focus on reducing mental health stigma in the community.

Qualifications

• Trainee EMHP in training pathway
• Experience working with children and young people desirable

Responsibilities

• Assess and provide low-intensity CBT-informed guided self-help
• Deliver evidence-based interventions to children and young people
• Develop Whole School Approach activities within allocated schools
• Be fully supervised throughout the course and promote mental health awareness

Job description

Trainee Educational Mental Health Practitioner

Are you looking for a varied, exciting post in which you could train as an Educational Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP) and obtain experience working with mental health in schools? We could be looking to hire you in our MHST in Solihull, part of the CAMHS service – Solar.

We currently have a vacancy for 1 x Trainee Educational Mental Health Practitioner within our Mental Health Support Team (MHST) at Solar and would love to see if you are the person we are looking for. We are looking for vibrant, creative staff that are just as passionate about the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people as we are. We are looking for individuals who are highly motivated, adaptable and flexible in their approach. Balancing the demands of the course with the fast-paced nature of the role can be difficult, therefore excellent organisational skills and time management are a must.

This is an exciting role providing opportunities to develop and train as an EMHP and deliver evidence-based interventions to children and young people in the Solihull area and work on developing schools approaches to mental health. We are a trauma informed service offering holistic, collaborative care with the child's voice always at the centre.

The post holder is responsible for assessment, and provision of low intensity, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy informed, guided self help. The role includes working throughout the Solihull Borough at several different locations, in addition to travel to the University of Derby on a weekly basis. In this instance, the University course is not optional, and candidates need to be in a position to enrol with University of Derby.

The University of Derby offers two entry routes for this course:

Applicants whose highest level of qualification is Level 5 will enter onto the Level 6 programme at UoD.

Applicants who hold a Level 6 qualification (completed undergraduate degree or equivalent qualification), will enter onto the Level 7 (postgraduate) EMHP programme at UoD.

You will be expected to attend roughly 3 working days per week at university and the rest of the working week will be spent within the service. As you develop your skills as a trainee you will be expected to deliver guided self-help interventions using a variety of mediums including computerised CBT, psychoeducational workshops, one to one and telephone interventions. Furthermore, you will be expected to undertake Whole School Approach activities within the allocated schools for your team. You will be fully supervised throughout the course. Part of the trainee EMHP role also includes actively reducing stigma of common mental health problems by mental health promotion in the wider community.

Solar is a partnership project between Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (BSMHFT) and Barnardo's. It is a well established and nationally talked about service. We work together to provide emotional wellbeing and mental health services for children and young people in Solihull who are aged between 0-19, based on the principle of children and young people only needing to tell their story once. Solar utilise one clinical record and a single user led care plan, ensuring children and young people shape the service that they receive.

Rated “good” by the CQC in January 2018, the service was peer reviewed by West Midlands Quality Review Service who said they “were impressed with the level of integration across the services - the feedback from service users and their families and carers was that the pathway was seamless between the various services.”

This is an exciting opportunity to be based within a dynamic NHS service but employed and supported by a charity with a long history of working with and for children and young people (over 150 years!). Solar is a multi-disciplinary service which provides a rich learning environment for all staff. Our work is holistic and evidence based and we actively encourage the participation of children and young people in their assessment, care plan and treatment.

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme

Company: Barnardo's

Salary: £27,417 to £27,417 a year

Hours: Full-time

Location: Solihull

Working pattern: Field-based

Job type: Permanent

Posting date: 15 Sept 2026

Closing date: 25 Sept 2026

About Disability Confident

Disability Confident is a government scheme. It encourages employers to recruit and retain disabled people and those with long term health conditions.