SEMH Inclusion Practitioner

Leicestershire County Council; East Midlands; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A local educational authority in the East Midlands is seeking dedicated practitioners to support young people with Social, Emotional, and Mental Health (SEMH) needs in education settings. This role involves collaborating with school staff to ensure effective interventions and inclusive learning environments. Candidates must have relevant qualifications and experience working alongside young people facing challenges. The position is fixed-term for 12 months and offers competitive pay with opportunities for professional development.

Benefits

Professional training opportunities

Supportive team environment

Qualifications

• Proven experience with young people with SEMH needs in schools.
• Ability to guide school staff in trauma-informed practices.
• Commitment to improving outcomes for young people.

Responsibilities

• Support young people in accessing mainstream schooling.
• Advise on interventions and teaching adaptations.
• Maintain accurate records and track progress.

Skills

Experience working with young people

Understanding of trauma-informed practices

Coaching and mentoring skills

Collaboration with professionals

Detailed record-keeping

Education

HLTA qualification or equivalent

Job description

Organisation: Leicestershire County Council

Work Location: Either Oakfield North (Shepshed) Forest Street, Loughborough, LE12 9DB / Oakfield South (Earl Shilton) Belle Vue Road, Earl Shilton, LE9 7PA

Worker Category: Field-Based Worker

Salary: £32,070 - £34,359 per annum (pro-rata for part-time)

Working Hours: 34 hours per week, 39 weeks per year, Term Time only

Contract Type: Fixed Term (12 months)

Closing Date: 4th January 2026

Interview Date(s): w/c 12th January 2026

Are you passionate about supporting young people with Social, Emotional, and Mental Health (SEMH) needs in primary mainstream educational settings? Do you have the expertise to help schools implement trauma-informed strategies to enhance learning and well‑being? If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you to make a real difference!

Due to the expansion of our school‑to‑school department, we are looking for talented individuals to join our hard‑working and dedicated team to help pupils within our Local Authority successfully access their mainstream provision. Whilst the majority of your time will be spent supporting different schools in the locality, our team is based at Oakfield Short Stay School, at Shepshed and Earl Shilton.

About the Role

There are several positions available across each site. You can be deployed to either base as demand requires, as well as working with primary and SEMH bases across the county preventing exclusions, preparing, and supporting pupils for reintegration within primary settings, including KS3 pupils as required. The role involves travel across the county for which mileage can be claimed, in accordance with Local Authority policy. The posts are for a fixed term period of 12 months, however there could be future opportunities based on funding availability.

Oakfield Short Stay Primary is a 30 place SEMH pupil referral unit for Leicestershire. As a member of our team, you will be committed to providing high quality inclusive provision and be able to share your skills, expertise, and knowledge across the schools in Leicestershire. You will be expected to advise and support a range of interventions and teaching adaptations to promote reasonable adjustments and make learning engaging and accessible to all. You will be expected to share with teachers and teaching assistants the skills, knowledge and positive attitudes to keep children with SEMH challenges successfully within their mainstream settings.

We are looking for dedicated and caring practitioners, who work well as part of a team, whilst using their initiative when working independently. Staff who have worked in our team are highly sought after by mainstream schools, so this is an ideal opportunity to develop your skills to progress your career.

A DBS enhanced check for a regulated activity is required for this post.

For information on our approach to the recruitment of ex‑offenders, please see our policy statement.

About You

We are looking for someone with proven experience of working with young people with SEMH needs in educational settings who has a strong understanding of trauma‑informed practices and inclusive strategies. You must have excellent coaching and mentoring skills, with the ability to guide school staff effectively. The post holder must have the ability to work collaboratively with a range of professionals, including senior leaders and specialist staff. A commitment to improving outcomes for young people facing SEMH challenges is essential.

Essential Criteria

• A HLTA qualification or equivalent with GCSE Grade C or above or equivalent in Mathematics and English Language.
• Supporting Schools: Work alongside school staff to embed trauma‑informed practices, ensuring a nurturing and supportive environment for the young person.
• Coaching & Modelling Best Practice: Provide guidance to teaching and support staff by demonstrating effective strategies and fostering inclusive teaching methods for children with complex SEMH needs.
• Collaboration with Senior Leaders and wider professionals: Work with a range of professional teams to advise and promote best practices in SEMH support. Actively contributing advice and recommendations through primary inclusion forums and other local authority sources of support.
• Regular Drop‑ins for Continued Support: Maintain ongoing engagement with schools, offering regular visits and follow‑ups to ensure consistency and progress.
• Detailed Record‑Keeping: Maintain accurate records in line with the school's graduated response framework, tracking progress and documenting key interventions.
• Resilience and a sense of humour!

In return we can offer you:

• A team of professional colleagues who always go the extra mile for their pupils.
• Regular in‑school / out of school training to develop both your skills and your career, which includes ELSA training, Emotion Coaching and Trauma Informed Practice.
• Supportive colleagues across the Local Authority who work creatively and collaboratively as a team, and are both passionate and enthusiastic, despite the challenges.
• Senior Leaders who work alongside you and who are supportive.

You must also have an understanding of, and commitment to, equality, diversity and inclusion.

In addition, we also expect you to share our commitment to our values and will ask you to evidence when you have demonstrated them as part of the selection process.

Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a disability.

Interested in Flexible Working?

We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below. This may include requests for term‑time working, part‑time hours, compressed hours, flexible start and finish times, home/remote working, etc.

Every role within the Council has a defined working style which determines where they can work. The worker category applicable to this post is detailed in the above advert. You can find out more about our worker categories on our Our Working Styles page on our career site.

For more information or an informal discussion, please contact:

Lewis Pegg or Craig Collins, Interim Headteachers

Telephone: [phone]

Email: [e-mail].

Visits are warmly welcomed and encouraged to fully understand and discuss this unique role. Please contact the school office on 0116 275 9150 or email [e-mail] to arrange an appointment.

How to Apply

Leicestershire County Council is an inclusive organisation which is on a journey to embed and celebrate equality, diversity and inclusion at every level. We warmly welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, as having a diverse workforce with different perspectives and ideas is fundamental to our values and enriches the services we offer our communities. We particularly welcome applicants from Ethnically Diverse and LGBTQ+ communities and people with disabilities to create a balanced workforce and one that reflects the communities we serve. Applicants with a disability who meet the criteria listed in the 'About You' section above will be offered an interview under the Disability Confident Employer Scheme.

To apply for this job, please click on the apply button. You will need to upload a supporting statement as part of your application which explains how you meet the criteria listed in the 'About You' section above. For more information, see the How to Apply section on our career site.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post or you want to request an application pack in an alternative format, please contact our Employee Service Centre by telephoning 0300 3030222 (select option 2) or raising a ticket via our online portal: https://emss.org.uk/support.

By applying for this post, you agree to our Terms and Conditions.