Trainee Education Mental Health Practitioners

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust; Winwick; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 38,000; Full time

Job summary

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust invites applications for a Training Post as Trainee Education Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP) in schools, based in Warrington, Halton and Knowsley. The 12‑month training leads to a fully funded Post Graduate Diploma and EMHP registration.

On successful completion, the post will be uplifted to Band 5 after qualification and interview. The role involves delivering interventions to children and young people in educational settings, working with staff, families,

Qualifications

• Postgraduate Diploma leading to EMHP registration.
• Background in children and young people's mental health, wellbeing or education.

Responsibilities

• Deliver evidence-based interventions for children and young people in educational settings.
• Support staff to identify and manage mental health issues.
• Promote a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing.
• Record progression toward academic award and clinical competencies.

Education

Postgraduate Diploma in Education Mental Health Practitioner

Job description

Training Post - Trainee Education Mental Health Practitioner (Mental Health Support Teams in Schools) - Band 4 leading to Band 5 once qualified.

An exciting training opportunity has arisen for multiple Trainee Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs) within our established Mental Health Support Team in Schools, based in Warrington, Halton and Knowsley.

We would like to invite applicants from children and young people's mental health, wellbeing and education backgrounds to apply for this opportunity.

This opportunity will offer a fully funded Post Graduate Diploma leading to qualification and professional registration as an Education Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP), via an approximately 12-month training programme, beginning January 2027, delivered by Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS FT (gmmh.nhs.uk), Prestwich or Edge Hill University dependent on post.

Those who successfully qualify as EMHPs will be uplifted to Band 5, following successful completion of course and interview at end of training.

Key responsibilities

• Delivering evidence-based intervention for children and young people in education setting with mild to moderate mental health problems.
• Helping children and young people within these settings who present with more severe problems to rapidly access more specialist services.
• Supporting and facilitating staff in education settings to identify and where appropriate manage issues related to mental health and wellbeing.
• Working with and within education environments to afford better access to specialist mental health services.
• Working with and within education environments to promote a whole school approach to mental health wellbeing.
• To evidence development of those skills with associated knowledge acquisition to record and evidence progression towards an academic award and demonstrable practical ability.

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the Northwest, serving more than 11 million people.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction, and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We’re currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

• Developing skills in supporting children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties, their parents/carers, families, and educators in the self‑management of presenting difficulties.
• Developing and practicing evidence‑based skills under supervisory support of working in partnership with children, young people, their families, and educators in the development of plans for the specific intervention and agreeing outcomes.
• Developing and learning the skills required to enable children and young people in education, and where appropriate parents/carers to collaborate and coproduce their own agreed plan of care.
• Show evidence in a variety of forms that at all times assessment and intervention is provided from an inclusive values base, which recognises and respects diversity.
• Discuss with supervisors and agree to accept appropriate referrals for children and young people in educational settings, according to agreed local and national and local referral routes, processes and procedures.
• Under supervision, undertake accurate assessments of risk to self and others
• Learn, understand, rationalise, and adhere to the protocols within the educational service to which the postholder is attached.
• Engage along with more senior staff in the signposting of referrals for children and young people with more complex needs to the relevant service.
• Engage in robust managerial and clinical supervision, identifying the scope of practice of the individual postholder within the role and working safely within that scope.
• Gain and practice a range of interventions related to provision of information and support for evidence based psychological treatments, primarily guided self‑help.
• Practice, evidence, reflect on and demonstrate an ability to manage one's own caseload in conjunction with the requirements of the team.
• Attend multi‑disciplinary and multi‑agency meetings relating to referrals or children and young people in treatment, where appropriate, both for personal educational benefit in discussion with supervisors, or to provide direct assistance.
• Keep coherent records of all training and clinical activity in line with both health and education service protocols and use these records and outcome data to inform decision making
• Complete all requirements relating to data collection.
• . Show evidence of working within a collaborative approach, involving a range of relevant others when indicated. Specifically, work in collaboration with teachers and other educational staff, parents, children, young people, and the wider community to enhance and broaden access to mental health services
• Contribute to the development of individual or group clinical materials or training materials and go on to develop further such materials as falls within own degree of competence.

Training and Supervision

• Attend and fulfil all the requirements of the training element of the post including practical, academic and practice‑based assessments.
• As well as attendance at the University for training, fulfil private study requirements to enhance learning and prepare assignments for examination, for at least one day a week.
• Apply learning from the training program directly to practice through the course.
• Receive practice tutoring from educational providers in relation to course work to meet the required standards.
• Prepare and present case load information to supervisors within the service on an agreed and scheduled basis, in order to ensure safe practice and the governance obligations of the trainee, supervisor and service are delivered.
• Respond to and evidence the implementation of improved practice because of supervisor feedback.
• Engage in and respond to personal development supervision to improve competences and practice.
• Be involved in the evaluation of the course.
• Disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and supervisory discussions.