Trainee Educational Mental Health Practitioner
Job Description
Job summary
This is a very exciting opportunity in response to the Government's priority to increase access and availability of mental health and wellbeing support for children and young people in schools and colleges. Bedford Borough has been successfully awarded funding for a new Mental Health Support Team (MHST) due to start in September 2026.
The MHST team will be split between two long standing teams that already work with schools and GP's within Bedford Borough. The team will be an addition to our focus on the needs of the community to help reduce health inequalities whilst delivering our whole school approaches.
Successful candidates will be offered a full-time educational programme specifically for the role delivered by the University of Reading. The course fees are fully funded, and the salary support for the job post will be funded at NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) at level Band 4. You will gain credits towards completing a postgraduate degree diploma level qualification. There will be guaranteed employment on successful completion of training, with a starting salary projected to be based on the NHS AfC Band 5 scale. For the duration of the training year and afterwards, successful candidates will be employed by CAMHS, East London Foundation Trust.
We encourage people to apply if they do not meet requirements for the level 7 postgraduate route as this would typically those who have a degree and our key is to widen access into the workforce:
Main duties of the job
The training programme for this post starts in September 2026, is 12 months in duration and will consist of academic and supervised practice learning across mental health services and educational settings, such as primary and secondary schools, and further education colleges.
During training, the post-holder will work under supervision to gain experience across healthcare and educational settings to enable them to gain the level of competence required to deliver high-quality, evidence-based early interventions for children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health problems.
Delivery of the programme will be provided through a combination of taught days within University of Reading, independent self-guided study days, and experience gained in education wellbeing and mainstream mental health services.
The training course is divided into 6 modules, developing skills and knowledge in areas such as:
1. Self-management including development of plans for specific interventions and agreeing outcomes;
2. Learning to manage own caseload, gaining the necessary skills to practice a range of interventions such as guided self-help;
3. Preparing and presenting caseload information to supervisors;
4. Working with colleagues to provide better access to specialist mental health services and supporting referrals where required;
5. Supporting colleagues in education to identify and manage issues related to mental health and wellbeing
About us
Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.
Job responsibilities
For a more detailed outline please look at the attached job description
For further information please contact [email protected], 0755167926
Person Specification
Education/ Qualification/ Training
Essential
- Graduate route (Level 6) Applicants that may not hold an honours degree must have proven successful study at Level 5; or successful part completion of an Honours degree (Level 6)
- Postgraduate route (Level 7) Honours degree graded at 2:2 or above
Desirable
- o Relevant Honours Degree (e.g. psychology, mental health, sociology, education etc.) graded at 2.2 or above.
- Knowledge of children and young people gained through academic study in child development, child wellbeing or mental health.
Experience
Essential
- .It is essential that the applicant has previous experience of working with children and young people in either a health or educational setting
- .Knowledge of the educational system in England
Desirable
- Experience of working with children and their families in a mental health setting
- Experience of working with children and their families in an education setting
- Experience of working with looked after children or other vulnerable groups of CYP
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- .Knowledge of the educational system in England
- .Knowledge of children and young people gained through academic study in child development, child wellbeing or mental health.
- .Excellent organizational and motivation to manage the demands of the course and clinical work.
Attributes
Essential
- .Ability to study as a self-motivated learner who can formulate their own progress towards learning objectives
- .Ability to personally manage a sensitive, traumatic and potentially emotionally distressing caseload
- .Excellent oral and written communication skills
- .Able to travel to meet the requirements of the post
Other
Essential
- .Full, enhanced and current satisfactory DBS disclosure for the role
- .Ability to personally manage a sensitive, traumatic and potentially emotionally distressing caseload
- .Excellent oral and written communication skills
- .Self-motivated
- .Must be able to travel between venues/schools
- .Team player
- .Excellent time management and organisational skills
- .Able to meet the physical requirements of the role after reasonable adjustments have been made for any illness or disability
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Employer details
Employer name
East London NHS Foundation Trust
Address
North Beds CAMHS
9 rush court
Bedford
MK40 3JT
United Kingdom
