Mental Health Support Team Senior Practitioner

This job is brought to you by Jobs/Redefined, the UK's leading over-50s age inclusive jobs board.

We have been working together in a Partnership between Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust and Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust for some time, with a single Chair and Chief Executive since 2021 and single Executive Team since 2022. We launched our North London Mental Health Partnership Strategy in May 2023 and in July 2023 our Boards agreed that coming together to create one new Trust is best for our service users, our staff and our local communities. Subject to final approvals, we will be formally established as one new Trust on 1 October 2024.

Our new trust website is: Home | North London Mental Health Partnership

Job overview

Haringey continues to develop Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) in Schools, as part of the government's green paper ambitions to transform mental health support in England.

The post is contracted within NHS CAMHS in Haringey.

The MHST will develop models of early intervention for mild to moderate mental health and emotional wellbeing issues, such as anxiety, behavioural difficulties, or friendship issues, as well as providing help to staff within a school and college setting. There is a specific focus on developing more access to appropriate help and on whole-school approaches to improving the general culture of emotional support within primary and secondary schools.

The MHST service works in selected schools and have three core functions:

1. Delivering evidence-based interventions for mild to moderate mental health issues

2. Supporting the senior mental health lead in each school or college to introduce or develop their whole school or college approach

3. Giving timely advice to school and college staff and liaising with external specialist services, to help children and young people to get the right support and stay in education

The Senior Practitioner will work as a member of the multidisciplinary team to provide evidence-based early intervention to CYP alongside supervisory support for a team of Education Mental Health Practitioners (Band 4/5) (EMHP).

Main duties of the job

The post holder will provide high quality, safe and responsive low-intensity mental health support to, and in partnership with, CYP, parents/carers and professionals in accordance with the principles of the THRIVE model.

The post holder will work as part of an operational leadership team through supporting the MHST to continue to expand the offer as the team grows. You will contribute to the management and leadership of the team and attend relevant internal and external meetings. The role will be working in collaboration with community partners and developing relationships between the MHST and educational settings

Working for our organisation

The partnership between Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust (BEH) and Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust (C&I) is going from strength to strength since it was originally established in 2021 forming the North London Mental Health Partnership.

In order to meet the needs of the new Partnership services you may be required from time to time to work at different locations to your normal place of work. This may mean that you are required to work at any location that fall under Barnet, Enfield and Harringay Trust and Camden and Islington Trust. The Trust reserves the right to require staff to work at such other places or locations as it considers reasonable and necessary on a temporary or permanent basis.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To complete assessments (using a psychosocial model) that are clear, concise and detail plans to safely manage any risks that are identified.

. To demonstrate a high level of skill and experience in supporting CYP, where families have multi-complex and long-standing difficulties. All children are seen in the context of their family.

. To develop tailored and individual plans which support education settings to implement a 'Whole School Approach' to mental health.

. To have an awareness of, and participate in outcome measures, audit and service evaluation as agreed with professional and line management.

. To provide consultation as required to other professionals (such as teachers and family workers) around mental health issues in children and young people in schools.

.To plan each therapeutic intervention as part of a multi-agency pathway that minimise duplication across the system (e.g., with Local Authority and third-sector services). Groups will need to be developed based on identified need in each school setting.

. To ensure children, young people and their carers/significant others are included in planning, implementation and evaluation of care.

. To respond to the diverse needs of the specialist CYP groups and their parents/carers sensitively with regard for age, developmental stage, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability and the need for their privacy and dignity

. To advocate for CYP and offer a mental health perspective to the multi-agency team, working through sensitive and complex information.

. To offer management support to MHST Team Leads

. To utilise skills and knowledge in Low-Intensity Supervision to provide supervision to both trainee and qualified EMHP's

To liaise with other colleagues across the Trust and in partner organisations to share best practice and discuss current and future professional and clinical developments e.g. case review meetings and professional forums.

. To liaise independently and effectively with external partner agencies such as local authorities and third-sector agencies, co-ordinating meetings and participating in case discussions between teams involved in the care of clients.

. To support in service wide development including development and implementation of operational and clinical processes.

. To support in ongoing training and personal development of EMHPs/additional colleagues within the team.

. To demonstrate a high degree of competence in communicating complex information both verbally and in written form.

. To undertake the Postgraduate Certificate in Low Intensity Supervision (if not already completed).

. To ensure ongoing compliance with mandatory training requirements for your role.

. To actively participate in CBT-based clinical supervision with an appropriately trained supervisor as an integral part of maintaining professional development.

. Actively identify personal training needs and participate in training programmes as required and identified in Managerial Supervision or annual appraisals.

. To be able to assess and manage risk in children and young people and to do this on an on-going basis.

. To effectively and appropriately communicate risks to medical/healthcare staff, other professionals and families involved in the care of the CYP.

. To demonstrate the ability to make appropriate decisions with regard to the confidentiality of CYP and their families taking into consideration the risks to CYP, self and the wider public. To document this within the CYP electronic patient records.

. To take responsibility in recording own clinical supervision in the CYP electronic patient records in order to be able to reflect on the supervision process.

Person specification

QUALIFICATIONS

Essential criteria

• A relevant degree, from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard in a relevant subject (e.g. psychology) with relevant experience and competencies as required
• Children and Young People's Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner Qualification or Education and Mental Health Practitioner from accredited training provider

EXPERIENCE

Essential criteria

• Experience of working within an MHST as a EMHP or CWP
• Evidence of working with children and young people with a range of emotional concerns and mental health difficulties

References will be required to cover your last 3 years of employment/training. One has to be from your current or most recent employer and the others from your previous employer. The references should be from persons with management responsibility or HR.

If you have been unemployed for a period of four years or more, please give the details of your last employer and one character referee of your choice (not members of your family). If more applicable, references will be requested from your teacher or head of faculty. Please ensure you provide full contact details.

Vacancies that are advertised as Fixed Term Contracts will also be available as secondment opportunities for substantive internal staff.

Please be aware that your documents eg. Passport/NI Card, will be electronically scanned using Home Office accredited Verification System.

Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts, we will close vacancies before the stated closing date once the first 50 applications are received. Therefore, please apply as soon as possible.

All non-medical posts with the Trust are subject to a probationary period of six months, during which time you will be required to demonstrate to the Trust's satisfaction, your suitability for the position in which you will be employed.

Should you not hear from us within three working weeks of the closing date for this post, then regretfully in this instance, you have not been shortlisted.

By applying for this role, you accept in the event you are successful that your personal data may be transferred from the Trust to another NHS organisation where your employment transfers within the NHS. This is in accordance with the streamlining programme which is aimed at improving efficiencies within the NHS both to make costs savings for NHS organisations but also to save you time when your employment transfers.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

• JD & PS (PDF, 496.3KB)
• Functional Requirements (PDF, 258.2KB)
• Applicant Information Pack (PDF, 1.6MB)