Senior Mental Health Practitioner - South-West Essex MHST

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Joining #TeamNELFT means you'll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We're CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London, Essex, Kent and Medway. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.

The Trust has award winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development, because when you are valued and supported, we provide the best care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for three consecutive years, and we have achieved a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Along with our staff networks and training opportunities, we work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture here at NELFT.

Find out more about NELFT careers and what makes our Trust a great place to work, in this video

Job overview

AtNELFT, we're proud to be the largest provider of Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) in England.

Our MHSTs deliver evidence-based individual and group interventions within educational settings, supporting children and young people aged 4 to 18 who are experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties. We also champion whole-school approaches to promote positive mental health across entire school communities.
Integrated, Holistic Support

MHSTs work alongside existing school-based services - including counsellors, nurses, educational psychologists, and voluntary sector partners - to strengthen the support available for children and young people. For those with more complex needs, we provide a vital link to CAMHS services, ensuring timely access to the right care.
Who We're Looking For

We're seeking a passionate and experienced practitioner who is:

• A qualified Education Mental Health Practitioner/Children's Wellbeing Practitioner
• A candidate who has already completed further training or is willing to complete the SWP postgraduate diploma.

You must be fully registered with a relevant professional or regulatory body ( BPS or BABCP) and have extensive clinical experience working with children and young people with emotional wellbeing and mental health needs.

Main duties of the job

As a valued member of ourMental Health Support Team (MHST), you'll play a key role in delivering high-quality mental health support to children and young people across schools and colleges in SW Essex. Your responsibilities will include:

Clinical Delivery & Support

• Delivering evidence-based interventions in schools
• Conducting comprehensive assessments, including risk assessments, care planning, and reviews for children and young people
• Making referrals to specialist services and external agencies when needed
• Provision of high quality clinical supervision.
• Working with schools to support the development of the Whole School Approach

Professional Practice

• Acting as an autonomous, registered practitioner, accountable for your own clinical decisions in line with your professional code of conduct and NELFT policies
• Supporting the transformation of children and young people's mental health as part of the NHS Long-Term Plan

Quality & Outcomes

• Routinely measuring clinical outcomes using Routine Outcome Measures (ROMs) to guide and improve practice
• Ensuring all care is delivered via NICE-compliant pathways.

Teamwork & Leadership

• Providing leadership, promoting initiative, creativity, and motivation
• Communicating complex clinical information effectively to ensure collaborative working
• Contributing to a positive team culture while working independently and collaboratively with other professionals and agencies

Working for our organisation

Our Values 2025 - 2030

Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.

Starting with NELFT

NELFT place a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers, and attend a number of drop-in sessions focusing on engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.

Probationary Period

This post will be subject to a probationary period.

At NELFT, we are committed to building a workforce that reflects and supports the diverse communities we serve. As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen local employment and deliver high-quality, person-centered care, we will prioritise applications from individuals living in our local boroughs and surrounding areas.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Join the South-West Essex MHST - covering Basildon, Thurrock and Brentwood and Billericay

TheSouth-West Essex Mental Health Support Team (MHST) delivers early intervention and prevention-focused mental health support across a wide geographical area, including Basildon, Thurrock and Brentwood and Billericay. We're a passionate, multidisciplinary team committed to improving the emotional wellbeing of children and young people in educational settings.

We pride ourselves on being a friendly, supportive team that values collaboration, compassion, and continuous learning. We understand the importance of a healthy work-life balance, and we welcome flexible working applications in line with Trust policies.
Professional Development & Training

We actively encourage Continual Professional Development (CPD) and are committed to helping our staff grow and progress. Successful candidates will either:

• Have completed (or are willing to complete) the Senior Wellbeing Practitioner (SWP) course or
• Have completed the CBT recruit to train or the systemic family therapy course

For full details, please refer to the job description and person specification attached.

Certificates of Sponsorship
Although we are a registered sponsor organisation, we are unable to offer sponsorship for all job roles. Please check your eligibility under the UKVI points-based system. When calculating the basic salary for sponsorship, HCAS (High-Cost Area Supplement) is not included to ensure fairness and consistency within our Trust.

Use of AI
Please see attached document regarding acceptable use of AI during the recruitment process.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Successful completion of a graduate training (e.g. nursing, social work, occupational therapy) or have completed a low intensity EMHP/CWP Qualification.
• To be eligible for registration as a full member of the appropriate professional body (e.g. HCPC, NMC, BABCP, BPS)
• Attended/willing to attend SWP course or CYPIAPT Supervisor training

Experience

Essential criteria

• Experience of working with moderate presentations and neurodivergence.
• at least 1 year as a registered practitioner delivering low intensity CBT-informed interventions

Desirable criteria

• 2 years post qualification experience in children's mental health services

Travel

Essential criteria

• To be able to travel efficiently throughout the area

Benefits

We believe in bringing your authentic and best self to work, in order to deliver the best care to our patients. We are committed to supporting our employees holistically. Here is a snapshot of what is on offer at NELFT:

• A long-standing and award-winning approach to equality and diversity with supportive networks for ethnic minority staff, staff with disabilities or long term/chronic conditions and LGBT staff.
• A commitment to supporting colleagues to achieve a work life balance, through flexible working opportunities and our effortsto support our working parents and carers. This has resulted in us being recognised as a 'Top 10 Family Friendly Employer' from the Working Families Charity.
• Proactive health and wellbeing support, including access to our employee assistance programme, staff psychological support, individual wellbeing conversations and a network of health and wellbeing ambassadors.
• Detailed information about our wellbeing and benefits offer can be found in this link.

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that's a job share, part time hours or another flexible pattern.

Supporting our Armed Forces

We recognise the valuable contribution that the Armed Forces community make to our organisation. We have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and achieved Gold Award under the Armed Forces Employer Recognition Scheme. We have supportive policies, guaranteed interview schemes for veterans. reservists and military spouses and give additional leave to our Reservists so that they can attend their annual camp.

Equal opportunities employer

We are committed to equal opportunities and diversity and positively encourage applications from all sections of the community regardless of any protected characteristic.

We are a Disability Confident employer and have made the pledge to commit to employing more people with disabilities. If you require this application in another format i.e. Braille or audio tape please contact the recruitment team on 0300 300 1530 or email recruitment@nelft.nhs.uk.

Correspondence with us

You are advised to regularly check your emails (including any junk mail/spam folders) for correspondence related to this post.

As part of our recruitment process, we may be required to share information you provide on the application form with NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) and/or other organisations for the purpose of the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of fraud or any other unlawful activity affecting the NHS. We also use third party providers to check and verify your qualifications who may be contacting you on our behalf to verify the same.

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

• Senior wellbeing practitioner JD (PDF, 451.8KB)
• NELFT (PDF, 38.4KB)
• Candidate Recruitment Pack (PDF, 671.2KB)
• Acceptable Use of AI in Recruitment (PDF, 3.9MB)