Senior Mental Health Practitioner - Mental Health Support Teams

Job summary

Have you got experience of working with children and young people and want to move into a rewarding career in mental health?

East Sussex County Council (ESCC) is recruiting a Senior Mental Health Practitioner (SMHP) to join our existing Mental Health Support Team (MHST) in East Rother. We have an opportunity for a Senior Mental Health Practitioner (SMHP) to join the 'Me & My Mind' Mental Health Support Team.

The MHST teams deliver evidence-based interventions based on the Cognitive Behavioural Therapeutic (CBT) approach in schools. We work directly with children and young people aged 7-17 with mild to moderate mental health issues, and their parents and carers. We also work with schools to develop or enhance their whole-school approach to emotional health and wellbeing and mental health. As a Senior Mental Health Practitioner (SMHP), you will be working as part of a dynamic integrated mental health team. This approach requires creativity, flexibility, and adaptability, and above all a passion for working with children and young people in educational settings. You will receive clinical supervision to support your interventions and have the opportunity to develop your practice.

Main duties of the job

The Senior Mental Health Practitioner will focus on providing day to day clinical and supervisory support for the Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs), maintain a caseload and deliver group interventions. The post-holder will also provide training and support to school staff, helping to embed whole-school approaches to mental health.

The role will be working alongside community partners and developing relationships between the new MHST and educational settings and the post-holder will be responsible for supporting the development of the MHSTs and embedding their services within educational settings across Hastings.

We are looking for candidates who have:

• A core professional qualification relevant to mental health e.g., CBT, Counselling, Play Therapy, Nursing with specialism in mental health or learning disability nursing, Occupational Therapy, Social Work, Educational Psychology.
• Evidence of continued professional development.
• A qualification in leadership or supervision, or a willingness to commence if successful.
• Registration with a relevant Professional body.
• A full driving licence.

Our office base is in Hastings.

About us

To apply for this role please click the apply now button and upload a CV and covering letter outlining how you meet the essential and desirable criteria as set out in the attached job description and person specification. You may wish to draw on any relevant work/life experience, education or personal interests.

Interviews will be held in person at Cavendish House, Hastings on Thursday 09 May 2025.

The team is always committed to the development of our staff, and is a lovely place to work.

We offer a diverse range of benefits to help and support you during your employment. More information can be found on our benefits page.

Please contact Kalpana Dorlikar (Team Manager, Clinical Practice) on 07821300878 or email MHST.Info@eastsussex.gov.uk for any questions about the post or if you wish to arrange an informal discussion.

Date posted: 07 April 2025

Pay scheme: Other

Salary: £42,916 to £44,428 a year

Contract: Permanent

Working pattern: Full-time

Reference number: F0026-25-0008

Job responsibilities

Key tasks:

1. Perform all aspects of the role in accordance with occupational protocols, Local Authority and school policies.
2. Contribute to the development and provision of mental health and emotional well-being services to children and young people in educational settings, working with stakeholders to create referral routes and develop whole school approaches to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of pupils.
3. Provide leadership and management for Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs) within the team and lead teams of staff in the delivery and evaluation of support.
4. Provide assessment, planning and delivery for service users with mild to moderate mental health difficulties. This will include the provision of highly skilled professional support, psychological interventions, group work, clinical assessment, risk assessments/management, promoting recovery and inclusion and ensuring co-production with service users, families and carers and the education staff.
5. Liaise with all members of the multi-disciplinary team and outside agencies in the implementation of therapeutic support for children and young people.
6. Provide specialist consultation and advice to other members of staff and trainees, whilst also acting as a role model.
7. Ensure that support activities are research-based and in keeping with changes in the field of activity.
8. Contribute to the development of ideas and innovative practice and propose changes to protocols and procedures within the MHST and CAMHS where required.
9. Actively promote the whole school-based approach to developing and maintaining emotional health and well-being and supervise EMHPs in this activity.
10. Depending on experience there could be a focus on SEND or Children and Young People's Participation in this role.

Person Specification

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• Ability to carry out both operational and clinical risk assessments within scope of practice.
• Ability to plan and organise a varied workload for self and others, working to short deadlines, able to work independently and on own initiative, within the framework of professional supervision.
• Ability to communicate effectively with a range of people in a clear, concise and accurate manner, changing messages to suit different audiences, e.g. children/young people and their families, carers and other professionals.
• Clinical decision-making and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to influence and support cultural change.
• Ability to analyse, interpret and clearly present data, some of which may be complex, in line with Data Protection regulations.
• Ability to use technology as part of the role including Outlook, Excel, Word, Microsoft Teams.
• Knowledge of National Legislation and drivers supporting children and young people with emotional and mental health concerns.
• Aware of national and local policies and how these impact on child and adolescent education.
• Working knowledge of the application of their respective professional code of conduct.

Desirable

• Knowledge of whole-school approaches to mental health in education settings.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working with children/young people with mental health difficulties individually and in groups.
• Experience of delivering evidence-based interventions.
• Experience of working in a CYP setting.
• Experience of providing clinical, managerial and educational supervision according to professional guidelines, including:
• being accountable for another practitioner's work.
• supervising a practitioner in risk assessment and risk management.
• supervising a practitioner in gatekeeping/caseload management.
• Competency assessment, evaluation or contributing to supervisees' annual appraisals and identification of CPD needs.
• Experience of providing consultation and support to professionals and parents/carers who are supporting a child or young person with emotional or mental health difficulties.
• Experience of managerial or clinical leadership.

Qualifications

Essential

• Core professional qualification relevant to mental health e.g. nursing with specialism in mental health or learning disability nursing, Occupational Therapy, Social Work, Educational Psychology, PWP, CWP, CBT or Low intensity Psychological Practitioner.
• Qualification in leadership or supervision, or willingness to commence if successful.
• Registration with relevant Professional body, Social Work England, HCPC, Nursing or equivalent.

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.

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name: East Sussex County Council

Address: Cavendish House, 1 Castle Street, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 3AA

Employer's website: https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/