Job Description

The Mental Health Support Teams (MHST) service is an exciting service in the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) commissioning area. It is part of the Government's response to the Green Paper in 2017 to increase access to mental health support, by delivering

evidence-based early interventions in education settings for children and young people (CYP) presenting with mild-moderate mental health difficulties.



The post holder will work as an autonomous and responsible EMHP alongside offering supervision within the scope of the MHST initiative.



The post holder will work in partnership with schools to deliver a range of mental health interventions within school settings. This may involve group work or direct work with children/young people as well as offering mental health-based consultation, and advice around mental

health to teaching staff.



The post holder will be responsible to ensure the effective co-ordination of clinical care provided within schools including consideration to safeguarding and clinical risk issues where indicated.



The post holder will contribute to the clinical leadership of the team, providing supervision and caseload management to trainee and qualified EMHP's.



The post holder will be responsible for the clinical skills supervision and caseload management supervision of EMHP's in the MHST.

Therapeutic Assessment and Intervention:

Assess and deliver outcome focused, evidence-based interventions in educational settings for children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties, working at all times in collaboration with and giving respect to the education function of the setting in

which the post-holder is working.



Facilitate fair access to services and promote social inclusion regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or disability.

Supervision:

Deliver clinical supervision to supervisee's on a scheduled basis to ensure safe practice and the governance obligations of the MHST service are adhered to.

Effort and Health & Safety Factors:

Working with service users in distress and who on occasion may have used coping strategies such as self-harm, or present as hostile, confused and have difficulty communicating and as a result may pose risks to themselves or the safety of others.



Frequent driving and working across multiple sites to deliver interventions and attend to administrative tasks. There is an expectation to work mainly out of allocated schools but the post holder must be prepared to attend satellite sites, our main office and some home working.



This job description is intended as an outline indicator of general areas of activity and will be amended in the light of the changing needs of the organisation. To be reviewed in conjunction with the post holder on a regular basis.



We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust) a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.



We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon and across the county of Wiltshire.



Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.



At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.



Therapeutic Assessment and Intervention



Work in partnership to support children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties and their parents/carers, families and educators in the self management of presenting difficulties.



Work in effective, evidence-based partnership with children, young people, their families and their educators in the development of plans for the intervention and agreed outcomes.



Support and empower children, young people, their parents/carers and families and their educators to make informed choices about the interventions being offered.



Support the Participation and Engagement of children, young people, their parents/carers and families and their educators.



Actively increasing autonomy and the ability for children and young people to make positive changes for themselves and future service-users.



Operate at all times from an inclusive values base in line with the core CYPIAPT principles.



Demonstrate the ability to communicate in a way that is empathic and reassuring.



Communicate information in a way that makes it relevant and understandable for service users and carers, working in line with practice standards and operational policies.



Facilitate fair access to services and promote social inclusion regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or disability.



Be responsible for the support and development of the trainees in their team and across other teams in the region, as required.



Accept referrals within educational settings according to agreed local and national protocols.



Undertake and record accurate assessments of risk and operate clear risk management processes in line with locally agreed procedures including the safeguarding protocols of the educational setting and Local Safeguarding Board guidance.



Adhere to all regulations, processes and procedures within the educational service where the post-holder is working including (but not limited to) HR policies, training requirements, referral protocols, and emergency procedures.



Signpost referrals of children with more complex, or different needs to a locally identified relevant service that can meet their needs more appropriately.



Through case management, supervision and any other relevant local pathway, escalate cases where the level of need or risk is beyond the scope of practice of the post-holder.



Provide a range of evidence based guided self-help information and support when requested.



Manage one's own caseload in conjunction with the requirements of the team.



Attend multi-disciplinary and multi-agency meetings relating to referrals of children and young people in treatment, where appropriate.



Keep clear, professionally coherent records of all 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.



Integrate with the education setting with any support around transition work with children and young people.



Work collaboratively.



Have knowledge and understanding of identifying health inequalities, crucially to facilitate and enable easier access for mental health support for these children, young people and their families.

Training and Supervision:

Continue to apply learning gained on the Supervisor training program directly to practice.



Prepare and present case load information within personal clinical supervision on a scheduled basis to ensure safe practice and the governance obligations of the MHST service are adhered to.



Respond to and implement supervision suggestions by Team or Service Managers in practice.



Engage in and respond to personal development line management supervision to improve on personal competences in practice.



To disseminate research and service evaluation findings in appropriate formats through agreed channels.

Professional:

Ensure professional registration is up-to-date alongside the maintenance of standards of own professional practice according to the post- holder's employer and registered body.



Ensure appropriate adherence to any new recommendations or guidelines set by the relevant departments.



Ensure that confidentiality, choice and consent to treatment is always protected.



Ensure that any risks or issues related to the safety and wellbeing of anyone the post-holder comes into contact with, in the course of their professional duties, are communicated and shared with appropriate parties in order to maintain individual safety and the public interest.



Ensure clear objectives are identified, discussed and reviewed with own supervisor and senior colleagues on a regular basis as part of continuing professional development.



Participate in individual performance review and respond to agreed objectives.



Keep all records up to date in relation to Continuous Professional Development and the requirements of the post and ensure personal development plans include up to date specialist knowledge of latest theoretical and service delivery models/developments.



Attend relevant educational opportunities in line with identified professional objectives.

Communications and Working Relationships:

Develop and prioritise effective professional working relationships with our key stakeholders including:

Service users, parents and carers

Local CAMHS providers and Off the Record

Mental Health Lead in education setting

School setting staff, parent forums, school councils and/or school meetings

School nurses, Primary Mental Health workers and Educational Psychologists

Other local NHS partners, charity and community providers

Effort and Health & Safety Factors:

Working with service users in distress and who on occasion may have used coping strategies such as self-harm, or present as hostile, confused and have difficulty communicating and as a result may pose risks to themselves or the safety of others.



Long periods of intense concentration are required regularly throughout the shift.



Use of computer and VDU equipment.



Frequent driving and working across multiple sites to deliver interventions and attend to administrative tasks. There is an expectation to work mainly out of allocated schools but the post holder must be prepared to attend satellite sites, our main office and some home working.

Responsibility for Research and Development:

Participate in research and development both locally and nationally.

Freedom to Act:

Work within the operational policies and service specifications of the team.



Work without direct supervision and take accountability for your own actions.



Acts autonomously within the Health care framework to make clinical and non- clinical decisions and consults with senior staff and/or manager in accordance with their professional judgement.

Most challenging part of this role:

Re-prioritisation of clinical and administrative tasks throughout the day based on urgency of need.



Working within an emerging and new service requires adapting to different systems and processes which are in constant review, development, and changing to reflect learning.



Assessing and working with children and young people addressing mental health issues using a new delivery method and model within educational settings.



The service will be available Monday to Friday 9-5pm, though there may be times when workshops or community work are required in evenings or at weekends and it is essential that the post holder is flexible.



This job description is intended as an outline indicator of general areas of activity and will be amended in the light of the changing needs of the organisation. You may be required to work at other locations within AWP as determined by the duties of your post. You may be required to undertake any other duties at the request of the line manager, which are commensurate with the role, including project work, internal job rotation and absence cover.