Job Description

In line with the governments priority to increase access and availability of mental health and wellbeing support for children and young people, the new Trainee Education Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP) role is an exciting opportunity to deliver evidence-based early interventions for children and young people, working across both educational settings and healthcare sectors in England.



This is an exciting opportunity for 4 Trainees to join the MHST.



Applicants will need to be ready to start work in early January 2026 and posts cannot be offered to candidates unless they can guarantee this start date.



Shortlisted candidates will also need to submit an application form to KCL for a place on the Diploma in Education Mental Health Practice. The application form will need to be completed at the same time as your application for a post. Offer of an interview will be subject to application completed and submitted to KCL.



We are seeking to recruit four graduate level practitioners to provide guided self-help therapy and parenting interventions. Further intensive supervision and on the job training will be provided by an experienced supervisor within each team. There will be a strong expectation for trainees to continue in post on successful completion of the one year training, with a salary increase to NHS Band 5 scale for the second year onwards.



Successful candidates will be employed on a full-time basis within a Mental Health Support Team delivering individual, group and workshop-based mental health interventions within a borough-based cluster of schools.



During training, the post-holders will work under close 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.

Lambeth MHST mission statement:

Through early support and working with children, young people, families and staff, we help to enable healthy minds and thriving school communities. We offer a safe space to work with you collaboratively and with transparency. We value who you are and where you are.



We are an early intervention service supporting mild to moderate mental health needs in 41 primary and secondary schools in Lambeth. Our service will be expanding to more schools in Lambeth in January 2026.



The team is consists of multidisciplinary professionals who come from a variety of training backgrounds bringing in a wealth of experience and expertise. This includes: Systemic Family Therapist, Systemic Family Practitioners, Social Work, Education Psychologists, Arts Psychotherapists, Occupational Therapy, CBT Therapists, Senior Wellbeing Practitioner, Education Mental Health Practitioners, Quality Assurance and Communications Lead and Senior Administrative Support.

About our locations:

Our main office is at St John's Angell Town Primary School but we also work across several MHST schools in Lambeth. We offer flexibility and home working.



Essential

Qualification:

Undergraduate degree, upper second class or above, in Psychology OR related subject (e.g., Psychology, Education, Childhood development, Social Work etc), OR any subject with further training or experience in a relevant field (e.g., Teaching/TA; Learning Support; HCA; Youth Work; Counselling etc)



OR



Relevant professional experience in CYP Mental Health/Education/Mentorship (to be considered on a case-by-case basis)



Strong communication skills



The ability to work cohesively within small teams



Motivation to learn and to be challenged



The ability to use feedback and adapt accordingly



Good organisational skills



Experience of working within a mental health setting and / or school pastoral care



Experience of working with children and an understanding of how to talk with them



Commitment to using data and relevant measures to assess clinical outcomes