Trainee Education Mental Health Practitioner

Job description

Job summary

Our Future in Mind MHST(Mental Health Support Team) is a growing and developing service which providesearly intervention to improve the lives of children and young peopleexperiencing mild to moderate mental health problems.

We are looking to recruit 4 TraineeEducation Mental Health Practitioners (Trainee EMHP) to join our friendly andsupportive team starting in January 2027. Successful candidates will beemployed within Wakefield CAMHS, on a NHS Band 4 training contract, onsuccessful completion of the training and registration will transfer to a NHS Band5 EMHP permanent contract. The role will be based within education settings inWakefield and the first-year part time study will be at Sheffield University.

All applicants must hold alevel 6 qualification and have experience of working with children and youngpeople, an understanding of the educational system is desirable.

The interview processwill include a service interview, a university interview and submission of a CVand 600-word assignment.

All employees of the Trust are strongly encouraged to have their up-to-date flu vaccination to protect staff and patients.

Main duties of the job

Responsibilitiesof the Trainee Education Mental Health Practitioner include:

CompletingSheffield Universitys one-year Postgraduate Diploma in Education Mental HealthPractitioner (EMHP).

Deliveringand recording accurate assessments including risk assessments.

Deliveringevidenced based interventions to children, young people, parents/carers throughindividual and group work.

Deliveringpsychoeducation sessions to children, young people, parents/carers throughassemblies, classroom, and parent sessions.

Ensuringchildren/young people play an active part in decision making about the supportthey need.

Providingadvice/consultation to education staff to support children/young people gettingthe right help at the right time.

Supportingeducation settings in developing and embedding whole school approaches tomental health through collaboration and coproduction with the school community.

Participating in the delivery of trainingprogrammes for education settings and community services.

At the time of advertising,this role does not meet the minimum requirements set by UK Visas andImmigration to sponsor candidates to work in the UK. For this reason, we areunable to sponsor anyone for a skilled worker visa for this role.

We are happy to acceptapplications from candidates who can prove their right to work in the UK or viaalternative visa routes. Such applications will be considered alongside allother applications.

About us

Weare a specialist NHS Foundation Trust that provides community, mental healthand learning disability services for the people of Barnsley, Calderdale,Kirklees and Wakefield. We also provide low and medium secure services and arethe lead for the west Yorkshire secure provider collaborative.

Our mission isto help people reach their potential and live well in their communities, we do thisby providing high-quality care in the right place at the right time. We employstaff in both clinical and non-clinical services who work hard to make adifference to the lives of service users, families and carers.

We encourageand welcome applications from all protected characteristic groups, we valuediversity and want our workforce to be reflective of our communities.

Beinga foundation Trust means were accountable to ourmembers, who can have a say in how were run. Around 14,300 local people(including staff) are members of our Trust.

Joinus and you will be one of over 4,500 staff committed to supporting and improvingthe mental, physical and social needs of the thousands of people we meet andhelp each year.

Weare committedto safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people andvulnerable adults and expects all colleagues and volunteers to share thiscommitment.

We do reserve to right to close vacancy before the advertised closing date if necessary, so please apply as soon as possible.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job Summary:

In line with the governments priorityto increase access and availability of mental health and wellbeing support forchildren and young people, the Education Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP) roleis an exciting opportunity to deliver evidence-based early interventions forchildren and young people, working across both educational settings and healthcaresectors in England.

Successful candidates will be employedfull-time and based in Wakefield Mental Health Support Team, which will beresponsible for the delivery of mental health support across a range ofeducational settings in the region. For part of this role there will be arequirement to travel to Sheffield Trust and affiliated with the University ofSheffield for the teaching element of the training.

This post will be funded at NHS T&Cs2026 2021 Band 4 scale, in pay band 4 bottom scale( gaining credits towardseither a degree or diploma level qualification (depending on level of previousacademic study), plus guaranteed employment on completion of training, with astarting salary projected to be based on the NHS T&Cs 2026 Band 5 scaleupon registration.

To enable this, all applicants mustdemonstrate in their application the ability to work at degree level or have anequivalent level of relevant experience, with a proven record of previouslearning or formal study in child development, wellbeing or mental health.Further to that experience of working with children and young people and anunderstanding of the educational system in England is highly desirable.

The training programme for this poststarts in February 2027, is 12 months induration and will consist of academic and supervised practice learning acrossmental health services and educational settings, such as primary and secondaryschools, and further education colleges.

Delivery of the programme will beprovided through a combination of taught days at Sheffield, independentself-guided study days and experience gained in education wellbeing andmainstream mental health services.

During training, the post-holder willwork under close supervision to gainexperience across healthcare and educational settings to enable them to gainthe level of competence required to deliver high-quality, evidence-based earlyinterventions for children and young people experiencing mild to moderatemental health problems.

Job Purpose:

For the duration of the training year,EMHPs will attend both Higher Education Institution (HEI) in addition toworking in services (and educational settings linked to that service) for theremaining days each week.

On successful completion of training,trainee EMHPs will be equipped with the necessary skills, knowledge andcapabilities to work as a qualified EMHP within the Mental Health Support Team.

Under supervision develop knowledge and practice skills in:-

Delivering evidence-based interventions forchildren and young people, with mild to moderatemental health problems, in education settings.

Helping children and young people within thesesettings who present with more severe problems to rapidly access morespecialist services.

Supportingand facilitating staff in education settings to identify, and whereappropriate, manage issues related to mental health and wellbeing.

Working with and within educationalenvironments to afford better access to specialist mental health services.

To evidence development of those skills withassociated knowledge acquisition to record and evidence progression towards anacademic award and demonstrable practical ability.

For full job description, please see attached supportingdocuments.

We are aware that an increasing number ofapplicants are using AI technology to generate responses on NHS Job applicationforms. Over reliance on AI-generated content in application forms is stronglydiscouraged and we will conduct a thorough screening process before selectingcandidates to progress to the next stage. If you are using AI to enhance yourapplication, please disclose this in your NHS Jobs application form.

Job description
Job responsibilities

Job Summary:

In line with the governments priorityto increase access and availability of mental health and wellbeing support forchildren and young people, the Education Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP) roleis an exciting opportunity to deliver evidence-based early interventions forchildren and young people, working across both educational settings and healthcaresectors in England.

Successful candidates will be employedfull-time and based in Wakefield Mental Health Support Team, which will beresponsible for the delivery of mental health support across a range ofeducational settings in the region. For part of this role there will be arequirement to travel to Sheffield Trust and affiliated with the University ofSheffield for the teaching element of the training.

This post will be funded at NHS T&Cs2026 2021 Band 4 scale, in pay band 4 bottom scale( gaining credits towardseither a degree or diploma level qualification (depending on level of previousacademic study), plus guaranteed employment on completion of training, with astarting salary projected to be based on the NHS T&Cs 2026 Band 5 scaleupon registration.

To enable this, all applicants mustdemonstrate in their application the ability to work at degree level or have anequivalent level of relevant experience, with a proven record of previouslearning or formal study in child development, wellbeing or mental health.Further to that experience of working with children and young people and anunderstanding of the educational system in England is highly desirable.

The training programme for this poststarts in February 2027, is 12 months induration and will consist of academic and supervised practice learning acrossmental health services and educational settings, such as primary and secondaryschools, and further education colleges.

Delivery of the programme will beprovided through a combination of taught days at Sheffield, independentself-guided study days and experience gained in education wellbeing andmainstream mental health services.

During training, the post-holder willwork under close supervision to gainexperience across healthcare and educational settings to enable them to gainthe level of competence required to deliver high-quality, evidence-based earlyinterventions for children and young people experiencing mild to moderatemental health problems.

Job Purpose:

For the duration of the training year,EMHPs will attend both Higher Education Institution (HEI) in addition toworking in services (and educational settings linked to that service) for theremaining days each week.

On successful completion of training,trainee EMHPs will be equipped with the necessary skills, knowledge andcapabilities to work as a qualified EMHP within the Mental Health Support Team.

Under supervision develop knowledge and practice skills in:-

Delivering evidence-based interventions forchildren and young people, with mild to moderatemental health problems, in education settings.

Helping children and young people within thesesettings who present with more severe problems to rapidly access morespecialist services.

Supportingand facilitating staff in education settings to identify, and whereappropriate, manage issues related to mental health and wellbeing.

Working with and within educationalenvironments to afford better access to specialist mental health services.

To evidence development of those skills withassociated knowledge acquisition to record and evidence progression towards anacademic award and demonstrable practical ability.

For full job description, please see attached supportingdocuments.

We are aware that an increasing number ofapplicants are using AI technology to generate responses on NHS Job applicationforms. Over reliance on AI-generated content in application forms is stronglydiscouraged and we will conduct a thorough screening process before selectingcandidates to progress to the next stage. If you are using AI to enhance yourapplication, please disclose this in your NHS Jobs application form.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Diploma level qualification or equivalent experience.
• Proven academic record or previous learning or formal study in Child Development. Well-being or Mental Health.
• Good solid basic literacy and numeracy qualifications at a minimum of level 2.

Desirable

• Relevant Degree qualification.
• Teaching or education related qualification.

Knowledge

Essential

• Knowledge of the educational system in England.
• Knowledge of children and young people gained through academic study in child academic study in child development, child wellbeing or mental health.

Desirable

• Knowledge of safeguarding issues and legal framework.
• Knowledge of capacity and consent issues with young people.
• Knowledge of the whole school approach to mental health.

Experience

Essential

• Previous experience of working with children and young people and their families in either Health or Education settings.
• Experience of working with children and young people who have social, emotional and / or behavioural difficulties.

Desirable

• Experience of working with children and young people in either a healthcare or education setting.
• Experience of multiagency working.

Skills/Competancies

Essential

• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to study as a self-motivated learner who can monitor their won progress towards learning objectives.

Desirable

• Skilled at engaging and building relationships with children, young people and their families.
• Ability to work collaboratively with young people, parents, colleagues and partner agencies.

Person Specification
Qualifications

Essential

• Diploma level qualification or equivalent experience.
• Proven academic record or previous learning or formal study in Child Development. Well-being or Mental Health.
• Good solid basic literacy and numeracy qualifications at a minimum of level 2.

Desirable

• Relevant Degree qualification.
• Teaching or education related qualification.

Knowledge

Essential

• Knowledge of the educational system in England.
• Knowledge of children and young people gained through academic study in child academic study in child development, child wellbeing or mental health.

Desirable

• Knowledge of safeguarding issues and legal framework.
• Knowledge of capacity and consent issues with young people.
• Knowledge of the whole school approach to mental health.

Experience

Essential

• Previous experience of working with children and young people and their families in either Health or Education settings.
• Experience of working with children and young people who have social, emotional and / or behavioural difficulties.

Desirable

• Experience of working with children and young people in either a healthcare or education setting.
• Experience of multiagency working.

Skills/Competancies

Essential

• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to study as a self-motivated learner who can monitor their won progress towards learning objectives.

Desirable

• Skilled at engaging and building relationships with children, young people and their families.
• Ability to work collaboratively with young people, parents, colleagues and partner agencies.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

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.

Employer details

Employer name

South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Trust
Address

Fieldhead Hospital

Ouchthorpe Lane

Wakefield

WF1 3SP

United Kingdom

Employer's website

Extra information

Status

Open

Education Level

Secondary School

Location

Wakefield

Type of Contract

Full-time jobs

Published at

04-10-2026

Profession type

Health / Medical

Full UK/EU driving license preferred

No

Car Preferred

No

Must be eligible to work in the EU

No

Cover Letter Required

No