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Job Information
Achieving for Children is a Community Interest Company that has a public sector ethos, combined with the freedom to innovate enabling us to do things differently. As a not-for-profit social enterprise owned by three local authorities (Windsor & Maidenhead, Kingston and Richmond), we offer the freedoms of a social enterprise with the employment benefits of local government. To find out more about us click here.
Please review our Candidate Application Guide before submitting your application, it’s packed with helpful tips to guide you through our application and interview process, while showing you what we are looking for.
Education or Child Wellbeing Practitioner (EWP/CWP)
The Mental Health Support Team (MHST) is recruiting an Education Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP/EWP/CWP) to work with schools across Kingston. MHSTs are based within schools and AfC offices, providing a whole-school approach to supporting children and young people’s mental health. This includes individual and group interventions, support for parents, staff training, consultation and advice on mental health policies and whole-school wellbeing.
The service covers Kingston and Richmond and is part of the wider Emotional Health Service, working closely with education and social care teams. You’ll join a collaborative, multi-disciplinary team of mental health professionals, with access to clinical and peer supervision, as well as dedicated line management and support for your professional development.
About the role
We are responsible for the entire range of children's education, health and social care services in all three boroughs. We use a Signs of Safety practice model and approach which ensures the voice of the child is at the heart of everything we do. There's never been a better time to join AfC, we are growing our workforce, implementing new flexible working arrangements and have increased our virtual wellbeing offer.
You will work as part of the Emotional Health Service, specifically in the Mental Health Support Team (MHST) which was originally known as the Trailblazers Programme.
The MHST works within a cluster of primary and secondary schools with a combined total population of up to 9,500 pupils in each cluster. MHSTs work jointly with schools and cluster leads to implement a whole school approach to mental health across the cluster, informed by the needs outlined in the cluster action plan.
For an informal discussion about the role, please email Gina Skourti via email: gina.skourti@achievingforchildren.org.uk
About you
- Successful completion of the HEE commissioned 1yr Education Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP) course or Child Wellbeing Practitioner (CWP) course.
- Experience of working with children and young people who have social, emotional and/or behavioural difficulties including anxiety disorders and affective (mood) disorders.
- Experience of the delivery of specific therapeutic interventions to children, young people or their families (e.g. guided self-help and time-limited therapy).
- Ability to carry out mental health assessments of children and young people and carry out 1:1 therapeutic mental health interventions with children and with families.
- Ability to conduct group parenting programmes.
- Ability to work within educational settings to increase mental health awareness within the staff group.
- Ability to make an assessment of risk, to record and communicate it appropriately and take appropriate action to mitigate or manage risk.
- Strong organisational abilities including: time management, creative-thinking, problem-solving and multitasking.
About our benefits
We are focused on creating a positive supportive environment, where you will have access to a really wide range of resources, as well as a competitive salary and all the perks to enable hybrid working. In AfC you will also have access to:
- 29 days annual leave, increasing to 33 days after 2 years and 35 days after 4 years with an additional day off in your birthday month (Or for term-time workers, your leave entitlement consists of the non-working periods in your contract)
- Tailored induction sessions commencing on the date you start working for AfC
- Local Government salary and pension scheme (LGPS or Teachers Pension)
- Flexible working options - helping to keep a good work life balance
- A comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme
- A range of staff benefits and discounts
- An excellent learning and development offer to support your career pathway
To find out about all of the breadth of benefits of working for Achieving for Children click here. For our social work offer click here. For our Recruitment Journey, click here.
Important Information
Start dates: Achieving for Children have set start dates meaning successful candidates join on a set date in each month. Candidates are advised to prepare for this should a job offer be accepted to ensure eligible continuous service is not affected.
Right to work: The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.
Equality: We particularly welcome applications from sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our teams. Achieving for Children are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.
Safeguarding: We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and return your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
