London Borough of Redbridge
Job summary
Redbridge Mental Health Support Team (MHST) within the Local Authority Educational Psychology Service (EPS) are aiming to recruit talented and enthusiastic Senior Practitioners to enhance our current early intervention mental health offer to schools.
What is an MHST?
MHSTs are a national initiative in response to the Governments plans to transform children and young peoples mental health provision.
MHSTs have three core functions:
- Delivering evidence-based interventions for children and young people with mild-moderate mental health difficulties.
- Supporting the senior mental health lead in the delivery of their whole school/college approach.
- Giving timely advice to school and college staff and signposting to external specialist services
Redbridge MHST:
Our MHST sits within a well-established team of Educational Psychologists (EPs) who are committed to achieving positive outcomes for children and young people in diverse and often challenging situations. Within the EPS our MHST works alongside Redbridge Educational Well-Being Team (REWT) a creative and well-regarded team providing universal whole school support to our schools. We are a dynamic team with strong connections to our schools and local community who provide support across multiple levels in the borough ranging from individual intervention and whole school involvement to borough wide campaigns.
Main duties of the job
The opportunity:
Are you a mental health professional with a passion for offering thoughtful and creative early intervention support within educational settings?
Our MHST has been growing since 2021 and are aiming to expand to more Redbridge schools and colleges, providing opportunity to form new relationships with educational settings, as well as maintaining our established relationships with schools.
We are seeking professionals with formal CBT training who have substantial clinical experience working with children, young people and their families.
You will deliver intervention to support children; young people and their families experiencing mild to moderate mental health need and provide supervision within the wider team. This role will complement the Education Mental Health Practitioners role within the team by offering assessments and intervention to those with more complex needs within the moderate range. This will consist of both individual and group work. In addition, you will work with schools/colleges to support their whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing. You will have opportunity to join our local authority and health care partners across the borough to support change through project work and borough wide campaigns.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- A CYP-MH professional such as a qualified EMHP, CWP or PWP or relevant health care professional (e.g. nurse, CBT therapist, social worker, occupational therapist) with post graduate therapeutic training. Where appropriate will be fully registered with the appropriate professional or regulatory body (e.g. HCPC, NMC).
Working together
Essential
- Experience of building relationships with and working with senior Local Authority and School staff to influence change
- Ability to work as part of a team and lead as required
Communicating and influencing others
Essential
- Ability to communicate new ideas and deliver on subsequent plans
- Ability to train and be confident in front of small audiences
Safeguarding and Disclosure
Essential
- Satisfactory Enhanced DBS check
- The ability to understand the difficulties and pressures associated with caring for children/vulnerable adults and to demonstrate appropriate coping mechanisms
Analysis and judgement
Essential
- Ability to reflect and identify need for support
- Ability to be motivated, innovative, resourceful and responsive to changing times
- Excellent organisational and self-management skills
- Ability to manage own caseload and time
Customer service
Essential
- Resilient and adaptable with the ability to organise work within an environment of conflicting priorities whilst managing time and prioritising work to meet agreed deadlines.
- Excellent negotiation and problem-solving skills
- High level of enthusiasm and motivation
Experience
Essential
- Substantial clinical experience working with children and young people (CYP) with emotional wellbeing and mental health difficulties.
- Experience working with children or young people (0-25) in an educational setting.
- Evidence of comprehensive understanding of educational systems and practice in England.
- Experience in providing a range of evidence-based interventions for children and young people experiencing, mild to moderate anxiety, low mood and behavioural difficulties.
- Demonstrates an understanding of and ability to identify common mental health concerns experienced by children and young people.
- Experience of working with young people with additional and complex needs (e.g. ASC, ADHD, learning needs, eating disorders).
- Ability to provide training and mentoring to others.
- Knowledge of child and adolescent development and the role of the family in supporting children and young peoples emotional well-being.
- Demonstrate ability and motivation to continue learning and evidence of learning and development since finishing initial training.
- Commitment to collaborative working with other professionals and parents.
- Belief in involving children and young people in decisions regarding their education and clear commitment to supporting the development of children and young people.
- Ability to personally manage a sensitive, traumatic and potentially emotionally distressing caseload and demonstrate appropriate coping mechanisms.
- Ability to learn quickly and adapt to change.
- Understanding of inclusive practices which promote person centred approaches.
- Experience of participating in multi-disciplinary meetings.
- Able to describe and discuss different ways of problem solving in educational settings.
- To give examples of working with diverse groups of people
- Awareness of safeguarding practices when working with children and young people
- Ability to make an assessment of risk and to record and communicate it appropriately. Ability take appropriate action to mitigate or manage risk
Closing Date: 30 August 2026
To apply for this job please visit www.jobs.nhs.uk.