Start your career in children’s mental health and make a lasting difference to young lives. Are you passionate about supporting the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people? Do you want to develop a rewarding career while gaining a fully funded postgraduate qualification? If so, we would love to hear from you. We are excited to offer an incredible opportunity to join our Mental Health Support Team (MHST) as a Trainee Education Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP). This unique role combines paid employment with specialist training, equipping you with the skills, knowledge and experience to become a qualified EMHP and play a vital role in delivering early mental health support within schools and educational settings.
As a Trainee EMHP, your responsibilities will include: Clinical duties: Under supervision, assess and manage a caseload of children and young people (CYP). Deliver low-intensity, evidence-based interventions such as guided self-help, group sessions. Deliver assemblies in schools and psychoeducation to parents, staff and young people. Collaborate with CYP, families, and educators to co-produce care plans and agree on treatment outcomes. Conduct risk assessments and follow safeguarding procedures. Promote inclusive, anti-discriminatory practices and engage with issues of power, diversity, and equity. Administrative and Communication Duties: Maintain accurate and confidential documentation. Communicate effectively with CYP, families, colleagues, and external partners. Support caseload planning and administration. Contribute to the development of clinical and training materials.
As a Trainee EMHP, you will work alongside experienced mental health professionals to support children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties. Through evidence-based interventions and close collaboration with schools, families and young people, you will help build resilience, improve emotional wellbeing and ensure support is available when it is needed most.
This role is based in North East Essex during your training year, supporting children and young people across: Colchester Tendring. Ready to Make a Difference? This is more than a training programme. It’s an opportunity to launch a fulfilling career while helping children and young people access the support they need to thrive. Join us and become part of a passionate team committed to transforming mental health support in schools and shaping brighter futures for young people across Essex.
Training and Development
- Attend and complete all academic components of the Postgraduate Diploma.
- Engage in university-based teaching, self-directed study, and supervised practice placements.
- Apply course content to clinical work and demonstrate progression through assessments and supervision.
- Participate in reflective practice and personal development to enhance clinical competence.
Teamwork and Leadership
- Participate in service development, audits, and quality improvement projects.
- Share knowledge through supervision, peer learning, and training activities.
Applicants for the Postgraduate Diploma must provide evidence of academic attainment at degree level or above.
Graduate route
We welcome graduate entry applicants. Applicants for the Graduate Diploma will need to demonstrate their ability to work at degree level and should provide evidence in their application of their previous academic attainment; this should include good basic numeracy and literacy qualifications at a minimum of level 2. Successful applicants to the graduate route will be offered access to additional support throughout their training to ensure that they are able to meet the academic requirements of the course.
- Have the ability to study successfully at postgraduate level
- Are passionate about improving outcomes for children and young people
- Have an understanding of mental health and emotional wellbeing
- Can build positive and supportive relationships with young people, families and professionals
- Ideally have experience working with children and young people
- Experience within education settings is welcomed but not essential.
Why Join Us?
Successful candidates will be offered a full-time educational programme specifically for the role. The course fees are fully funded (with employees signing a training contract), and the salary support for the job post will be funded at NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) at beginning Band 4. You will gain credits towards completing with a postgraduate degree diploma level qualification, plus guaranteed employment on successful completion of training, with a starting salary projected to be based on the NHS AfC Band 5 scale. For the training year, successful candidates will be employed by NELFT based in educational settings in across Essex. Due to the vast area covered by North East Essex, including rural and urban school sites, an ability to travel independently to school settings and university is essential.
NELFT NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health and community services for over 4.9 million people living in the London Boroughs of Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Barking and Dagenham, Havering, and across Essex. We work to ensure our patients, their friends and family, feel confident that their health needs are well met. With an excellent reputation for research and development, our skilled health professionals are at the cutting edge of evidence-based innovation, opening up the possibilities for better ways of working and delivery of care.
Joining #TeamNELFT means you’ll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We’re CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London and Essex. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas. The Trust has award-winning equality and diversity initiatives, along with staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest significantly in your development because when you feel valued and supported, we can deliver the highest quality care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been recognised in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for five consecutive years, and hold a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Through our staff networks and training opportunities, we strive to foster a just and compassionate culture at NELFT. Our Values 2025 – 2030 Working with our colleagues, patients and carers we have co-produced three new values that we aim to embed within our culture here at NELFT. They are:
Our Values 2025 – 2030
- We are kind.
- We are respectful.
- We work together with our communities.
Starting with NELFT NELFT place a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers, and attend a number of drop-in sessions focusing on engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Goodmayes Hospital.
Benefits
- Comprehensive clinical and educational supervision
- Dedicated mentorship throughout your training
- Strong peer support from fellow trainees and practitioners
- Opportunities for ongoing professional development
- The chance to make a meaningful impact in local communities every day
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