Job summary
- Main area
- MH Support Team - Reading 3
- Grade
- Band 6
- Contract
- 12 months (Fixed term end date will be determined after pre-employment checks have been completed)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 371-CFS602
- Employer
- Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- MH Support Team - Reading 3
- Town
- Reading
- Salary
- £40,617 - £48,778 per annum - salary for West Berkshire position £38,682 - £46,582
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 23/10/2025 23:59
- Interview date
- 10/11/2025
Employer heading
Senior Education Mental Health Practitioner
Band 6
Job overview
This is an exciting time of growth and change within West Berkshire NHS Trust as our Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service is currently working collaboratively with children and young people, and partners, to deliver the Governments Programme for mental health support to be available in schools.
To support the development of our Mental Help Support Teams (MHSTs), we are looking to recruit two Senior Education Mental Health Practitioners – one to be based in Reading, and one in West Berkshire.
In line with the Government’s priority to increase access and availability of mental health and wellbeing support for children and young people, the new 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 and community settings and healthcare sectors in England.
The Senior EMHP role is critical in providing supervision and support to Trainee and Qualified EMHPs and presents as an exciting opportunity for a qualified EMHP looking to progress in their career
Main duties of the job
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To be trained and confident in the use of CYP IAPT principles, evidence based interventions and routine outcome measures.
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To care co-ordinate and manage a defined caseload of children and young people presenting with emotional health and wellbeing difficulties in schools
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To co-ordinate and deliver individualised care packages / programmes for children and young people and evaluate these programmes, ensuring high standards of practice in accordance with national guidelines and trust policy.
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To provide day-to-day clinical and supervisory support for the Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs)/Children Wellbeing Practitioners (CWPs).
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To provide specialist mental health advice, consultation and signposted using an outcome-based triage model, to schools
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To provide training to schools staff, parents and carers in conjunction with colleagues.
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Within schools actively promote the whole-school approach to developing and maintaining emotional health and well-being.
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To train and mentor students and less experienced members of the team.
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To act as an autonomous practitioner with an understanding of own limitations and recognition of when to seek support.
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To provide clinical supervision to the team
Working for our organisation
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated ‘outstanding’ by the CQC, we’re committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we’re committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish.
Our values at Berkshire Healthcare are:
- Caring for and about you is our top priority
- Committed to providing good quality, safe services
- Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions
Your wellbeing is important to us. Some of the benefits of working for us include:
- Flexible working options to support work-life balance
- 27 days’ annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
- Generous NHS pension scheme
- Excellent learning and career development opportunities
- ‘Cycle to Work’ and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles
- Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
- Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
- Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality
- Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave
- Free parking across Trust sites
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The “must haves” for this role:
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be friendly, self-motivated, and self-organising,
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be confident in working in a multiagency setting, working collaboratively with colleagues in schools and across the wider system,
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enjoy regular collaboration with your peers and the senior colleagues to whom you report,
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as a person, will always be looking for new or better ways to deliver care and be keen to learn,
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and most of all will have a calm, friendly and compassionate outlook and have a keen interest in working in a school setting,
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be trained in low intensity supervision (postgraduate certificate), or willing to undertake training starting in February 2026.
For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.
We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted.
We’re committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed.
Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible.
Person specification
Education/Qualifications/Training
Essential criteria
- Completed British Psychological Society (BPS) Accredited or Higher Education England (HEE) Approved academic course of study in line with the CYP Low Intensity National Programme and qualified as an Education Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP) and
- Professional Registration as an EMHP with the British Psychological Society (BPS) or the British Association of Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) and
- Completed the EMHP supervisor PG Certificate provided by one of the nationally commissioned training providers, which provides eligibility to supervise Trainee EMHPs and qualified EMHPs in line with their registration requirements.
Continuous Professional Development
Essential criteria
- Evidence of substantial continuous professional development within EMHP role
Previous Experience
Essential criteria
- Demonstrable post qualification experience of working as a qualified EMHP, delivering low intensity interventions to CYP and/or their families in a multi-agency environment
- Significant post qualification experience of working with children, young peoples, and families around range of emotional/mental health, behavioural/additional health/developmental needs
- Experience of working within an educational setting supporting mental health provision.
- Experience of working in a service where agreed /specified targets are in place to demonstrate clinical outcomes
- Experience of managing competing demands and managing a caseload
- Experience with routine outcome monitoring. Using these outcomes to evaluate clinical work and service targets
- Experience of delivering psycho-educational groups.
- Experience of engaging CYP with protected characteristics
- Experience of working in or with a diverse or multicultural community
- Experience of delivering supervision or coaching or mentoring junior colleagues
- Experience of negotiating, problem solving and relationship management where there are disagreements or resistance within the system
Desirable criteria
- Experience of encouraging participation from service users in service development
- Experience of line management
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
Essential criteria
- A clear understanding of the CYP programme; Key Performance Indicators and related guidance/legislation.
- Abilities in recognising when alternative evidence-based low-intensity interventions are required for neurodiverse CYP and able to deliver these
- Ability to recognise when CYPs needs, or wider complexity factors (e.g. social/physical needs/risk/neurodiversity) mean they are beyond low intensity/early intervention remit and competence.
- Knowledge of trauma informed practice
- Ability to undertake comprehensive risk assessments within scope of practice
- An understanding of child development
- Knowledge of safeguarding issues and a commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of CYP and vulnerable adults.
- Knowledge of a wide range of statutory and non-statutory Mental Health Services.
- Ability to personally manage a sensitive, and potentially emotionally distressing caseload
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
- Able to plan creatively to maximise effectiveness of care plans, including complex multi-agency care plans.
- Ability to teach and train others.
- Ability to work as part of a team and independently.
- Able to communicate clearly and effectively with colleagues, children and families, in a manner that is sensitive to and acknowledging of their needs, experience and all aspects of diversity
- Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to build and develop therapeutic relationships with a range of people
- Strong verbal and written communication skills, including telephone skills and use of internet mediated communication, tailored to a variety of audiences
- Excellent IT skills and the ability to navigate various systems and software packages (such as RiO, Outlook, databases, MS office/Teams, One Consultation and the internet).
Additional Requirements
Essential criteria
- Ability to work flexibly around working patterns as required
- Ability to travel independently between locations in Berkshire to fulfil the requirements and duties of the position
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Application numbers
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Michelle Lovesey
- Job title
- Service Manager West
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 0300 2473002
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