Job summary
- Main area
- Parent Infant Therapist - Recruit to Train (RtT) Fixed term, full time to commence 5th Jan 2026
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 6
- Contract
- Fixed term: 15 months (course starts Jan 2026 will be paid up to NHS AfC midpoint band 6 depending on experience)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (working days usually Monday- Friday but may be expected to work an occasional weekend)
- Job ref
- 382-FICC46-25
- Employer
- Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Kirkham Clinic
- Town
- Kirkham
- Salary
- £38,682 - £46,580 paid up to a midpoint NHS AfC: band 6 (dependant on experience)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 13/11/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Parent Infant Therapist -Recruit to train
NHS AfC: Band 6
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is situated on the west coast of Lancashire, with services covering the local authority areas of Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre. The Trust is part of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System (ICS) supporting a population of around 1.6 million people.
We have three main hospitals providing acute services to around 330,000 local residents. The organisation also provides specialist tertiary care for cardiac and haematology services, delivers community health services to over 445,000 residents including those in North Lancashire and hosts the National Artificial Eye Service across England. Plus, we provide urgent and emergency care services to an estimated 18 million people who visit the seaside resort each year. We employ over 7000 people from 68 different countries.
We welcome and encourage application from anyone with protected characteristics, as well as supporting reservists and Veterans who are looking for a rewarding and challenging career within the NHS.
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals encourages flexible working in all our roles to support staff in maintaining healthy home-life balance. Working patterns such as: part time working, self-rostering, compressed hours, annualised hours, term time, reverse term time and flexitime working can be explored.
Job overview
A fantastic opportunity has arisen for TWO highly motivated and enthusiastic NHS AfC Band 6 posts for practitioners who have the passion for working with families to support parent-infant relationships. The successful applicants will receive training on the Recruit to train: Postgraduate Diploma in Infant Mental Health and Early Years Practitioner Training CYP: Parent Infant Pathway, University of Manchester and be part of the Blackpool Parent-Infant Relationship Service (PaIRS) employed by Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
As part of the service Hub and Spoke model, the successful applicants will work with families predominately in the Hyndburn region. However, you may be required to work in any other locations across the ICB footprint.
Applicants must be able to start the Post Graduate training programme taught academic dates in January 2026 and commit to attendance at all university based taught and self-study days required by Manchester University - for more information please visit Child and Young Peoples Postgraduate Training Programmes | Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS FT
As this course is funded as a Recruit to Train (RtT), prospective students must meet the criteria for the training course. Applicants should have a minimum of 2 years of working in a core profession in Infant Mental Health/Early years/Family work and should have an undergraduate degree or equivalent (Level 6) The teaching consists of face-to-face and online.
Main duties of the job
This intensive training post will equip the post holder to provide interventions based on CYP Psychological Trainings core principles and evidence-based approaches for parents and their infants who are experiencing common mental health and relationship difficulties. You will receive regular workplace clinical supervision.
Successful applicants will attend the course teaching 2 day a week including 1/2 day Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) supervision, and will work in the service for the remaining days of the week using your newly developed skills to ensure you gain the necessary clinical practice hours to fulfil the academic programme.
The course provides high quality training in the key skills required to be an evidence-based practitioner working within Infant Mental Health. There will be opportunity to gain clinical experience in VIG as an attachment-based intervention when working with infants and children aged 0 - 2 years and their parents/carers. Successful applicants will work towards becoming a VIG Accredited Practitioner by the end of the course. The course will provide model specific supervision in VIG as well as teaching on both VIG skills-based workshops and evidence-based theory and literature relating to supporting the emotional wellbeing and mental health of 0-2s and their parents/carers. There will also be regular workplace clinical supervision.
Working for our organisation
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is part of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System (LSCICS) supporting a population of around 1.6 million people.
Blackpool Parent-Infant relationship team are excited to be expanding their team and inviting applications from passionate and enthusiastic people who want to make a real difference to families lives. We want to appoint someone who has the passion and drive to keep the voice of the infant at the heart of the early years provision. The team is multi disciplinary and led by a Clinical Consultant Psychologist, the posts will be based in Hyndburn area /East Lancashire and will work in an integrated way with other local professionals.
Following successful completion of the course, the fixed term training contract will end. However, applicants will be encouraged to apply for suitable Band 7 vacant posts within the service and will be provided with support and advice in job applications.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. To ensure high quality specialist parent infant relationship mental health assessment and interventions of babies, preschool children and their families.
2. To provide or provide access to a range of quality psychotherapeutic interventions in accordance with individual assessed need. This will include the planning implementation and evaluation of a variety of therapeutic approaches either alone or as a member of the MDT.
3. To deliver therapeutic input to parents and infants referred to the team.
4. To work as a co-therapist where appropriate with other members of the team
5. To be responsible for and manage a defined caseload and undertake case management responsibilities within the caseload.
6. To identify and develop strategies to manage risk to the infant and others in line with Blackpool Teaching Hospitals and perinatal and infant mental health procedures and protocols.
7. To initiate and build working relationships with infants, children, parents, carers and families who are referred to the service from across Blackburn with Darwen area.
8. To liaise closely with a wide range of agencies regarding individual care packages and to promote awareness of parent-infant mental health issues with these agencies.
9. To undertake liaison and joint work with professionals outside the MDT.
10. To provide consultation and training on a wide range of parent-infant emotional health and well-being issues to professionals from a range of services including GPs, Early Help and Primary Care services, adult mental health services, and perinatal services.
11. You will be trained to deliver VIG (Video Interaction Guidance to promote Positive Sensitive Parenting) with parents and infants showing signs of attachment difficulties. This intervention is for supporting parents to develop more attuned parenting in the context of difficulties in the parent-infant relationship. You will be assessed through written case reports, keeping a log of your clinical practice and submitting recordings of your practice with written reflections based on these.
12. To attend multi-disciplinary meetings relating to referrals or clients in treatment, where appropriate.
13. To complete all requirements relating to data collection within the service.
14. To routinely monitor effectiveness of clinical work by use of Routine Outcome Measures and where outcomes are not improving for children and families to engage in peer review meetings and supervision.
15. To take part in the PaIRS service duty rota in order to provide urgent triage of parents and infants in line with Blackpool Teaching Hospitals Trust care protocols to advise other professionals regarding risk and work with them to develop a plan of care for the parent and infant.
16. To engage in/ deliver managerial and clinical supervision, including with appropriate consent, recording and reviewing of live clinical work.
17. To keep coherent records of all clinical activity in line with service protocols and use these records and clinical outcome data in clinical decision making.
Personal
1. To identify own Continuing Professional and Personal Development needs with the Clinical Lead and/or Clinical Supervisor.
2. To maintain a current professional portfolio and participate on programmes of personal development and training, which will be identified as part of the individual performance and development review.
3. To maintain all professional registration requirements.
This job description is not exhaustive but is intended to give an overall picture of the role. Other duties within the general scope of the post may be required from time to time.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Registered with relevant professional body (see person specification)
- Prior experience at Level 6 (undergraduate degree).
Desirable criteria
- Evidence of post-qualifying continuing professional development relevant to perinatal/ infant mental health
- A teaching and assessing qualification
Experience
Essential criteria
- Professional involvement with the users of mental health services
- Experience of multi-agency working
- Experience, working with early years / infant mental health families (2 years post qualification in core profession)
- Inter-agency liaison and consultation
- Experience of supervising/mentoring junior staff
- Knowledge of relevant legislation and guidance e.g. NHS plan, Mental Health Legislation, Children’s act, Education Act, Working Together, Children’s NSF, Every Child Matters, etc.
- Clinical/therapeutic knowledge and skills in mental health.
- Experience in assessment and risk management and ability to implement evidence based practice
- Proven ability to work with other agencies and disciplines and in partnership with other organisations
- Experience of safeguarding children and young people
Skills
Essential criteria
- Ability to undertake appropriate mental health assessments
- Ability to carry out therapeutic interventions with this client group
- Ability to work well with a team
- Ability to manage a caseload effectively
- Ability to work independently.
- Ability to work creatively and flexibly in a clinical context.
- Ability to work with people from different backgrounds, cultures and of different ages.
- Occasional evening and weekend working may be necessary.
- Use of a car or access to a means of mobility to travel across the ICB footprint in line with service needs
- Willing to carry out all duties and responsibilities of the post in accordance with the Trust’s Equal Opportunities and Equality and Diversity policies
- Appointments to regulated and controlled activities require an enhanced DBS disclosure.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Tracy Greenwood
- Job title
- Service Manager -Blackpool PaIRS
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01253 958573
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