Education Mental Health Practitioner​/Children's Wellbeing Practitioner | NELFT NHS Foundation Trust

Overview

At NELFT, we’re proud to be the largest provider of Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) in England. Our services across Southend, Essex, and Thurrock currently support over 150 schools, delivering vital mental health care to children and young people aged 4 to 18. Our MHSTs offer evidence-based individual and group interventions within educational settings, helping children manage mild to moderate mental health challenges.

We’re deeply committed to whole-school approaches that foster lasting, positive mental health outcomes across entire communities. We’re Growing — And We Want You on Our Team

Our North-East MHST is looking for passionate, qualified practitioners to join our service. If you hold a qualification in one of the following, we’d love to hear from you:

• Education Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP)
• Children’s Wellbeing Practitioner (CWP)

We’re more than just a service — we’re a collaborative, multidisciplinary team that values compassion, innovation, and support. Here’s what makes us stand out:

• Early intervention & prevention at the heart of everything we do
• Friendly, inclusive culture where your voice matters
• Flexible working options to support your work-life balance
• Ongoing CPD opportunities to help you grow and thrive
• A supportive environment where we lift each other up and work together to improve mental health in our community

If you're ready to make a meaningful impact and be part of a team that truly cares, we’d love to welcome you.

As a practitioner, you’ll work in close partnership with schools, helping children and young people (CYP) aged 4–18 manage mild to moderate mental health difficulties. You’ll also support their families in building confidence and resilience through:

• 1:1 therapeutic sessions
• Group interventions
• Whole-school mental health initiatives

• Delivering evidence-based interventions in primary, secondary, and higher education settings
• Conducting comprehensive assessments, including risk assessments, care plans, and reviews
• Using Routine Outcome Measures (ROMs) and clinical tools to guide and improve practice
• Collaborating with schools to map and plan service delivery tailored to their needs
• Working alongside fellow EMHPs/CWPs and Senior Mental Health Practitioners to support your development

You’ll be a qualified EMHP or CWP, confident in working independently within your scope of practice, and experienced in supporting CYP in educational environments. You’ll bring compassion, clinical skill, and a collaborative spirit to everything you do.

You must be able to travel across Colchester, Clacton and Harwich (vehicle access required).

• A supportive, multidisciplinary team
• Opportunities for Continual Professional Development (CPD)
• Support to register with BABCP or BPS during your probationary period
• Flexible working options to support your wellbeing

This post requires the successful applicant to work agilely between NELFT sites and educational settings. For applicants to have the ability to work independently is an important factor. Some travel around the county is also expected. The nominated base for North East Essex is 900 The Crescent, Colchester.

Working with our colleagues, patients and carers we have co-produced three new values that we aim to embed within our culture here y are:
We are kind. We are respectful. We work together with our communities. These three values help us to strive to provide the best care by the best people.

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 Rainham, Essex.