Children in Care Service Specialist Mental Health Practitioner

Band 7

Main area Specialist Mental Health Practitioner Grade Band 7 Contract Permanent Hours Full time – 37.5 hours per week Job  

Site Rikenel Town Gloucester Salary £49,387 – £56,515 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 12/07/2026 23:59

We love what we do and we think you will, too!

Are you a passionate and skilled mental health practitioner who believes every child deserves the opportunity to thrive? Do you want to be part of a dynamic, compassionate, and forward‑thinking team that works at the heart of improving emotional wellbeing and mental health outcomes for children in care? Are you able to communicate effectively the principles of trauma‑informed care and translate them into everyday interactions?

We have an exciting opportunity to join our Integrated Children in Care Team, a county‑wide service dedicated to supporting children and young people who have experienced trauma, adversity, and disruption. We are looking for a practitioner who brings enthusiasm, curiosity, and a strong commitment to ensuring children in care receive the right mental health support, at the right time.

Provide a range of specialist assessment, formulation, and treatment interventions for children and young people (0–18 years), including children in care and those with learning disabilities, who present with emotional, behavioural and mental health difficulties. Interventions will be delivered in accordance with profession‑specific models of clinical practice.

Demonstrate advanced clinical reasoning, formulation and autonomous professional responsibility for assessment, intervention and case management through profession‑specific care plans.

Provide specialist profession‑based therapeutic interventions, demonstrating high levels of knowledge, skills and competence across a range of evidence‑based approaches, as outlined within an agreed personal/team‑based job plan. This may include delivering interventions within specific care pathways or clinics according to service need.

Provide specialist consultation, advice, signposting and support to children and young people, their families/carers, social workers and professionals within universal, targeted and specialist children’s services across Gloucestershire.

Provide clinical leadership and contribute to developing a strong multidisciplinary and multi‑agency ethos, ensuring collaborative working with children, young people, their families/carers and wider professional networks, with the child’s voice central to assessment, formulation and personalised care planning.

As a Specialist Mental Health Practitioner, you will play a pivotal role in improving the emotional wellbeing and mental health outcomes of children and young people in care across the county. This is a highly specialist and rewarding role, working with some of our most vulnerable children and young people, many of whom have experienced trauma, loss, adversity, and complex life experiences.

You will provide specialist mental health assessment, formulation and therapeutic interventions for children and young people aged 0–18, including those presenting with emotional and mental health difficulties, learning disabilities, complex presentations, and significant clinical safety concerns. Using your professional mental health expertise and a trauma‑informed, child‑centred approach, you will ensure that the voice of the child remains central to assessment, care planning and intervention.

Working as part of a skilled multidisciplinary team, you will provide clinical leadership through managing a complex caseload, undertaking specialist safety assessment and formulation, and contributing to robust safety management and multi‑agency care planning. You will work closely with social care, carers, education, health colleagues, and other partners across Gloucestershire to develop shared understanding, promote stability, and ensure children receive the right support at the right time.

A key element of the role will be providing specialist consultation, advice, and guidance to professionals and carers supporting children in care. This will…