Education Mental Health Practitioner

Job summary
5 x EMHP/CWP full time permanent post/contract

An exciting opportunity has arisen in the Gloucestershire Mental Health Support Team for the recruitment of Qualified Education Mental Health Practitioner's (EMHP)

In line with the government's priority to increase access and availability of mental health and wellbeing support for children and young people, the EMHP role is an exciting opportunity to deliver evidence-based early interventions for children and young people, working across both educational settings and healthcare sectors.

Successful candidates will be employed on a full-time basis based within Gloucestershire, and will play a key role as members of the Mental Health Support Team, who will have the responsibility for delivering schools' overarching approach to providing mental health and wellbeing support for children and young people.

Potential candidates will have already successfully completed the HEE commissioned 1yr 'Education Mental Health Practitioner' course or the equivalent 'Children's Wellbeing Practitioner' course.

As part of this role there will be a requirement to travel across the localities.

Please be advised that this vacancy may close ahead of schedule due to a high volume of applicants.

Main duties of the job

• Delivering evidence-based intervention for children and young people in education setting with mild to moderate mental health problems
• Helping children and young people within these settings who present with more severe problems to rapidly access more specialist services
• Supporting and facilitating staff in education settings to identify and where appropriate manage issues related to mental health and wellbeing
• Working with and within education environments to afford better access to specialist mental health services and to use the acquired skills, knowledge and abilities to deliver a service based within education settings that builds on and reinforces but does not replace those initiatives that already exist within these environments.

About us
We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people's homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.

Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:

• 72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
• 76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
• 81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust's priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%

This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.

Details
Date posted: 28 July 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 5
Salary: £32,073 to £39,043 a year per annum
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 327-26-577
Job locations: Gloucestershire, Rikenel, Montpellier, Gloucestershire, GL1 1LY, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

• Assess and deliver outcome focused, evidence-based interventions in educational settings for children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties, working at all times in collaboration with and giving respect to the education function of the setting in which the post-holder is deployed.
• Work in partnership to support children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties and their parents/carers, families and educators in the self-management of presenting difficulties.
• Work in effective, evidence-based partnership with children, young people, their families and their educators in the development of plans for the intervention and agreed outcomes.
• Support and empower children, young people, their parents/carers and families and their educators to make informed choices about the interventions being offered.
• Support the Participation and Engagement of children, young people, their parents/carers and families and their educators. Actively increasing autonomy and the ability for children and young people to make positive changes for themselves and future service-users.
• Operate at all times from an inclusive values base, which recognises and respects equality and diversity.
• Accept referrals within educational settings according to agreed local and national and local protocols.
• Undertake and record accurate safety assessments and operate clear risk management processes in line with locally agreed procedures including the safeguarding protocols of the educational setting and Local Safeguarding Board guidance

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• Successful completion of the HEE commissioned 1yr 'Education Mental Health Practitioner' course
• Postgraduate Diploma/Graduate Diploma Psychological Therapies Practice (Low Intensity CBT for Children, Young People & Families)
• Postgraduate Diploma/Graduate Diploma Mental Health Practice in Education Settings

Desirable

• A further relevant degree qualification
• Teaching qualification
• Youth Mental Health First Aid trained

Experience
Essential

• Experience of working with children and young people, their families and others
• Experience of working and liaising with a wide variety of agencies and stakeholders

Desirable

• Experience of working with children and their families in a healthcare setting
• Experience of working with children and their families in an education setting

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details
Employer name: Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
Address: Gloucestershire, Rikenel, Montpellier, Gloucestershire, GL1 1LY, United Kingdom
Employer's website: Apply through our website