In line with the government’s priority to increase access and availability of mental health and wellbeing support for children and young people, the 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 settings and healthcare sectors in England.
Successful candidates will be employed full-time and based in our mental health support team (MHST). The service covers the entire Pennine Care footprint, with teams in each borough - Bury, Stockport, Tameside, & Rochdale. Access to a car will therefore be essential for this role.
The team will be responsible for the delivery of low level mental health support in educational settings across the localities.
There will be a requirement to travel to either Edge Hill University or the Psychological Therapies training centre at Prestwich Hospital for the teaching element of the programme. Your academic provider will be assigned to you.
The post-holder will work under supervision to gain experience in healthcare and educational settings to gain the level of competence required to deliver high-quality, evidence-based early interventions for children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health problems.
The training course is divided into 6 modules, developing skills and knowledge in areas such as working with children, learning to manage a caseload, preparing and presenting caseload information, working with colleagues to provide better access, supporting colleagues in education to identify and manage issues related to mental health and wellbeing.
Applicants will be based in one of our mental health support teams and attend at Edge Hill University for the training year.
On successful completion of training, trainee's will be equipped with the skills, knowledge and capabilities to work as a qualified EMHP as autonomous and responsible practitioners within their scope of practice, alongside education colleagues.
We are proud to provide high quality mental health and learning disability services, both inpatient and in the community across five boroughs of Greater Manchester - Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport and Tameside and Glossop.
Our vision is for a happier and more hopeful life for everyone in our communities and our staff work hard to deliver the very best care for the people who use our services. We’re really proud of our #PennineCarePeople and do everything we can to make sure we’re a great place to work.
All individuals regardless of race, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership are encouraged to apply for this post. We would also encourage applications from individuals with a lived experience of mental illness, either individually or as a carer.
We reserve the right to bring the closing date forward for this vacancy at any time should we receive an overwhelming number of applications.
When completing your application, please read and refer to the job description and person specification which can be found in the documents to download section below. We will be looking for examples of how you demonstrate each of the criteria listed on the person specification.
It is a requirement for applicants to have the following, and be able to provide certificates in order to be considered for shortlisting.
GCSE English Language & Maths at Grade C or above/4-9 or functional skills level 2 or equivalent if completed outside of the UK
A level 4 qualification
If you are unable to evidence the above, then we will not be able to progress with your application at this time.
Interviews: Dates TBC
Start date: September 2026.
Please note: applicants who attended an interview for the PCFT Trainee EMHP post between 15 and 17 July are not eligible to reapply for this cohort. Following review of interview feedback, we would welcome future applications for subsequent cohorts/years.
We are looking to recruit further Trainee Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs) to join our Mental Health Support Team (MHST) in Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale. The team base is Croft Shifa Health Centre, Rochdale, OL16 2UP.
Successful candidates are expected to start on Monday 4 January 2027 and will study at Edge Hill University for two days per week throughout the training year.
Typical working hours are Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
During the training year, this will be a Band 4 post. Upon successful completion of the course and receipt of BABCP/BPS registration, candidates will be eligible to progress to a Band 5 post.
