School Counsellor
Contract Type: Term time – Permanent
Salary: Scale 6 range 18-20 £35,520 - £36,585 FTE Note: Actual salary £30,553 - £31,469 pro rata to term time only
Required: 1st September 2026
Closing date for application: Friday 3rd July 2026
Shortlisting: Monday 6th July 2026
Interviews: Week of 13th July 2026
The post holder will be expected to work flexibly across all campuses at Mayesbrook Park School.
Purpose of the Job:
We are seeking to appoint a qualified counsellor with experience of working with young people 11-16 and their families to enable us to provide onsite support and counselling to students and to broaden the support and services which we are able to offer to pupils, parents and staff.
The school counsellor’s primary duty will be the counselling of students aged 11-16; other duties include support for staff and work with parents. The counsellor will liaise closely with CAMHS and other agencies involved with the child and family.
Key Responsibilities
- To provide an independent and confidential counselling service for students who are referred individually or in groups for a range of issues including mental health, behavioural and emotional difficulties, bereavement and school refusers to improve their well-being and educational outcomes.
- To counsel young people who are at risk of safeguarding issues such as sexual exploitation, radicalisation and abuse
- Working with students to support their emotional well being including cases of suicidal thoughts, eating disorders and self-harm.
- To recognise difficult risky behaviours such as use of illegal substances and alcohol.
- To take part in intake meetings where appropriate;
- To facilitate workshops with parent/carer/family of students where appropriate;
- To devise and monitor appropriate treatment programmes, including therapy, counselling or advice, in collaboration with colleagues;
- To evaluate and make decisions about psychological intervention;
- To maintain confidential records and ensure that these are kept in a secure location;
- To perform duties within the professional codes of practice and ethical frameworks for counsellors
- To be alert to trends and patterns of problems and be willing to identify causes and recommend corrective action with senior staff;
- As and when requested, to devise, and where appropriate, deliver training/group work to students and/or staff or parents;
- To provide information/reports when requested to enable the service to be reviewed and evaluated;
- To be responsible for their own professional development, maintenance and updating knowledge and awareness through continuing professional development (CPD);
- To maintain a high level of knowledge and awareness of changes and developments in the fields of counselling and education and their impact on the delivery counselling;
- To ensure that as a counsellor, they are properly and regularly supervised
- To provide professional advice, counselling and support to staff.
- To undertake any other reasonable duties as required by the headteacher
Safeguarding
The school counsellor has a responsibility for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children with whom they come into contact and will adhere to and ensure compliance with the school’s Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy at all times. If, in the course of carrying out their duties, the school counsellor becomes aware of any actual or potential risks to the safety or welfare of children in the school, they must report any concerns to the relevant designated safeguarding lead.
Other Duties
The post holder may be required to perform duties other than those given in the job description for the post. The particular duties and responsibilities attached to the post may vary from time to time without changing the general character of the duties or the level of responsibility entailed. Such variations are a common occurrence and would not themselves justify the re-evaluation of the post. However, in most cases, where a permanent and substantial change in the duties and responsibilities of a post occurs, consistent with the higher level of responsibility, then the post would be eligible for re-evaluation.
Expected Behaviours
- Promotion of safe working practices with young people
- Consistently positive, calm approach and manner with young people and adults
- Effective self-management of emotions
- Positive rapport with young people
- Implementation of relevant professional standards
- Implementation of agreed school policies.
4. Customer Care
Provide services that are fair and accessible to all.
5. Statutory Requirements
This post carries a requirement to have an enhanced Criminal Records check.
Job Type: Part-time
Pay: £30,553.00-£31,469.00 per year
Experience:
- Counselling: 2 years (required)
Work Location: In person
