Northumbria Healthcare Foundation Trust (NHCFT) has an opportunity to recruit trainee Educational Mental Health Practitioners to join the Northumberland ‘Be you’ Mental Health Support Team. The current Be you teams cover Hexham, Blyth, Bedlington, Ashington, Alnwick, Coquet, Cramlington and Seaton Valley. Post holders will be trained to deliver the 3 core functions within the existing partnership of schools.
These training posts will work alongside Education Mental Health Practitioners and Senior Wellbeing Practitioners, supporting pupils with mild to moderate mental health needs. The posts will also work with the Be you Occupational Therapists, Peer Mentor and a Designated Senior Mental Health Lead in schools Coordinator. We work closely with colleagues from Northumberland Council , Educational Psychologist, assistants and voluntary partner Cygnus.
During your training year you will develop a core skills and knowledge in the 3 core functions of a mental health in schools’ team. This will include clinical skills and knowledge in low intensity, individual and group evidence-based interventions in school settings. You will provide advice and support to improve whole school approaches to the emotional well-being of pupils. The role also includes the facilitation of staff training, consultation, and signposting to other services .
These posts will be trained to deliver the 3 core functions of a Mental Health Support Team in schools and supporting and facilitating staff in education settings to identify and where appropriate manage issues related to mental health and wellbeing. There will be collaboration with school settings and members of the Be you team school partnerships to deliver whole schools approaches to promote positive well-being and evidenced based prevention programmes.
These posts will involve the completion of a 12-month training programme on the Post graduate Diploma in Emotional Wellbeing in the Educational Environment (EMHP) at the University of Northumbria commencing in September 2026. The recruitment process will be led by Northumbria Health Care Foundation Trust, in collaboration with the University of Northumbria and will ensure that both the clinical and academic requirements of the programme can be met.
Post holders will be required to meet the work experience entry requirements for the Trust and the academic requirements for the University of Northumbria at Newcastle.
This post falls within the provisions of Agenda for Change Annex 20 - Development of Professional Roles, whereby upon completion of an agreed set of competencies you may move onto the next pay band without the need for an application for a post at a higher level.
For further information on Annex 20, please see:
http://www.nhsemployers.org/tchandbook/annex-16-to-20/annex-20-development-of-professional-roles
We manage three major locality hospitals at North Tyneside, Wansbeck and Hexham, plus a number of smaller community hospitals and clinics from Tynemouth to Berwick on Tweed, covering one of the largest geographical areas of any NHS trust in the country. Leading in innovation and quality – opening a state of the art Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, the first of its kind in England. Do you want to work in one of the best performing NHS organisations in England?
Work in an organisation that supports its staff and focuses on staff experience as much as it does the experience of its patients? You can live and breathe in an area that has the cleanest air, cost effective living, great nightlife, some of the best schools with a wealth of history available on your doorstep. Sound too good to be true? Well it isn’t, this is what you get when you work for Northumbria Healthcare, this is the Northumbria Way! Please read ‘applicant guidance notes’ before submitting your application.
Please note we reserve the right to close this vacancy prior to the closing date once the required number of suitable applications have been received.
Be educationally supervised, supported and assessed oneself to assess and deliver outcome focused, evidence-based interventions in educational settings for children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties.
Developing skills in supporting children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties, their parents/carers, families and educators in the self-management of presenting difficulties.
Developing and practicing evidence-based skills under supervisory support of working in partnership with children, young people, their families and educators in the development of plans for the specific intervention and agreeing outcomes.
Developing and learning the skills required in order to enable children and young people in education, and where appropriate parents/carers to collaborate and coproduce their own agreed plan of care.
Show evidence in a variety of forms that at all times assessment and intervention is provided from an inclusive values base, which recognises and respects diversity.
Work collaboratively with partners across the emotional and mental health pathway in Northumberland to ensure appropriate support is accessed for children and young people, according to agreed local and national and local referral routes, processes and procedures.
Under supervision, undertake accurate assessments of risk to self and others.
Engage along with more senior staff in the signposting of referrals for children and young people with more complex needs to the relevant service.
Engage in robust managerial and clinical supervision, identifying the scope of practice of the individual postholder within the role, and working safely within that scope.
Gain and practice a range of interventions related to provision of information and support for evidence based psychological treatments, primarily guided self-help.
Contribute to the development of individual or group clinical materials or training materials and go on to develop further such materials as falls within own degree of competence
Ensure that any risks or issues related to the safety and wellbeing of anyone the postholder comes into contact with in the course of their professional duties are communicated and shared with appropriate parties in order to maintain individual safety and the public interest.
Successful post holders will be will commence a 12 month Post Graduate Diploma in Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Studies in the Education Environment (EMHP) at the University of Northumbria Newcastle in September 2026 . As these training posts are a Level 7 Masters level programme aimed at developing trainees into qualified Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHPs), entry to the programme will be through a value based interview within NHCFT leading to subsequent employment as a trainee EMHP with NHCFT.
