Go back South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Trust
Senior Learning Disability Practitioner
The closing date is 27 October 2025
Hello, I'm Melissa, LD Team Manager at Barnsley CAMHS, and I'm excited to be developing our service.
I am looking for an experienced and passionate Senior Learning Disability Practitioner to join us in a brand new senior Band 7 role.
What makes me proud is the people behind my service. We are a friendly, close-knit team who look after each other and are passionate about the work we do.
You will be part of a small, supportive team, creating a vital service for children and young people with moderate to severe learning disabilities, complex mental health needs, or significant behaviours of concern.
You will be linked into LD colleagues across SWYPFT, giving you a valuable peer support network. We value flexibility, a healthy work-life balance, and a culture that encourages innovation.
At the time of advertising, this role does meet the minimum requirements set by UK Visas and Immigration to sponsor candidates to work in the UK. We look forward to receiving your application.
Main duties of the job
Your skills and compassion will make a real difference by tackling health inequalities, improving access to services, and ensuring the voices of young people with LD are heard and valued.
In this role you will hold a varied caseload, carrying out specialist assessments and delivering therapeutic interventions. You will also act as a role model and advocate for children and young people with LD, while contributing to staff training, supervision, and service development. There are opportunities to become involved in research and to help shape how the service evolves in the years ahead. You will be confident as working as part of a system and consultation-based approach to care.
Barnsley CAMHS is a great place to work, and this is an exciting moment to join our service. Our long-term ambition is to grow into a fully inclusive LD service, and we would like you to be part of that journey.
Id love to hear from you, please give me a call to chat the role through you are also welcome to pop in for a visit and meet us.
All employees of the Trust are strongly encouraged to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect patients.
About us
We are a specialist NHS Foundation Trust that provides community, mental health and learning disability services for the people of Barnsley, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield. We also provide low and medium secure services and are the lead for the west Yorkshire secure provider collaborative.
Our mission is to help people reach their potential and live well in their communities, we do this by providing high-quality care in the right place at the right time. We employ staff in both clinical and non-clinical services who work hard to make a difference to the lives of service users, families and carers.
We encourage and welcome applications from all protected characteristic groups, we value diversity and want our workforce to be reflective of our communities.
Being a foundation Trust means we are accountable to our members, who can have a say in how we are run. Around 14,300 local people (including staff) are members of our Trust.
Join us and you will be one of over 4,500 staff committed to supporting and improving the mental, physical and social needs of the thousands of people we meet and help each year.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all colleagues and volunteers to share this commitment.
We do reserve the right to close vacancy before the advertised closing date if necessary, so please apply as soon as possible.
Job responsibilities
JOB SUMMARY
This job description is an outline of the main duties of the post. The post-holder will be required to undertake other duties commensurate with the grade as directed.
The content of this post will be reviewed in consultation with the post-holder when necessary and in line with the service developments.
To provide highly specialist skills and expertise, facilitating interventions of the highest quality in the field of mental health, including emergency assessments and intensive interventions with children, young people and their families.
To work autonomously and collaboratively within the MDT, providing consultation and teaching for other agencies/professionals.
To provide supervision and teaching to all other disciplines within CAMHS and to deputise as agreed for the team leader.
To promote safeguarding and the welfare of children and young people.
For full details of the role please see the supporting documents attached.
Person Specification
Personal Attributes
* Able to work autonomously and as part of a team.
* Commitment to multi-agency approach/working.
* Ability to work and make decisions under pressure.
* Calm, confident, innovative, creative and assertive.
* Ability to make and lead decisions under pressure/crisis situations.
* Willingness to be flexible and adaptable in accordance with changing service priorities.
* Commitment to challenging discrimination and improving accessibility of services.
* Ability to cope calmly in a crisis.
* To demonstrate good self-care and encourage the same in team members.
* A current driving licence and access to a car during the working day is essential (reasonable adjustments will be considered for any applicants who are unable to drive due to a disability).
* To have integrity, be honest, open, transparent and respectful.
Experience
* Experience of delivering training to others.
* Substantial post qualification experience, some of which must be working with Children, young people and their carers in a mental health or other complex care setting.
* Experience of working in different cultural contexts.
* Knowledge and experience of working with Equality and Diversity.
* Multidisciplinary team working.
* Inter-agency liaison and consultation.
* Experience of providing highly specialist advice and supervision to other professionals.
* Knowledge of relevant legislation and guidance for working with children, young people, mental health and safeguarding.
* Evidence of advanced clinical/therapeutic knowledge and skills in mental health.
* Extensive experience in assessment and risk management and ability to implement evidence based practice.
* Advanced experience of safeguarding children and young people.
* Experience of community settings.
Qualifications
* Relevant professional qualification, e.g. nursing, or other professional allied to medicine.
* Post qualification training in identified portfolio, e.g. LD. LAC, eating disorder.
* Dip SW or relevant mental health profession.
* A teaching and assessing qualification.
* Membership of professional body.
* Post graduate qualification in mental health (e.g. CBT, Family Therapy, Counselling).
Physical Attributes
* Ability to undertake the duties and demands of the post.
* A satisfactory sickness record over the previous 2 years (subject to the need to act with fairness and equality of opportunity, particularly where the sickness is related to a disability and/or pregnancy).
Special Knowledge/Skills
* Excellent verbal and communication skills.
* Ability to manage own caseload and to be a self-reliant and autonomous practitioner.
* Excellent negotiation skills, and problem solving skills.
* Excellent record keeping and report writing skills to include care planning and risk assessments.
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.
South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Trust
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