Job overview
One permanent and one 12-month, fixed term, full-time ,band 6, CAMHS practitioner posts (2.0 WTE) are available in Islington's School Wellbeing Service (MHST).
Islington's School Wellbeing Service is part of the national Mental Health Support Teams (MHST) initiative, aiming to improve access to mental health support and to support schools to think about how they support wellbeing on a whole school level. The service is delivered as a partnership between Whittington Health and LB Islington.
We are recruiting two proactive, creative and skilled colleagues to join our thriving team. The successful applicants will be passionate about mental health in schools, widening access to services and enjoy inter-agency working.
Main duties of the job
The post holders will work as a CAMHS practitioner delivering CBT informed 1:1 brief interventions, groups and workshops. Other duties include liaison with school staff, contributing to whole-school approaches for mental health, screenings and assessments, observations, joint working, service development work. The post holders will, alongside senior team members, have some responsibility for service user participation and / or coordinating the workshop offer from the service. In addition this post is an opportunity to work with school staff and school cultures in developing school environments that better support emotional health and wellbeing.
Working for our organisation
Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work.
Islington CAMHS is well integrated with partner agencies and is experienced in working together to deliver innovative, high quality mental health service jointly with our partners.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see job description for full details.
Main Clinical Responsibilities:
To undertake assessments (incl. telephone triaging and face-to-face) of children and young people referred to the team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources.
Working in partnership, support children, young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties and their families in the self-management of presenting difficulties, promoting informed choices and decisions about plans for the intervention and agreed outcomes.
To formulate and devise mental health treatment and management plans for children and young people and to provide psychological treatment, using a range of specialist psychological interventions appropriate to the service. To work at all times in collaboration with and giving respect to the education function of the setting in which the person is employed.
To be a resource of specialist advice, guidance and consultation specifically relating to the common emotional and behavioural problems and disorders of children and young people, to colleagues within the MHSTs, school staff and other professionals and agencies / organisations working in the field of child and adolescent mental health.
To liaise with and where appropriate participate in joint work with other members of the School Wellbeing Service, partner services and other teams and clinicians within Islington CAMHS.
To undertake accurate assessment of risk to self and others, providing initial guidance and safety planning, escalating to senior managers and partner agencies as required.
To collaborate with the range of professionals that makes up the Team Around the School in assessing risk and need in pupils of concern.
To support the development of interventions, consultation and psychoeducation approaches regarding prevention and resilience building and health promotion (e.g. supporting the development and evaluation of new workshops).
Where appropriate, to take case management responsibilities, giving clear clinical advice with regard to assessment, risk assessment, formulation and treatment of identified clients. To coordinate network meetings and involve referring agents and others involved the network of care.
Accept referrals within educational settings according to agreed local and national and local protocols. Alongside senior team members, to contribute to the management of referrals and allocation, determining whether criteria and threshold has been met and supporting colleagues in provide a flexible and effective service within the setting.
Understand the wider SEMH provision available in Islington and the different services that support SEMH in Islington’s schools. To use this information for accurate signposting of children, young people and families.
To provide reports and communicate in a sensitive manner concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients.
Keep clear, professionally coherent records of all activity in line with both health and education service protocols and use these records and outcome data to inform decision making.
Complete all requirements relating to data collection.
To operate at all times from an inclusive values base, which recognises and respects diversity.
To be actively involved in the service user participation; coordinating and contributing to across service initiatives, attending planning meetings and leading on areas allocated
In collaboration with senior management, to coordinate the provision of workshop delivery and development at an early intervention and prevention level
Person specification
EDUCATION/ QUALIFICATIONS
Essential criteria
1. Successful completion of Education Mental Health Practitioner or Child and Young Persons Psychological Wellbeing Practice Postgraduate Diploma
Desirable criteria
2. Psychology or other health /social care/youth related undergraduate degree or training
3. Other relevant postgraduate degree
SKILLS AND ABILITIES
Essential criteria
4. Demonstrates a sound knowledge and understanding of child & adolescent mental health and development
5. Ability to confidently and competently undertake mental health assessments and consider what may be contributing to and maintaining issues for a child
6. Able to formulate and devise treatment plans for children and young people
7. Ability to communicate psychological formulations and intervention plans, including clinically sensitive information to young people, their families, carers and other professional colleagues.
8. Understands the need for and able to competently assess risk and create safety plans, utilising supervision as required
9. Demonstrates an understanding for the need to use evidence-based psychological therapies and how it relates to this post
10. Ability to work within educational settings to increase mental health awareness within the staff group
Knowledge and Experience
Essential criteria
11. Experience of working in mental health or related services
12. Experience in assessing, formulating and providing CBT informed interventions for children and young people experiencing, mild to moderate anxiety, low mood and behavioural difficulties
13. Experience of carrying a caseload and case management. Ability to assess, plan, implement and evaluate risk/care plans to meet the needs of clients.
14. Experience of planning and conducting workshops and/or groups for children and their families
15. Experience of gathering and using routine outcomes measures to incorporate into intervention with families and inform service delivery and demonstrate outcomes
16. Experience of working in a culturally diverse area
17. Experience of working with children, young people and families with a diagnosis of ASC, additional needs or other vulnerable groups.
18. Experience of working with children and their families in an education setting
19. Knowledge of child and adolescent development and the role of family in supporting CYP emotional wellbein
20. Knowledge of outcome measures and analysing data for specific child and family interventions as well as service provision
21. Understanding of systems and contexts in which CYP are likely to live, demonstrating a knowledge of the issues relating to CYP and the impact it can have on their mental health
Desirable criteria
22. Experience of delivering consultations to staff working in community settings who may not have child mental health backgrounds.
23. 2 years post qualifying experience of working with children and young as an Education Health Care Practitioner or Child Wellbeing Practitioner
24. Experience of User Involvement, contributing to initiatives and projects to involve users and utilising this to develop the service.
Personal Qualies andOther
Essential criteria
25. Demonstrate an understanding of and an ability to incorporate cultural sensitivity and responsiveness to your work with colleagues and clients
26. Ability to work autonomously, making effective use of supervision
27. Advanced communication skills
28. Ability to work within a team and foster good working relationships with colleagues inside and beyond the service
29. Ability to work under pressure, prioritising and managing workload
30. Ability to take leadership roles in development of role
Desirable criteria
31. Fluent in languages other than English
32. Ability to supervise, teach and train others, using a variety of multi-media materials suitable for presentations with clients and /or professionals.
SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN AND ADULTS
To comply with the Trust’s Safeguarding Children and Adults policies, procedures and protocols. All individual members of staff (paid or unpaid) have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults This will require you to:
33. Ensure you are familiar with and comply with the London Child Protection Procedures and protocols for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young people.
34. Ensure you are familiar and comply with the London Multi Agency Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Pan London Procedures.
35. Ensure you are familiar and comply with local protocols and systems for information sharing.
36. Know the appropriate contact numbers and required reporting lines.
37. Participate in required training and supervision.
38. Comply with required professional boundaries and codes of conduct
Whittington Health is committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.