MUSIC THERAPIST / ART THERAPIST / DRAMATHERAPIST
South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust
Closing date: 29 April 2026
SWLSTG MH Trust currently runs 12 Mental Health Support Teams (MHST) across Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth. Each MHST works within a cluster of schools and offers an early intervention schools based mental health service, as well as supporting the implementation of a Whole School Approach (WSA) to mental health across the cluster. There are strong links between all the teams and a good peer support network across our MHSTs.
The SEN MHST comprises of a team lead who is a Clinical Psychologist, 2 additional qualified clinicians, 4 Education Wellbeing Practitioners (EWPs) and an administrator. The team covers three secondary schools and a number of primary schools across Merton and Sutton, with a population total of 8,000 pupils. MHSTs work collaboratively with schools to implement the whole school approach to mental health and provide individual, group and workshop interventions for children, young people and their parents / carers.
The SEN MHST works within mainstream schools with additional resource provision for children and young people with Special Educational Needs.
Main duties of the job
The post is Agenda for Change pay band 6, plus outer London weighting. Full time applicants are preferred but job shares, term time only or part time working will be considered.
Postholders will be based in schools across the cluster and will offer direct clinical interventions to children, young people and parents / carers in both individual, group and workshop formats. There are many opportunities for joint working with other team members, particularly when running groups or workshops. The postholders will also collaboratively work with schools to implement a whole school approach to mental health. This will include opportunities for jointly facilitating consultation groups and training for school staff, as agreed with the MHST lead.
Regular supervision will be provided by the MHST lead clinician and there is weekly team time for the team to meet and plan together. We have a strong network across the MHSTs within the Trust and across the wider SW London partnership to enable sharing resources, learning and providing support. Peer support is strongly encouraged and nurtured. As a service we think hard about ensuring there are a variety of continuing professional development opportunities.
Some travel between schools and base is essential but this can be managed by public transport or cycling.
As this position is based within schools, the vast majority of annual leave will need to be taken during school holidays.
About us
We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust.
We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as 'good' - we aspire to be 'outstanding'.
This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services as we invest a further £120m to upgrade and modernise our estate by 2027.
We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together.
We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.
Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.
Springfield University Hospital, Tooting
Unless expressly stated in the job advert this role is not subject to sponsorship, please be advised that all offers of employment are subject to evidence of right to work in the UK.
Job responsibilities
Clinical and Clinical Research
* To assist the implementation of delivery of a range of psychological interventions to children, young people and parents within a school settings in line with NICE guidance.
* To work jointly to implement a whole school approach to mental health under the supervision of a qualified professional psychologist or psychotherapist.
* To undertake protocol based psychological assessments of patients, including self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with patients and others involved in the clients care.
* To assist in the formulation and delivery of mental health care involving psychological interventions for mild to moderate mental health problems, under the clinical supervision of qualified professional psychologists / psychotherapists, in school and community settings.
* To lead in the coordination and running of groups and workshops.
Teaching, Training and Supervision
* In common with all applied therapists, to receive regular clinical supervision in accordance with professional practice guidelines and clinical governance guidelines.
* To spend 0.5 day per week on CPD to further develop skills in therapeutic interventions and risk assessment.
* To develop skills and competencies that assist in the delivery of current duties.
* To regularly and systematically enter clinical data on IAPTus according to IAPTs protocols and to highlight areas of difficulty to the MHST lead as soon as they arise.
* To contribute to the training and support of others, including school staff and workers in the non-statutory sector enabling them to provide effective mental health care.
* To inform primary care practitioners and users about local statutory and voluntary services to whom children and young people can be signposted.
Management, Recruitment and Service Development
* To take the lead in managing a triage system for entry to the service in line with agreed protocols and to highlight issues relating to potential waiting times and access to the MHST Lead, Service Manager and Consultant Lead.
* To assist and lead in the design and implementation of service development projects within the service as required.
* To attend meetings in which service developments are planned and discussed.
Research and Service Evaluation
* To assist the clinical team leader and others in undertaking data collection, analysis, and production of reports and summaries, in relation to primary care mental health services.
* To undertake searches of evidence-based literature and research to assist qualified applied psychologists and others in evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
* To take the lead in organising resources of self-help material and maintaining up to date information about services to which service users could be signposted.
Other
* To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and the Trusts development review programmes, in consultation with the postholders professional lead and team manager(s).
* To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing in accordance with Trusts and IAPTs policies and procedures and relevant professional codes of practice.
* To prepare therapeutic materials and visual aids as required.
Person Specification
Training & Qualifications
* An upper second class honours degree or higher.
* Professional qualification as a nurse, social worker, occupational therapist, drama therapist or art therapist.
* Registration with HCPC or other appropriate professional body.
* Further post graduate training in relevant areas of mental health practice and/or research design and analysis.
* Training in trauma informed approaches.
Experience
* Experience of relevant paid work within Child & Adolescent Mental Health and / or school settings.
* Strong experience of working with children, young people and families with mental health problems and/or other disabilities.
* Experience of working within an ethnically and racially diverse community.
* Experience of working within a multidisciplinary team.
* Considerable experience in delivering both group and individual interventions.
* Experience of risk assessment and management.
* Experience of working within trauma informed approaches.
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 London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust
£45,953 to £54,254 a year inclusive of Outer London HCAS
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