Mental Health Support Worker – SEND School | Sunderland
Location: Sunderland
Contract: Full-time, Long-Term
Start Date: September 2025
Salary: £89–£108 per day (PAYE)
Want to be a steady hand when young people need it most?
We’re supporting a specialist SEND school in Sunderland to find a Mental Health Support Worker who can offer calm, consistent care to children and young people with complex emotional and behavioural needs. This school provides a structured, nurturing environment where pupils are supported to build confidence, regulate emotions, and engage with learning in a way that works for them.
If you’ve got experience supporting mental health in education, care or youth work settings—and a passion for making a difference-this one’s for you.
What you’ll be doing:
* Providing 1:1 and small group support to pupils with SEMH (social, emotional, and mental health) needs
* Using de-escalation strategies and emotional regulation tools (Thrive, Zones of Regulation, etc.)
* Building strong, trusting relationships with pupils and helping them re-engage with learning
* Working closely with pastoral staff, therapists and teachers to create joined-up support
What we’re looking for:
* Experience supporting children or young people with SEMH or mental health challenges
* A trauma-informed approach and confident behaviour management
* Calm under pressure, with a flexible and compassionate mindset
* Experience in education, youth work, residential care or mental health settings
With Protocol Education, you’ll benefit from:
* Weekly pay through PAYE (no umbrella fees or hidden deductions)
* FREE Thrive training and access to our full CPD Academy
* A dedicated SEND consultant who understands your goals
* Long-term opportunities in schools where your work has real impact
-----------------------------------
Apply today to support pupils where and when it really matters.
All applicants will require the appropriate qualifications and training for this role. Please see the FAQs on the Protocol Education website for further details.
All pay rates quoted will be inclusive of 12.07% statutory holiday pay. This advert is for a temporary position. In some cases, the option to make this role permanent may become available at a later date.
Protocol Education is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. We undertake safeguarding checks on all workers in accordance with the DfE statutory guidance ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’, this may also include an online search as part of our due diligence on shortlisted applicants.
We offer FREE online safeguarding and Prevent Duty training to all our workers. All candidates must undertake or have undertaken a valid enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and subscribe to the DBS Update Service.
Full assistance provided. For details of our privacy policy, please see visit the Protocol Education website.