Job overview
This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a new service which we are delivering across Bolton: The Mental Health Support Team (MHST).
There is significant focus on transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services within the NHS. The NHS which builds on the 2017 Children and Young People’s Mental Health has set out proposals to improve mental health support in schools and colleges.
MHSTs are designed to help meet the mental health needs of children and young people in primary, secondary and further education (primarily for ages 5 to 18), by providing mental health support in schools, colleges and other education settings such as alternative provision.
The three core functions of a Mental Health Support Team (MHST) are:
1. Delivering evidence-based interventions for children and young people with mild to-moderate mental health problems.
2. Supporting the senior mental health lead in each education setting to introduce or develop their whole school/college approach
3. Giving timely advice to school and college staff, and liaising with external specialist services, to help children and young people to get the right support and stay in education.
Main duties of the job
The Education Mental Health Practitioner or Children and Young People Wellbeing Practitioner role intends to support school staff to feel confident in recognising and responding to emerging mental health difficulties.
Bolton MHST works with the mental health support services that already exist, such as counsellors, educational psychologists, school nurses, pastoral care staff and educational welfare officers.
Our Band 5 Education Mental Health Practitioner or Children and Young People Wellbeing Practitioner will be offered regular clinical and case management supervision to support our MHST core functions; Delivering evidence-based interventions for children and young people with mild to-moderate mental health problems. Supporting the senior mental health lead in each education setting to introduce or develop their whole school/college approach. Giving timely advice to school and college staff, and liaising with external specialist services, to help children and young people to get the right support and stay in education.
Working for our organisation
Greater Manchester Mental Health (GMMH) Foundation Trust employs over 7,000 members of staff, who deliver services from more than 122 locations.
We provide inpatient and community-based mental health care for people living in Bolton, the city of Manchester, Salford, Trafford and the borough of Wigan, and a wide range of specialist mental health and substance misuse services across Greater Manchester, the north west of England and beyond.
Greater Manchester is one of the world's most innovative, original and exciting places to live and work. From the beauty of the surrounding countryside to the heart of the vibrant inner city with great shopping, entertainment and dining options.
Wherever you go you will experience a great northern welcome with people famed for their warmth, humour and generosity.
Our people enjoy their work, have opportunities to learn and develop their skills and are encouraged to generate new ideas that improve care for our service users.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
See attached detailed job description and person specification:
Staff benefits
4. Pay Enhancements – 30% additional for Evenings (8pm onwards) and Saturdays and 60% additional for Sundays and Bank holidays. 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays rising to 29 after 5 years and 33 days after 10 years Excellent pension Cycle to work scheme Salary sacrifice car scheme Wellbeing programme
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
5. Is a Qualified EMHP /CYWP
Desirable criteria
6. Evidence of continuing professional development in the field of child and adolescent mental health
Experience
Essential criteria
7. Experience of delivering Low intensity CBT interventions to CYP & parents. Experience in utilising and interpreting ROMS in practice. Ability to learn in a variety of settings and using a variety of learning methods. Computer literacy and the ability to keep clinical records to a high standard in line with policies.
Desirable criteria
8. Experience of developing and delivering WSA to mental health. Developing and delivering school and staff wellbeing initiatives. Experience designing/delivering training. Experience of working with parents, offering parent psychoeducation or CBT led intervention.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
9. Understanding of child and adolescent development physical & emotional wellbeing. Understanding and knowledge of psychological models of brief intervention. Knowledge of safeguarding issues- capacity and consent
Desirable criteria
10. Knowledge of the educational system in England. Knowledge of group work and facilitation skills.
skills
Essential criteria
11. Effective communication skills, Experience of working with cyp who have social, emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. Experience of the delivery of specific therapeutic interventions to children, Good organisational/time management skills with the ability to work autonomously.
Desirable criteria
12. Use multimedia materials for presentations in professional settings. Experience of database use
The Trust mandates all post holders who require a DBS for their role to subscribe to the DBS Update Service. You will be required to enrol for this service for a fee of £16 per year and maintain registration throughout your employment with GMMH.
Applicants are encouraged to apply for posts at Greater Manchester Mental Health who have direct experience of mental health, learning disability or drug and alcohol services either as a service user or a carer.
The Trust is also committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults and requires all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
We are aspiring to ensure our workforce is representative of the diverse communities that we serve, and we are strongly committed to removing barriers to employment for candidates from under-represented groups, for example BAME, Disabled and LGBT+ communities. If you would like to have an informal chat about the recruitment process for this role or would value some additional support, we’d love to hear from you.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) when writing job applications
A candidate may utilise the help of AI when writing job application. The assessment of an application is made on its entirety and most times AI-generated content does not fully grasp the context and requirements of the job one applies for thus producing inaccurate and misleading information, especially in the supporting statement section of an application that can lack real life examples of one’s achievements, success and challenges.
We have added a disclaimer to our application process advising that the use of AI is monitored. GMMH reserves the right to follow up with a candidate at the interview on specific responses and those examples used in the supporting statement to explore it further.
Sponsorship
We are proud to be an approved sponsor for the Skilled Worker visa. Applications from individuals who require sponsorship will be considered alongside all other applications. Please be aware that not all roles are eligible for sponsorship. You can review the list of eligible roles and salary requirements on the UK Government’s website – click .
If you are offered a role with us and you require sponsorship, we will check your eligibility in line with the information on the above website. Your offer of employment could be withdrawn if the role is not eligible for sponsorship, and you are not otherwise able to evidence your right to work in the UK.
The Home Office introduces new changes from 22/07/2025 that impact the health and care sector, you may wish to familiarise with it.
Do you have experience outside the NHS?
We want to attract and retain people with diverse skills and experience, to deliver inclusive healthcare services to our communities.
We will consider relevant experience outside the NHS to calculate your salary on appointment.