CNC Children in Care Mental Health Link Worker
The closing date is 30 March 2026
We are excited to offer an opportunity to join the Lincolnshire Children and Young People's Complex Needs Service (CYP CNS).
You will join other colleagues in the same role, will work with other members of the CYP CNS and colleagues from Lincolnshire's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), to provide dedicated support to each of the six Local Authority run Children's Homes and, the newly commissioned reunification team and specialist fostering service.
You will provide mental health consultation, support and training to Foster Carers, Children's Home staff and their managers. With colleagues, they will provide trauma‑informed training and support to all staff and managers working within Lincolnshire's Children's Homes, so that a consistent approach to understanding children’s presenting behaviours and emotions can be embedded within each home.
You will provide direct assessment and intervention as appropriate and will work to ensure that the needs of each child within a home are considered when working out a whole system approach to best support and meet the needs of the CYP in each of the homes.
Please note that this post is fixed‑term for two years. This can be a secondment, if you have the agreement of your manager.
Main duties of the job
You will work with colleagues to build up good knowledge of the children resident in the Children's Homes they are focusing on; to develop understanding of the different dynamics within each home; and build up good knowledge of the needs of the children and families being supported by the Children in Care Reunification Team.
You will provide a developmental trauma‑informed approach to considering the needs of children in LCC’s Children’s Homes and/or those being supported by the CiC Reunification Team, and advise on the best ways to understand and respond to the CYP’s observed emotional and behavioural presentations. You will provide direct assessments and interventions to Children in Care as appropriate and support CYP to access more specific assessments and interventions from other services as appropriate.
About us
Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health services and a number of learning disability, autism and social care services in the county of Lincolnshire. Employing around 2,900 staff, and serving a population of over 768,400, our people lie at the heart of everything we do.
You could be part of a Trust rated by staff as one of the best mental health and learning disability trusts in England. We firmly believe the key to high quality care is a contented workforce. This is reflected in our Care Quality Commission rating of 'outstanding' for well‑led and 'good' overall. In the most recent National NHS Staff Survey, our staff rated us as the number one trust nationally for staff morale and one of the top scoring NHS Trusts in the Midlands for being compassionate and inclusive. We’re really proud of this!
We offer options for flexible working and provide a wide range of training and promotion opportunities in all professions. We support and celebrate diversity, have active staff networks groups and are always looking at what more we can do to support our staff.
Whether you’re taking the first exciting steps in your career, itching for a new challenge or searching for a better place to raise a family, Lincolnshire has arange of rewarding health and social care careers in a county that’s friendly, fascinating, affordable and brimming with everything you need to live a happy life. Visit beinlincolnshire.com to find out more.
Job responsibilities
Please view the attached Job Description and Person Specification documents for complete details regarding this post.
When completing your application, please demonstrate how you meet the role criteria.
We can also offer you many staff benefits to help support you which include:
* Early access to Psychological Therapies and Physiotherapy
* Competitive annual leave allowance
* Car leasing scheme
* Free eye tests
* Money saving options through our salary sacrifice scheme
* Discounts on major high street retailers and restaurants
Person Specification
Qualifications
* Registered with a professional body e.g. NMC, UKCP, HCPC, BACP, Social Work England
* Recognised Professional Qualification in Registered Nursing (RMN, RLDN), Social Worker (CQSW, DipSW), Occupational Therapy or other relevant qualification e.g. APT qualification and Counselling
* Mentorship or similar qualification in supporting students in practice
* Evidence of specialised continued professional training (degree level) in clinical practice
* Post registration training in supervision
Experience
* Relevant post-registration experience of working with people with mental health needs, including those with severe and enduring mental ill health
* Post registration experience of working with children and young people and their families
* Relevant experience of working with care experienced children and young people including working within Childrens Home settings; working with CYP and their foster carers
* Relevant experience of working with children and young people with mild to profound learning disability
* Relevant experience of working with CYP on the autistic spectrum
* Experience of managing and developing staff including providing management and/o clinical supervision
* Experience of providing training and consultation to qualified and unqualified staff
* Experience of using evidence based practice
* Post registration experience of working within CAMHS
* Post registration experience of working with CYP with moderate to profound Learning Disability
Skills
* Sound knowledge of Child Care legislation, Safeguarding, Mental Health Act and the Care Programme Approach
* Sound knowledge of current local and national strategies concerning Children in Care, Young people leaving care, CAMHS, Children’s Services and mental health
* Excellent understanding of child and adolescent development and its possible impact on emotional well-being and mental health
* Excellent knowledge of clinical/risk assessment and risk management of young people in crisis
* Ability to work both as a member of a team and autonomously and to manage own and other colleagues’ anxieties
* Comprehensive understanding of Information Governance principles
* Highly developed communication skills
* Ability to delegate whilst maintaining overall responsibility for service users care, where appropriate
* Highly motivated & able to engage with service users & carers and staff to improve outcomes
* Ability to adapt communication style to communicate with pre verbal CYP
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.
Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
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