The Emotional Health Academy (EHA) in West Berkshire is a thriving, well‑established service, comprised of a highly skilled and specialist workforce. The team delivers a well‑regarded therapeutic service to children and young people across community and educational settings, alongside a range of training packages. Strong partnership working is embedded within the service, with close links to CAMHS, Specialist CAMHS, the Mental Health Support Team (MHST) and Public Health.
Practitioners have regular opportunities to contribute to local authority wide initiatives, including work related to Emotionally Based School Non‑Attendance (EBSNA/EBSA), exclusion, reintegration and SEND. The Emotional Health Academy is one of four specialist Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) services, working alongside the Educational Psychology Service (EPS), the Exclusions and Reintegration team, and the Promoting Inclusive Practice (PIP) team.
In This Role, You Will Have The Opportunity To
* Manage the Emotional Health and Clinical Workers within the Emotional Health Academy
* Provide clinical supervision to individual clinicians
* Offer strategic leadership for early intervention mental health as part of West Berkshire’s Building Communities Together programme
* Deliver high‑quality early emotional health support to children, young people and families through promotion, training and direct therapeutic work
* Further develop the service across a range of community settings, including schools and GP surgeries
* Strengthen resilience and coping skills for children, young people and families, supporting improved wellbeing, attainment and life chances while reducing pressure on specialist CAMHS and medical services
We Would Expect The Postholder To
* Be an experienced mental health practitioner
* Hold a professional qualification such as social worker, psychologist or CBT therapist
* Promote equality as an integral part of the role, treating everyone with fairness and dignity
* Recognise health and safety as a responsibility of every employee and comply with West Berkshire Council health and safety policies and procedures
* Manage the Emotional Health Academy service and lead its strategic development, including the review of early intervention emotional health provision
* Line‑manage EHA Clinicians and oversee their line management of Emotional Health Workers and the Referral Coordinator
* Provide clinical governance oversight of professional practice, including supervision arrangements facilitated by EHA Clinicians
* Hold responsibility for escalation of need and safeguarding within EHA therapeutic services
* Strategically lead West Berkshire’s Emotional Health Triage system for children, ensuring effective operation and appropriate escalation
* Manage the EHA business plan and budget, producing regular financial reports
* Oversee commissioning arrangements with Berkshire West Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Public Health, Children and Family Services, Education Services and local schools
* Represent West Berkshire Council at key strategic forums, including the Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Partnership and Learning Network
Our Offer to You
A Competitive Salary Alongside a Range Of Benefits Including
* Flexible working wherever possible between the hours of 07.00 and 19.00
* Hybrid working where possible, working 40 % in the office
* Access to a wide range of training and development opportunities
* Local Government Pension Scheme
* Death in service benefit
* Family friendly policies
* Payment of professional registration fees
* A range of local discounts
* Wellbeing Programme including an Employee Assistance Programme and employee benefits
* Ongoing training and development opportunities
* Generous annual leave entitlement starting at 30 days per annum (plus public holidays), rising by an additional 5 days after five years of service
All roles will be subject to an annual banding pay review until the top of the pay grade is reached (following successful completion of probation) and will be eligible for the annual national pay award.
About Us
West Berkshire Council is a forward‑thinking and ambitious council. We have a positive attitude to our work and focus on excellent teamwork to deliver award‑winning services for our residents and businesses. We employ over 1,500 members of staff corporately, plus additional members of staff working across our local schools and education settings. We offer a wide array of opportunities for training and development and varied career progression opportunities.
Our staff support the delivery of a wide range of services on behalf of the Council, ranging from garden waste collection, planning and roadworks to caring for those in our communities. Everything we do is focused on our priority for improvement and delivering our values of fairness, integrity and customer focus.
Equal Opportunities
The Council supports Equal Opportunity of employment and positively encourages applications from people who fall within any of the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.
How To Apply
Please now complete a short online application form. You will then be able to upload your CV. This role has been identified as public‑facing in accordance with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016; the requirement to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in English applies. All successful candidates will be subject to Disclosure and Barring Service checks along with other relevant employment checks.
If you are interested in working with us and want to know more, do not hesitate to contact Crystal Elkabbas, Principal Educational Psychologist and SEMH Service Manager, at crystal.elkabbas1@westberks.gov.uk to arrange a discussion.
Explore everything that a career with West Berkshire Council has to offer: Working with Us.
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