Durham School's Counselling Service is seeking to recruit an experienced counsellor to join our established team in providing a professional counselling service to children and young people in County Durham schools. WHAT IS INVOLVED? You will provide counselling based at schools commissioning the service. This is a key post within the Emotional Wellbeing and Effective Learning (EWEL) Team, which is part of Specialist SEND & Inclusion Support. The team is comprised of Counsellors, Advisory and Inclusion Teachers, Educational Psychologists and a range of Specialist Support Staff who work together to improve the wellbeing, achievement and resilience of socially and emotionally vulnerable young people; and to support schools to develop their capacity to effectively meet the needs of all their learners. Members of the service benefit from regular clinical supervision, team meetings and opportunities for development through a range of initiatives across our multi-disciplinary team. We encourage you to contact Sophia Friedrich, Counselling Team Leader, via email at sophia.friedrich@durham.gov.uk to arrange an informal discussion about the role. WHAT WILL I NEED? Required qualifications: • Diploma in Counselling or equivalent • Professional Accreditation or evidence of working towards accreditation Applications are invited from suitably qualified and accredited counsellors (or counsellors who are working towards accreditation) with experience in counselling children and young people with complex needs. Formal training specific to working with children and young people is desirable. For counsellors who do not hold a qualification specific to working with children, evidence of relevant CPD and experience is essential to demonstrate the required competencies. Experience of counselling in a school environment is essential, and you will have experience of engaging effectively with other agencies to support the needs of children and young people. Please refer to the attached Person Specification for the full criteria. If successful, you will be required to apply for a Disclosure and Barring Service Enhanced Disclosure. INTERVIEWS Interviews will be held on 11th December 2025 We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that can show they meet all the essential criteria and have indicated they have a disability, are a looked after young person, care leaver or a veteran. OUR OFFER TO YOU We offer a competitive rewards package that includes attractive salaries, a generous annual leave entitlement of 27 days (rising to 32 after five years’ continuous local government service), membership of the excellent contributory career average Local Government Pension Scheme, and a range of flexible working arrangements including hybrid working (home and office) where applicable. Explore the full range of rewards and benefits on our website Rewards and benefits are subject to individual terms and conditions. EQUALITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION We are a proud equal opportunities employer and believe a diverse workforce brings fresh ideas and drives service improvement. We welcome applications from everyone and make employment decisions based on skills and ability. As a Disability Confident Leader, we actively encourage applications from disabled people and offer support throughout the recruitment process. HOW TO APPLY Please note, we do not accept CVs. All applications must be submitted online via the Northeast Jobs portal. Use the ‘Person Specification’ section of the form to clearly demonstrate how you meet the essential (and where possible, desirable) criteria. Applications that do not evidence the essential requirements will not be shortlisted. For guidance on completing your application, visit our website If you require assistance when applying for this role, please contact our Recruitment Helpdesk on 03000 26 27 27, or via email RecruitmentCYPS@durham.gov.uk All correspondence relating to your application will be sent from donotreply@northeastjobs.org.uk. Kindly check your spam/junk folder regularly to ensure you don’t miss any updates. CONNECT WITH US Follow us on Instagram Like us on Facebook Visit our website VPRS/161