Education Mental Health Practitioner

Salary: NJC Grade 8 £33,673 to £36,581 per annum (Crawley weighting allowance of £561 per annum applicable to applicants successful in our Crawley placements)

Contract Type: Permanent x 3

Working Pattern: 37 hours per week, full-time, Monday to Friday, 09:00-17:00

Location: 2 roles based out of Crawley. 1 role based at Arun Civic Centre. (The use of Arun Civic Centre is currently initially expected to be in place for three years to April 2029. The substantive hub for your service is Worthing and therefore, there is the potential for services to relocate to Worthing in the future.)

Please note: You must be able to travel throughout the county including to locations that are not always accessible by public transport.There is a regular and intrinsic requirement to communicate in English with members of the public.

We will review applications on a regular basis and interview when we have sufficient suitable applicants – please do not delay applying if interested.

Interview date: 16th December 2026

Are you looking for the next stage in your career?

Do you hold a Post Graduate Diploma in Education Mental Health?

Do you have experience working with children and young people in an education setting?

As an Education Mental Health Professional (EMHP), you will be based within our Mental Health Support Team (MHST), working alongside various mental health professionals.

You will work in education settings and in the community delivering a range of evidence informed interventions, under supervision. You will undertake mental health assessments (including risk assessments), and interventions based on the Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) model.

You will work directly with children and young people of primary and secondary school age, and in some cases their parents and carers. You will support MHST work to develop and deliver whole school approaches to emotional wellbeing and mental health.

If you are interested in making a difference to children’s lives whilst working in a supportive team with a role that offers variety and challenge, we would love to hear from you.

For more information on the Key Skills, Qualifications and/or Experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached.

Please refer to the key skills in your cover letter as these will be used for shortlisting criteria.

Our Mental Health Support Team is made up of over 70 professionals, and we are continuing to increase our services to support the growing needs of our communities in West Sussex.

You will be working within our Mental Health Support Team (MHST) on exciting new initiatives and an important strand of the Government’s 2017 Green Paper ‘Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision’.

For more information, please visit our Instagram WS Thoughtfull page and our WSCC Services for Education website.

Education Mental Health Practitioners make a real difference in supporting Mental Health in Children and Young People.

We have many development and progression opportunities within our Mental Health Support Team:

Qualified Mental Health Practitioner from £41,177 per annum.

Senior Mental Health Practitioner from £49,817 per annum.

Is self-motivated and an effective team player.

Demonstrates integrity, openness, and an awareness of others.

Has excellent time management, organisational, and communication and interpersonal skills.

Has a good knowledge of the education system and of evidenced based Mental Health interventions and a passion for bringing the two together.

You will need to be able to demonstrate personal resilience as some cases may be sensitive, traumatic, or potentially emotionally distressing. You will need to be able to travel independently to carry out assessments, and there will be periodic physical requirements to this role.

Please refer to the key skills in your cover letter as these will be used for shortlisting criteria.

For more information on the Key Skills, Qualifications and/or Experience required, please refer to the Job Description.

As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance, and are rewarded for the work they do.

For a full list this can be found at our Rewards and Benefits page.

Upon joining us you will have access to a range of benefits including the following:

Annual leave: 27 days holiday + Bank Holidays = 35days

The reference number for this role is 248.

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Fran Ruocco (Team Manager – Thought Full) at Frances.Ruocco@westsussex.gov.uk.

To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and Cover Letter.

In your cover letter please outline your motivations for applying and explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.

We recognise applicants may use AI tools to support their application. This might include assistance with structuring content, improving clarity, or checking spelling and grammar. The council values authentic applications, in you own words, which reflect your experience and skills and how these align with our values. During assessment and interview stages, candidates may be asked to expand upon, or demonstrate, the experience they have described in their application. To help you structure your responses, use this guidance on the STARR technique. Applications found to contain misleading, false or wholly AI-generated content may be rejected.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults. This post is subject an enhanced DBS check, five years referencing, and an occupational health check.

Equity, inclusion, and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application helppage.

If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application, please contact Kerry Joad Recruitment Specialist, at kerry.joad@westsussex.gov.uk