MHST Trainee Education Mental Health Practitioner

As a Trainee EMHP, your responsibilities will include:

Clinical duties

Under supervision, assess and manage a caseload of children and young people (CYP).

Deliver low-intensity, evidence-based interventions such as guided self-help, group sessions.

Deliver assemblies in schools and psychoeducation to parents, staff and young people

Collaborate with CYP, families, and educators to co-produce care plans and agree on treatment outcomes.

Conduct risk assessments and follow safeguarding procedures.

Promote inclusive, anti-discriminatory practices and engage with issues of power, diversity, and equity.

Administrative and Communication Duties

Maintain accurate and confidential documentation.

Communicate effectively with CYP, families, colleagues, and external partners.

Support caseload planning and administration.

Contribute to the development of clinical and training materials.

As a Trainee EMHP, you will work alongside experienced mental health professionals to support children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties. Through evidence-based interventions and close collaboration with schools, families and young people, you will help build resilience, improve emotional wellbeing and ensure support is available when it is needed most.

This is a full-time, year-long employment and training programme, leading to qualification as an Education Mental Health Practitioner.

You will undertake a fully funded Postgraduate Certificate/Diploma with:

The programme combines academic learning with supervised clinical practice, enabling you to develop both professionally and academically while making a real difference from day one.

University of East Anglia offers both a PGDip and a PGCert.

Postgraduate Route

Applicants for the Postgraduate Diploma must provide evidence of academic attainment at degree level or above.

Graduate route

We welcome graduate entry applicants. Applicants for the Graduate Diploma will need to demonstrate their ability to work at degree level and should provide evidence in their application of their previous academic attainment; this should include good basic numeracy and literacy qualifications at a minimum of level 2. Successful applicants to the graduate route will be offered access to additional support throughout their training to ensure that they are able to meet the academic requirements of the course.

PGDip Educational Mental Health Practitioner 2026/27 | UEA

What We're Looking For

We are seeking enthusiastic, compassionate and motivated individuals who:

Have the ability to study successfully at postgraduate level

Are passionate about improving outcomes for children and young people

Have an understanding of mental health and emotional wellbeing

Can build positive and supportive relationships with young people, families and professionals

Ideally have experience working with children and young people

Experience within education settings is welcomed but not essential.

Why Join Us? You'll be joining a well-established and highly experienced Mental Health Support Team, where learning, development and wellbeing are at the heart of what we do.

We offer

Location

This role is based in North East Essex during your training year, supporting children and young people across:

Colchester

Tendring

Ready to Make a Difference?

This is more than a training programme. It's an opportunity to launch a fulfilling career while helping children and young people access the support they need to thrive.

NELFT NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health and community services for over 4.9 million people living in the London Boroughs of Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Barking and Dagenham, Havering, and across Essex.

We work to ensure our patients, their friends and family, feel confident that their health needs are well met. With an excellent reputation for research and development, our skilled health professionals are at the cutting edge of evidence-based innovation, opening up the possibilities for better ways of working and delivery of care.

Qualifications

Experience