As a Mental Health Practitioner/Counsellor, you will effectively manage all aspects of the Place2Be provision in partnership with the school ensuring that the children and young people are provided with therapeutic and emotional support, high quality clinical practice and delivery of a full and effective service in Place2Be schools. This includes undertaking clinical assessments and formulations and 1-1 intervention work.

Our new roles in Tayside will deliver 121 counselling for children and young people in the school communities we will be supporting. In the first instance, this job is for 14 months, but we anticipate, that with professional delivery of the service over this time, this period is likely to be extended. We recognise that not all candidates will have extensive experience counselling children. Place2Be will provide support and training to upskill the right candidate.

We welcome applications from qualified counsellors who feel that although they may not meet all the requirements for this role, they have an energy and passion for working with young people in other settings. Demonstrating a willingness and enthusiasm to learn are key components and each application will be looked at individually.

You'll ensure high quality clinical practice and delivery of a full and effective service in Place2Be schools, by undertaking clinical assessments and formulations, identifying and delivering appropriate clinical interventions for children and young people, establishing positive, active and effective relationships with the school and Place2Be management team and actively participating in staff meetings to share best practice and develop clinical thinking, knowledge and learning.

Diversity and Inclusion

Place2Be is committed to equal opportunities and anti-discrimination practices and we positively encourage applications from all sections of the community. We are particularly interested in attracting applications from applicants from diverse groups.

Additionally, for our clinical roles we are particularly keen in attracting male candidates to reflect the diversity of the partner schools and communities we work in.

All successful applicants to clinical roles will be asked to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure from the DBS/PVG.

We are an organisation that is fully committed to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults and take this responsibility seriously.

About You

The successful candidate:

Will have a recognised clinical qualification with substantial post-qualifying experience, along with a good knowledge of the school environment. Most important of all is your approach; we are an exciting, dynamic organisation doing amazing work so we're looking for people with the enthusiasm and commitment to match our own.

You will:

• hold a recognised clinical qualification (in counselling, psychotherapy, clinical psychology)
• have a recognised membership of a relevant professional body (BACP/ PTUK/ UKCP/NCS/BPS)
• possess post qualification experience in a clinical role and an understanding of working with people and schools
• demonstrates knowledge and understanding of the importance of embedding Assessment and Formulation in clinical practice
• develop project plans into sensible, timely actions that meet the expectations of the school and more senior colleagues; understands the need for efficiency and timelines in delivery
• displays effective, well-organised management of their school project

Please note only counsellors or psychotherapists should apply, and they can be registered with BACP or COSCA

In return we offer you a range of fantastic benefits including:

• Enhanced Annual Leave entitlement
• Robust Learning and Development Programme
• Contributory Pension Scheme
• Life Assurance, 4x Annual Salary
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Mobile Phone Discounts (EE Network)
• Cycle purchase and season ticket loan schemes
• Extended Maternity/Paternity Pay

If you share our core values of perseverance, integrity, compassion and creativity and have the counselling skills and patience to support some of the UK’s most vulnerable young people and families, we would love you to join us. It’s sensitive and demanding work – but hugely rewarding and fulfilling - you will be helping to give young people a brighter future.

Closing date: 2nd April 2023

Interview date: to be arranged, ZOOM Video Interview

To find out more about the role and to apply, please visit our website

Please feel free to contact our Recruitment team via jobs@place2be.org.uk if you you have any questions about this role.

About Us

Place2Be is the leading children's mental health charity providing in-school support and expert professional development to improve the emotional wellbeing of children and young people, families, teachers and school staff. The charity currently provides an embedded mental health service in 500 UK primary and secondary schools supporting a school community of around 243,000 children and young people.

Our teams provide a range of services in our partner schools to build resilience early in life through counselling, creative work and play and support a child’s ability to engage in school life. Our work, focused on early intervention, is part of the comprehensive CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) system.

Through our professional development programme, we are training around 1,200 Counsellors on Placement each year who build their mental health and counselling skills and experience through practice in our partner schools. We also provide a range of professional development programmes on mental health and wellbeing for school leaders, teachers and other professionals who work with children and young people, so we can help to build ‘mentally healthy’ schools and communities where all children can thrive and flourish.

We continue to pilot, trial and explore new ways in which we can develop our practice as well as share learning, expertise and findings from the robust evidence and evaluation we gather. HRH The Princess of Wales is our Royal Patron and Place2Be is one of the founding charity partners of Heads Together. We also work collaboratively with a range of charities and expert organisations to leverage best-in-class knowledge and expertise to inform, develop and improve outcomes for the children, families and schools we support. We ask our staff team to share our core values of perseverance, integrity, compassion and creativity, and to have the skills and patience to support some of the UK’s most vulnerable children and families.

Our values:

We believe that how we approach our work is as important as the work itself. Our four key values shape everything we do:

Compassion– We bring empathy and kindness to all we do, to better understand and meet the needs of children and young people, colleagues and other stakeholders.

Integrity– We demonstrate sound ethical values in all our work, and we are honest, transparent, courageous and authentic.

Perseverance– We have the courage to continue in the face of adversity and do this with determination to find effective solutions.

Creativity – We bring an open-minded approach and flexibility to our thinking and actions and enable others to do the same.