School Mental Health Team Leader

We are looking for a School Mental Health Team Leader to establish, lead and manage a team of four School Mental Health Practitioners (SMHPs) working across eight secondary schools.

The SMHTL will develop and have oversight of the new Harris School Mental Health Team (SMHT) service and will report to the Harris Federation Senior Lead Consultant and Director of Secondary Schools. The SMHTL will oversee the work of the four SMHPs, with each SMHP working in two Harris secondary schools to ensure we maintain a high-quality service and provide continuity of support for our students.

About Us

The Harris Federation is a leading education charity with 52 Harris primary and secondary academies across London and Essex. The founder, Chairman and sponsor of the Harris Federation, Lord Harris of Peckham, opened our first school in 1990. We now educate some 38,000 young people and closing the gap between children from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers has always been a core mission.

The Harris Federation has a track record of having a transformational impact on students' life chances. The Department for Education and the educational charity the Sutton Trust have recognised the excellent progress made by our students and especially those who are disadvantaged. We strive to improve the outcomes and experiences of all our students and particularly those facing mental health challenges.

Main Areas of Responsibility

The aim of the School Mental Health Team Leader's (SMHTL's) role is to:

• lead in the overall development of the Harris School Mental Health Team's service across eight secondary schools for students, their teachers and their families/carers;
• lead a team of four School Mental Health Practitioners (SMHPs) in setting up and delivering an integrated mental health service within eight secondary schools (students aged 11-18);
• provide regular clinical supervision to the SMHPs, monitor caseloads, offer support and guidance;
• lead, manage and support SMHPs, individually and as a team, in their:
• offer of evidence-based clinical assessments and specialist mental health interventions to young people who are experiencing mild to moderate mental health issues in each of their two schools;
• provision of a range of mental health prevention and wellbeing advice to students to address a range of common adolescent emotional, behavioural and relationship difficulties within each SMHP's two schools;
• expedition of access to external services for troubled students as appropriate, including supporting those with more severe needs in accessing the correct support;
• work as part of each school's wider multi-disciplinary team (e.g. with the school's Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), safeguarding team, wellbeing team, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) team and teachers, as appropriate).
• deliver, monitor and review the SMHT's interventions and other work within the eight schools, and provide termly and annual SMHTL reports to the Harris Senior Lead Consultant and Director of Secondary exploring the services being provided by the SMHT and identifying strengths and areas for improvement etc;
• ensure that termly and annual SMHP reports are submitted by and reviewed with SMHPs to the SMHTL and relevant school leaders, detailing student access to the service provided in their two schools, the range of interventions provided and outcomes achieved;
• hold their own caseload of students, providing specialist interventions for their specific mental health issues, and liaising with parents, carers, staff and external agencies as needed;
• work collaboratively with SMHPs, staff, families and outside agencies to support referred students in line with the aims, objectives and development plan of each school;
• support and advise school and Harris Federation staff and help them feel confident on mental health, welfare, safeguarding, child protection and referral processes;
• support school staff in considering how safeguarding, welfare and educational outcomes are linked, including to inform the provision of academic and pastoral support;
• work collaboratively with the Harris Federation Senior Lead Consultant, Directory of Secondary Schools, senior school leaders of the eight schools and SMHPs to develop the wider service, share best practice and innovate.

A full list of responsibilities can be found in the Job Pack via the link.

Qualifications & Experience

The successful candidate will:

• Hold a graduate level degree in field relevant to the post (e.g., clinical psychology/ educational psychology/ social work/ mental health practitioner)
• Hold a recognised training qualification in youth counselling and/or evidence-based psychological therapy for children, young people and families
• Be registered with their relevant professional body (e.g. HCPC/BACP/PTUK/ UKCP/NCS)
• Have had post qualification training and supervised experience in a clinical role with children, young people and families who experience mental health difficulties
• Have had post qualification training and experience in a clinical role involving the supervision/leadership of others in their work with children, young people and families who experience mental health difficulties
• have significant post qualification experience within a relevant field of expertise
• Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the full range of emotional and mental health needs of young people and associated risk and protective factors
• Demonstrate skill and theoretical understanding of a range of evidence-based psychological therapeutic models relevant to troubled young people, and their families
• Have experience of and skills in undertaking clinical assessment, formulation and treatment planning alongside parents, carers and school staff based on child's needs
• Be able to plan and deliver evidence-based therapeutic interventions to address the full range of mental health disorders with a young person and their carer, as appropriate, hold regular reviews of clinical work and measure the outcomes
• Demonstrate knowledge of school environments and an understanding of the process of engaging young people who require or would benefit from emotional and therapeutic support within educational settings
• Be skilled in supporting parents and providing evidence-based parenting advice and interventions
• Be able to provide staff consultation and advice in a timely manner to sustain students' wellbeing
• Be able to work in partnership with specialist mental health providers and third sector agencies to support troubled students and families
• Be able to complete assessment and formulation of the full range of child and adolescent mental health disorders and related neurodevelopmental conditions and associated risk and protective factors
• Have the ability to undertake mental health risk assessments with children and young people, including suicidality and self-harm, eating disorders and sexually harmful behaviours
• Demonstrate a clear understanding of the needs of service users from diverse social and cultural backgrounds, and stakeholders and range of service provision offered to support them across designated schools
• Take an active approach to self-development and shows a commitment to continuous professional learning
• Show excellent planning, teaching, presentation and training delivery skills

Please download the Job Pack for a full person specification.