Skip to main content
Please wait, loading

Job summary

Main area
Mental Health
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 7
Contract
6 months (6 months fixed term)
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
363-SSLB7601866
Employer
East London NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
North Beds CAMHS
Town
Bedford
Salary
£47,810 - £54,710 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
28/11/2025 23:59

Employer heading

East London NHS Foundation Trust logo

Senior LAC (Looked after children) CAMHS Practitioner

NHS AfC: Band 7

ELFT has long been recognised as a centre of excellence for mental and health care, innovation and improvement. So it is a very exciting time for you to come and work for us. Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

Job overview

Senior LAC (Looked after children) CAMHS Practitioner (Fixed term for 6 months, Maternity cover)
Bedfordshire and Luton CAMHS Looked after Children team

We are excited to be recruiting into a Band 7 post for senior LAC CAMHS practitioner to in Bedfordshire and Luton CAMHS Looked After Children’s Team. The post is a 6 month fixed term post to cover Maternity leave in the team. We are looking for someone to join us who has passion and experience of working with looked after children and able to contribute positively to the growing team.

Main duties of the job

We are looking for a dynamic and highly motivated individual, with a strong professional identity to work as part of an integrated multi-disciplinary team. You will work with children and adolescents who have highly complex and persistent mental health difficulties, using evidence based practice to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions. You will provide a range of highly skilled therapeutic trauma-informed interventions, which will be delivered on an individual, group or family basis, provide consultations to social workers/foster carers, provide support to professional networks working with the children in care, and share specialist skills to the multi-disciplinary team.

Working for our organisation

Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post will be based in Luton and will support the recently expanded offer to include Luton CAMHS. We aim to build upon a service which is established within Bedford and Dunstable. The team works with looked after children including those placed on SGO orders and Unaccompanied asylum seeking children. There are many opportunities for development with the team and being a part of a wider collaborative CAMHS service.

Person specification

Education/ Qualification/ Training

Essential criteria
  • A qualification in Child Psychotherapy, Clinical or Counselling Psychology, Occupational therapy, Family Therapy, Social Work or Nursing & Registration Please do not apply for this role if you do not have one of the qualifications listed above Nursing • Registered Mental Health/Learning Disabilities Nurse • Relevant post-graduate qualification in Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Substance mis-use or equivalent (e.g. ENB 603) Social Work • Recognized Social Work qualification such as Diploma in Social Work with an MA in Social Studies, or Degree level Social Work qualification or CQSW. Clinical psychology • Postgraduate Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) Family Therapy • Qualification in appropriate mental health/social welfare profession such as Social Work, Clinical Psychology, Nursing or Counselling • Masters or Doctoral level qualification in Systemic Psychotherapy or AFT agreed equivalent • UKCP Registered Child Psychotherapy • Honours degree. Postgraduate Diploma/MA in Psychoanalytical Observational Studies or recognised equivalent. Masters in Psychoanalytical Psychotherapy: Child and Adolescent. • Registered member of ACP Counselling Psychology • Postgraduate Doctorate in Counselling Psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to Doctorate program introduced) • Registration with HCPC Occupational Therapy • Diploma or degree in Occupational Therapy • State Registration • Fieldwork educator training • Experience of CPD and role development activities • Sensory Integration Training

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Previous 12 months experience of working in CAMHS
  • Experience of working with a wide range of CAMHS problems
  • Experience of care planning
  • Experience of working in a culturally diverse Inner city area
  • Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary way
  • Experience in crisis work
Desirable criteria
  • Experience in working with children and young people looked after and the care system in their mode of therapy.

Knowledge and Skills

Essential criteria
  • Evidence of well-developed clinical skills and knowledge in CAMHS
  • Skilled in emergency and crisis assessments
  • Specialist clinical skills within in specific therapeutic modalities
  • Able to manage own time and caseload
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills Evidence of ability to lead, support and influence others
  • Able to work effectively across organisational boundaries
  • A high degree of self-awareness and an ability to reflect on personal and professional attitudes and accept feedback
  • Awareness of current national guidelines and policies in the field of CAMHS
  • Specific knowledge of pertinent issues for CAMHS
  • In depth knowledge of CAMHS issues including assessment and interventions
  • Knowledge of The Mental Health Act 1983 (amended 2007) and associated legislation
  • Knowledge of the Children’s Act and other appropriate legislation
  • Knowledge of standard setting and audit implementation
  • An awareness of different research methods
  • A working knowledge of Child Protection Guidelines
  • Teaching skills, both in clinical setting and education centres
  • Basic computer skills
Desirable criteria
  • Knowledge of development in inter agency partnership

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Capital Nurse, LondonCommitted to being an Inclusive EmployerApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyPositive about disabled peopleAge positiveHSJ Best places to workArmed Forces Covenant (Silver Award)Mindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Disability confident employerCare quality commission - OutstandingStonewall equality policy. Equality and justice for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Katelina Fusco
Job title
Clinical Team Lead
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
01234 893300
Apply online nowAlert me to similar vacancies