Job summary
- Main area
- Children & Adolescent Services
- Grade
- Band 6 to progress to band 7 on completion of agreed competencies.
- Contract
- Fixed term: 13 months (Short Term Funding)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 222-LS-CAMHS-768
- Employer
- West London NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Heart of Hounslow Health Centre
- Town
- Hounslow
- Salary
- £44,485 - £60,651 per annum inclusive
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 09/03/2026 23:59
Employer heading
CAMHS Early Years (0 to 5) Practitioner (T&P)
Band 6 to progress to band 7 on completion of agreed competencies.
West London NHS Trust provides a full range of mental health, community and physical healthcare services for children, adults and older people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow.
We also provide some specialist services that are commissioned regionally, such as our medium secure services; and nationally, such as the Cassel Hospital for people with complex and severe personality disorder and our high secure services at Broadmoor Hospital.
Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Band 6–7 CAMHS Specialist Early Years Mental Health Practitioner to join the specialist CAMHS 0–5s Team within West London NHS Trust. This training and progression role is designed for practitioners already qualified in one of the core CAMHS disciplines (e.g., psychology, psychotherapy, nursing, social work, family therapy, OT) who are seeking to develop specialist expertise in infant and early childhood mental health.
The 0–5s Team sits within a vibrant, multidisciplinary CAMHS service that includes psychologists, child psychotherapists, art psychotherapy and RtT Early Years Mental Health Trainees. The early years pathway is a growing area of service development, and this new role reflects ongoing investment in expanding high‑quality, evidence‑based provision for infants, young children, and their families.
The postholder will deliver specialist assessment and intervention for children aged 0–5 and their parents/carers, supporting families where there are emerging concerns around emotional development, behaviour, attachment, or the parent–child relationship. Interventions may include dyadic work, parent–infant approaches, behavioural and relational interventions, and multi‑agency consultation.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will join the newly established and expanding CAMHS 0–5s Team within West London NHS Trust, a specialist early years mental health service aligned with the Best Start for Life vision and the NHS Long Term Plan. This Band 6–7 progression post offers an exciting opportunity for a practitioner from a core CAMHS discipline to develop advanced skills in infant and early childhood mental health.
The role will span the boroughs of Ealing and Hounslow, with the team co‑located across CAMHS clinics and local authority children’s centres/family hubs, supporting strong partnership working and early access for families.
A key component of the role will be delivering specialist assessment and intervention for children aged 0–5 and their parents/carers. This includes completing comprehensive early years assessments, formulating within a developmental and relational framework, and offering evidence‑based interventions such as individual Incredible Years, VIPP (Video Interaction Guidance–based interventions), and co‑facilitating weekly Incredible Years Parenting Programme groups in each borough.
The practitioner will also contribute to early identification and prevention by attending universal stay‑and‑play sessions, offering consultation to early years professionals, and supporting pathways that help families access help at the earliest opportunity
Working for our organisation
West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation.
Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ 4,500 staff, of whom 56% are BME. Our turnover for 2023-24 is £426m.
The Trust is rated as ‘Good’ overall by the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as ‘Outstanding’.
The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached.
The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- A Minimum of a Second-class Bachelor’s degree from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard in a relevant subject e.g. psychology, and further relevant training eg Children’s Wellbeing Practitioner or Education Mental Health Practitioner course. AND/ OR Qualification in an appropriate mental health profession (such as Nursing, Social Work, OT, Counselling or Clinical Psychology, Family Therapy or Child Psychotherapy) and registration with relevant UK governing body
- Training in Incredible Years Parenting Intervention
Desirable criteria
- PGDip in CYP-IAPT Infant Mental Health or Early Years Mental Health
- Qualification in therapeutic approaches with children and families eg Video Interaction Guidance (VIG), Video Intervention for Positive Parenting (VIPP)
- Youth Mental Health First Aid trained.
skills/ competencies
Essential criteria
- Ability to carry out 1:1 therapeutic mental health interventions with children age 0-5 and families.
- Ability to conduct group parenting programmes.
- Ability to conduct mental health assessments of young children.
- Ability to make an assessment of risk and to record and communicate it appropriately
- Ability take appropriate action to mitigate or manage risk.
- Ability to organise own time and diary and that of junior staff and learners.
Desirable criteria
- Ability to conduct other group therapeutic interventions with children and their families.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Knowledge of safeguarding issues.
- Knowledge of capacity and consent issues including Gillick competence.
- Understanding of child development, in particular development of children age 0-5.
- Understanding of evidence based practice and the ability to demonstrate how this influences clinical practice.
- Ability to be an autonomous practitioner whilst being able to work as an integral part of a multi-agency locality team.
- Be committed to anti discriminatory/ anti oppressive practice and equal opportunity.
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge of the functional operation of specialist CAMHS teams
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
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
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Edwin fenn
- Job title
- Clinical Team Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
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