Trainee Education Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP)

Job summary

In line with the governments priority to increase access and availability of mental health and wellbeing support for children and young people, the Education Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP) role is an exciting opportunity to deliver evidence-based early interventions for children and young people, working across both educational settings and healthcare sectors in England.

Main duties of the job

This is a training position post holder will undertake training at Kings College London alongside working in service for Croydon Drop In. They will be taught to deliver evidence based guided self-help interventions for children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties. The post holder will use their newly developed skills to support children and young people who are referred into the service and trainees will receive supervision to support their professional development.

Applicants will need to be ready to start work in early/mid-January 2026 and posts cannot be offered to candidates unless they can guarantee this start date.

Shortlisted candidates will also need to submit an application form to KCL for a place on the Diploma in Education Mental Health Practice. The application form details are linked below and will need to be completed at the same time as your application for a post.

Interview dates: w/c 27th October 2025

About us

Croydon Drop In (CDI) has been serving children and young people in the London Borough of Croydon since 1978. We are deeply embedded in and trusted by local communities. Each year, we work with over 5,000 children, young people and families, providing life-changing support, advice and guidance.

We are a proud member of Youth Access and operate a Youth Information, Advice and Counselling Service (YIACS), partnering closely with the NHS, Local Authority, Education Providers, the Police and other Voluntary and Community Sectors organisations.

Since 2019, CDI has grown rapidly, with the largest growth being the expansion of our therapeutic services and outreach support. Our income has grown to £1.9m and our focus is now on consolidating our position and ensuring our infrastructure, processes and governance are robust to support our continued growth and long-term sustainability.

What do we offer?

Generous Annual Leave entitlement

Employee Assistance Programme cover via Healthshield

Annual organisation team day out

CPD training days

Employer Pension Scheme

Regular supervision

Job description

Job responsibilities

We are seeking to recruit 1 graduate level practitioners to provide guided self-help therapy and parenting interventions. These posts are salaried at NHS Agenda for Change band 4 and fully funded for a one year post graduate diploma in Education Mental Health Practice through Kings College London. Further intensive supervision and on the job training will be provided by an experienced supervisor within each team. There will be a strong expectation for trainees to continue in post on successful completion of the one year training, with a salary increase to NHS Band 5 scale for the second year onwards.

Successful candidates will be employed on a full-time basis within a Mental Health Support Team delivering individual, group and workshop-based mental health interventions within a borough-based cluster of schools.

During training, the post-holders will work under close supervision to gain experience across healthcare and educational settings to enable them to gain the level of competence required to deliver high-quality, evidence-based early interventions for children and young people experiencing mild to moderate mental health problems.

Person Specification
Experience
Essential

• Qualification:

• Undergraduate degree, upper second class or above, in Psychology OR related subject (e.g., Psychology, Education, Childhood development, Social Work etc), OR any subject with further training or experience in a relevant field (e.g., Teaching/TA; Learning Support; HCA; Youth Work; Counselling etc)

OR

• Relevant professional experience in CYP Mental Health/Education/Mentorship (to be considered on a case-by-case basis)

• Strong communication skills

• The ability to work cohesively within small teams

• Motivation to learn and to be challenged

• The ability to use feedback and adapt accordingly

• Good organisational skills

• Experience of working within a mental health setting and / or school pastoral care

• Experience of working with children and an understanding of how to talk with them

• Commitment to using data and relevant measures to assess clinical outcomes

Please read the Job Description and Person Specification before applying for the role.

Please note that an application to Kings College London Post Graduate Diploma in Education Mental Health Practice needs to be made alongside your application to Croydon Drop In. It is important that you read the attached guidance, linked guidance below:

KCL EMHP Jan 2026 – Programme Brochure.pdf

KCL EMHP Jan 2026 – Application Guidance.pdf

Please contact cyp-mh@kcl.ac.uk if you have any questions about the course.

Please contact hr@croydondropin.org.ukif you have any questions about the job role.