Wellbeing Support Practitioner – Pathway to Trainee
Job Description

Service:
Job Title:
Reports To:
Location:

Mental Health & Wellbeing Team
Wellbeing Support Practitioner – Pathway to EMHP Trainee

Hybrid working; between home, Young Somerset bases countywide and other
community delivery locations

Main Purpose of Post:
To support vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people with emerging emotional and
mental health needs, through non-clinical interventions, participation work, and engagement
activities across schools and communities in Somerset. This role serves as a developmental pathway
towards becoming an Education Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP) Trainee.
Main Responsibilities and Duties:
Service Access and Navigation

•  Be a key point of contact for requests for support, triaging referrals, signposting, and

ensuring a smooth journey through the service.

•  Provide accurate information and guidance to CYP, parents/carers, and professionals about

available support within Young Somerset and externally.

Wellbeing Support Delivery

•  Co-design and deliver non-clinical, preventative, and early intervention activities (e.g.

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groupwork, workshops, school drop-ins).
Support CYP and families to build emotional resilience, self-regulation, and wellbeing
strategies.
Facilitate group-based and 1:1 work aligned with low-intensity CBT principles (as appropriate
under supervision).

•  Record activity and outcomes using appropriate digital systems, ensuring high standards of

data quality and confidentiality.

Participation and Co-production

•  Embed young people’s voices in service design through participation sessions, feedback

forums, and youth-led projects.

•  Promote and deliver engagement activities that contribute to the Whole School Approach to

mental health.

Learning and Development

•  Engage in structured learning and reflective supervision to build readiness for a Trainee

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Practitioner role.
Shadow EMHPs, CWPs and Infant and Early Years Practitioners delivering low-intensity CBT
interventions.

•  Attend regular CPD sessions and internal training in preparation for training eligibility.

Collaboration and Partnership

•  Work collaboratively with schools, local authorities, CAMHS, parents, and other VCSE

organisations to ensure a holistic support approach.

•  Promote Young Somerset’s mental health services through community and school networks.

Facts and Figures:
Young Somerset (YS) was established in 1997 (as Somerset Rural Youth Project) with a mission to

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work with young people, encouraging them to take responsibility, supporting them to overcome
disadvantage, and to become actively involved in shaping the communities in which they live.

Our vision is a Somerset where young people feel a sense of belonging, a desire to contribute to
their communities and have a future that is not limited by poor access to opportunities and services.
This is delivered through three core strands of work: Targeted Youth Work, Alternative Education
Provision and Enterprise; and Mental Health Support.

During the past year, Young Somerset’s Community Wellbeing and Educational Mental Health
Services received more than 1800 requests for support, predominantly from young people aged 11-
17.  Our Jigsaw Project, which supports young people who have had a recent hospital admission for
their mental health difficulties or low emotional wellbeing, delivers in the region of 600 contacts a
year and is aimed at reducing readmission to hospital using a youth-work strengths-focused
approach.  Our Targeted Youth Service provides targeted youth work activities and interventions to
approximately 500 young people a year, a percentage of which are referrals from Special Schools,
Pupil Referral Units, the Police or social services.

Young Somerset deals with in excess of 200 safeguarding concerns a year, which is growing as the
organisation expands and diversifies.

Young Somerset provides a confidential listening service for young people called Mindline; an
emotional support and mental health helpline, open 9am - 10pm, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Young Somerset has grown rapidly in recent years and currently employs approx 120 members of
staff and several volunteers; over half of which work in direct support of high need young people
and/or those with mild to moderate mental health needs.

All Young Somerset staff are expected to work approximately 40% of their hours outside of the
home, which may include delivery, meetings attendance or partnership events.
Additional Information
The postholder must be able to demonstrate commitment and enthusiasm towards Young
Somerset’s four core values: Putting Young People First, Inspiring, Collaborating, Going Further.

An Enhanced DBS clearance is required as post holder will be working in close proximity to children.
This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Acts.

The post holder will be required to maintain a suitable, confidential space to work from home.

The salary is £25,500.

Holiday entitlement is 27 days, plus 8 Bank Holidays (pro rata for part time staff), with an additional
5 days after 5 years service (pro rata for part time staff).

The postholder may be required to work some evenings and weekends.

Progression Opportunity

This post is designed as a developmental role and will provide the necessary support and exposure
to build a strong foundation for applying to the Practitioner training programme, typically delivered
via a one-year postgraduate course in partnership with Exeter University, within the next 12 – 18
months (dependent on cohort timing).

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Qualifications
Essential

•  Degree or willingness to engage in degree-level apprenticeship
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•  Experience of working or volunteering with children and young people.

Level 5 Qualification

Experience

•  Passionate about supporting young people’s mental health and wellbeing.
•  Understanding of the challenges CYP face and awareness of trauma-informed and person-

centred approaches.

•  Excellent communication and relationship-building skills with CYP and professionals.
•  Willingness and ability to travel across Somerset.

Desirable

•  Experience in educational, community or youth work settings.
•  Understanding of the EMHP role and low-intensity CBT.
•  Commitment to pursuing professional training (EMHP) within the next 12 – 18 months

(dependent on cohort timing).

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