Children and Young People (CYP) Connected Minds Practitioner
Dorset Mind
Role Description
Job Title: Children and Young People (CYP) Connected Minds Practitioner
Responsible to: Waiting Well Service Team Leader
Relating to: Services
Pay Scale: B2 - £12.78/hour. Hours will be offered in line with service demand
and programme delivery requirements. There is no obligation on Dorset Mind to offer
work, nor on the post holder to accept work offered
Contract: 0-hours contract
Based: Various venues across Dorset
Conditions: Enhanced DBS check required for this role. A full driving licence and use of a car is required to deliver the role.
Context
Connected Minds is an 8-week group programme for 10-13-year-olds experiencing low school attendance/engagement and associated mental health concerns.
We empower young people to look after their own mental health and wellbeing by giving them the information and tools required to do so. We encourage young people to explore their feelings and emotions and develop a toolkit to address these issues going forward.
We are looking for someone who is experienced in working with young people and is passionate about mental health and wellbeing. The role is community based across various locations in Dorset and will involve face to face work with CYP, liaising with schools, family hubs and statutory partners.
The Connected Minds programme is part-funded by our Waiting Well project which aims to help young people maintain their mental health and wellbeing whilst waiting for statutory services.
Main scope of the role
To champion Dorset Mind’s vision and mission through facilitating interactive and inclusive face-to-face group sessions, aimed at nurturing the mental health and wellbeing of young people aged 10-13.
The post holder will offer a high-quality programme and create a supportive environment that practices active listening, mindfulness techniques and provides emotional support.
The work will involve coordinating and delivering all aspects of the services offered, including handling enquiries and referrals, session preparation and delivery, data collection and input, case management and onward referrals.
Key Responsibilities
To create the Vision of Dorset Mind:
A community where living with and talking about Mental Health becomes acceptable for everyone.
Through the delivery of our Purpose we:
Connect minds: We bring people together to make change in their communities.
Change minds: We speak out and demand better from policymakers and the public.
Support minds: We deliver life-changing support.
To establish an excellent working relationship with local primary, middle and secondary schools in Dorset so that young people most in need are referred onto the Connected Minds programme
To establish an excellent working relationship with Family Hubs and statutory partners in Dorset so that young people most in need are referred onto the Connected Minds programme
To develop and maintain positive relationships with teaching, pastoral staff and parents to promote the service and to encourage referrals.
To establish good working relationships with venues used to deliver the programme including carrying out risk assessments, safety checks and setting up a comfortable environment for the young people.
To support the delivery of the Connected Minds programme within the Christchurch locality.
To evolve delivery in response to the needs of the young people.
To identify and assess needs of the young people and offer emotional support and/or signpost as appropriate.
To report any issues, feedback, or complaints to the reporting manager in a timely manner.
To handle any safeguarding concerns in accordance with Dorset Mind and school safeguarding policies and procedures.
To ensure the services remains compliant with statutory, legal, and best practice obligations and Dorset Mind policies.
Administration tasks
To manage a caseload of participants including completing necessary assessments and paperwork with support from schools, statutory partners and your team leader/manager.
mind Dorset
To prepare resources for the group sessions.
To record participant and service data information in relevant systems.
To support in evaluating and monitoring the effectiveness of the programme.
To attend planning meetings to reflect, monitor and develop the programme
To attend supervision and reflective practice meetings
General Duties
Undergo and actively participate in training relevant to the role internally or externally.
Report participant feedback, complaints, or concerns in a timely manner.
Ensure that duties are carried out in accordance with statutory, legal, and best practice obligations and Dorset Mind policies and procedures.
Attend and participate in support sessions, team meetings and annual appraisals.
Travel around Dorset.
Undertake other duties as may be required from time to time commensurate with the level and nature of the post.
Person Specification
| QUALIFICATIONS | |
| Relevant qualification for the role equivalent to (but not specifically) NVQLevel 3 in Health & Social Care. | Essential |
| Additional coaching or therapeutic qualification. | Desirable |
| KNOWLEDGE | |
| Familiar with the visions and mission of Dorset Mind and the Mind network | Essential |
| Familiar with the role of the voluntary sector | Desirable |
| Knowledge of mental health conditions, appropriate evidenced treatmentmodels, coping skills, psychoeducation, self-management tools and thera-peutic approaches | Essential |
| Knowledge and understanding of the stigma associated with mental healthand wellbeing challenges | Essential |
| An understanding on how to promote and maintain good mental health in-cluding understanding the benefits movement, learning new skills and regularsocial contact | Essential |
| Knowledge of Children and Young People Safeguarding Procedures | Essential |
| SKILLS & ABILITIES | |
| Self-motivated and able to work on own initiative | Essential |
| Strong interpersonal skills and being able to actively listen, empathise,negotiate, be assertive and mediate when necessary | Essential |
| Competent IT skills including MS Office 365 and video conferencing soft-ware such as MS Teams or Zoom | Essential |
| Ability to always remain professional and work within set boundaries | Essential |
| Ability to work efficiently as part of a team or on one's own | Essential |
| Excellent time management and organisational skills to balance a busy work-load | Essential |
| Ability to work flexibly to meet the demands of the service, both in terms ofhours and role | Essential |
| EXPERIENCE | |
| Experience working in a similar setting | Essential |
| Experience of working with young people (aged 11-18) with mental health dif-ficulties | Essential |
| Experience in developing community services | Desirable |
| Professional or lived experience of mental health and wellbeing challenges | Desirable |
| VALUES | |
| Honest | Essential |
| Open | Essential |
| Passionate | Essential |
| Experienced | Essential |
| OTHER | |
| A wilingness to support Dorset Mind events, including some evenings andweekends | Desirable |