Job summary
Are you looking for a new and exciting challenge, are you highly motivated and innovative with excellent communication skills and a calm approach ?
An exciting opportunity has come up for a confident, enthusiastic and caring mental health support worker to join our friendly and dedicated team on Hedgehog our Children's Ward.
If you have the ability to interact well with children and young people, are passionate and willing to listen to what they have to say and are interested in learning and applying new skills then we would love to hear from you.
There are financially supported opportunities for you to develop your knowledge and skills including training on supporting Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Youth work with apprenticeships including a pathway into paediatric nursing registration.
Main duties of the job
This is an essential role within the team and you will have a real opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children, young people and their parents. You will support recovery and provide care to children and young people who are in a mental health or behavioural related crisis on the children's ward- ensuring the care experienced is positive and that the child/ young person's safety is maintained.
Having the right values and attitude to working in a busy and often challenging environment are essential. You will be supported by experienced and knowledgeable staff on the unit, including our Mental Health Liaison Nurses .
You will also pro-actively support the Registered Nurses to provide high quality, holistic, child centred care within the multi-disciplinary team. This will include giving clinical and personal care to other patients on the unit as required and helping the ward staff to maintain a suitable environment to provide the highest standard of care possible.
Although experience of working with healthcare, specifically mental health or learning disabilities is desirable - we would welcome individuals who have experience working with children and young people but do not have this experience on a band 2 to 3 apprenticeship pathway.
About us
MTW is a large acute hospital trust in the south-east of England.
We provide a full range of general hospital services and some aspects of specialist and complex care to around 600,000 people living in west Kent and East Sussex. We have a team of over 8,000 full and part-time staff. We also provide specialist cancer services to around 2 million people across Kent and East Sussex via the Kent Oncology Centre.
In the 2024 NHS staff survey, our employees ranked MTW among the top 10 NHS Trusts nationwide and the second-best Trust to work for in the South East.
Would you like to work flexibly? In the NHS, we are reminded every day of how important life is. As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us, for our patients and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Once your pre-employment checks have been completed you will be contacted by Recruitment to arrange your start date which will be in line with one of our Corporate Inductions.
Following your Corporate Induction you will be expected to attend the Trusts Clinical Induction Programme for Clinical Support Workers (which starts on the first day of employment). The programme is full-time (please contact the CSW Induction Programme Lead if this is going to be problematic:rallen@nhs.net), lasts for two weeks and will involve travelling to both Trust sites. The programme includes 2 supernumerary shifts in the clinical area (an early and a late shift), all of the other days are classroom-based and run from 9am to 5pm.
Please note that appointment to this post will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure & Barring Service Check at Enhanced Level. (Enhanced level now includes regulated checks against vulnerable adults and children).
At MTW, we seek to develop a culture where everyone can reach their full potential with opportunities to grow and develop their career. We recognise and value the unique contributions that each of our staff bring, delivering the best quality care and service to our patients. We are committed to being a diverse employer and strive to reflect everyone in our local communities. We welcome applications from people of diverse backgrounds, perspectives and experiences and celebrate the diversity of thought, viewpoints and ideas that will make our Trust the best place to work.
We support our staff with disabilities to ensure they have the adjustments they need to be the best they can be in the workplace. Collaborating with Access to Work means that our staff are assessed by experts in the workplace and we ensure that their recommendations are implemented as quickly as possible. You can find out more here: Access to Work: get support if you have a disability or health condition: What Access to Work is - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Interview Date: To be confirmed
Please note that this role may often attract a high level of applications. Please note this role may close earlier than the original closing date so please ensure you submit your application as soon as possible
Job description
Job responsibilities
Once your pre-employment checks have been completed you will be contacted by Recruitment to arrange your start date which will be in line with one of our Corporate Inductions.
Following your Corporate Induction you will be expected to attend the Trusts Clinical Induction Programme for Clinical Support Workers (which starts on the first day of employment). The programme is full-time (please contact the CSW Induction Programme Lead if this is going to be problematic:rallen@nhs.net), lasts for two weeks and will involve travelling to both Trust sites. The programme includes 2 supernumerary shifts in the clinical area (an early and a late shift), all of the other days are classroom-based and run from 9am to 5pm.
Please note that appointment to this post will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure & Barring Service Check at Enhanced Level. (Enhanced level now includes regulated checks against vulnerable adults and children).
At MTW, we seek to develop a culture where everyone can reach their full potential with opportunities to grow and develop their career. We recognise and value the unique contributions that each of our staff bring, delivering the best quality care and service to our patients. We are committed to being a diverse employer and strive to reflect everyone in our local communities. We welcome applications from people of diverse backgrounds, perspectives and experiences and celebrate the diversity of thought, viewpoints and ideas that will make our Trust the best place to work.
We support our staff with disabilities to ensure they have the adjustments they need to be the best they can be in the workplace. Collaborating with Access to Work means that our staff are assessed by experts in the workplace and we ensure that their recommendations are implemented as quickly as possible. You can find out more here: Access to Work: get support if you have a disability or health condition: What Access to Work is - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Interview Date: To be confirmed
Please note that this role may often attract a high level of applications. Please note this role may close earlier than the original closing date so please ensure you submit your application as soon as possible
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- NVQ/Diploma level 3 in Healthcare (or equivalent experience ) or successful completion of a level 3 Healthcare Support Worker or Youth worker apprenticeship.
- Functional skills English and maths level 2 or GCSE English and maths grades A*/9 - C/4.
- Care Certificate or required to achieve within 12 weeks of commencement
Desirable
- National youth agency accredited youth work qualification
- Diploma in child and adolescent mental health practice or equivalent experience
Experience/Knowledge
Essential
- Diploma in child and adolescent mental health practice or equivalent experience
- Experience of working with children and young people in varied contexts
- Awareness and understanding of mental health and emotional problems including self-harm, suicide and eating disorders
Desirable
- Experience of multidisciplinary working
- Previous experience of working with children and young people with Mental Illness/ neurodiversity
Skills/attributes
Essential
- Ability to communicate with children and young people and families around sensitive issues
- Well-developed organisational skills
- Skills in supporting young people and families with emotional and behavioural issues
- Excellent interpersonal & communication skills.
- Ability to work under pressure with a positive 'can do' attitude
Desirable
- Skills in engaging children and young people in recover focused, resilience building exercises
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- NVQ/Diploma level 3 in Healthcare (or equivalent experience ) or successful completion of a level 3 Healthcare Support Worker or Youth worker apprenticeship.
- Functional skills English and maths level 2 or GCSE English and maths grades A*/9 - C/4.
- Care Certificate or required to achieve within 12 weeks of commencement
Desirable
- National youth agency accredited youth work qualification
- Diploma in child and adolescent mental health practice or equivalent experience
Experience/Knowledge
Essential
- Diploma in child and adolescent mental health practice or equivalent experience
- Experience of working with children and young people in varied contexts
- Awareness and understanding of mental health and emotional problems including self-harm, suicide and eating disorders
Desirable
- Experience of multidisciplinary working
- Previous experience of working with children and young people with Mental Illness/ neurodiversity
Skills/attributes
Essential
- Ability to communicate with children and young people and families around sensitive issues
- Well-developed organisational skills
- Skills in supporting young people and families with emotional and behavioural issues
- Excellent interpersonal & communication skills.
- Ability to work under pressure with a positive 'can do' attitude
Desirable
- Skills in engaging children and young people in recover focused, resilience building exercises
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
