Schools Counsellor Required: Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire

Schools Counsellor Required: Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire Schools Counsellor Required: Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire

Based at: Primary school and secondary school (Stoke-on-Trent)

Hours of work: 14 hours per week, two days are negotiable (term time only)

Job Summary:

Working within North Staffs Mind Schools Counselling team, which provides counselling services to numerous schools across Staffordshire, a school counsellor is required to work independently within a school environment delivering one to one counselling and also group work to children and young people.

Our service is delivered on school premises, although we may also deliver services remotely via the telephone and/or video.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Offer professional therapeutic service within a specialist provision to meet individual needs.
• Offer flexibility in approaches to working with CYP. This may include walk and talk sessions, parental interventions, working with a small groups of children/young people and to work creativity to meet the needs of a diverse client group within multifaceted educational settings.
• Work with parents, carers and other professionals in order to achieve the best possible outcomes for all.
• Be able to engage appropriately with neurodiverse clients.
• Work with small groups of children/young people.
• Have input into staff training/ whole class activities to raise awareness of mental health and emotional well-being of children/young people.
• Share information required to ensure that the individual children and young people are protected/supported in line with agreed protocols.
• Maintain necessary records to ensure work is recorded appropriately and produce reports for information and statistical purposes so that the work can be effectively monitored and managed.
• Make and maintain links with staff in the school in order to ensure good communication.
• Liaise with key individuals in order to ensure the young person is supported appropriately, including: staff, parents and other agencies.
• Work in line with North Staffs Mind policies and procedures, including confidentiality and safeguarding, and relevant school policies.
• Work in line with the Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions (BACP), 2018.
• To be responsible for one's own safety and well-being.
• To ensure that client and the counsellor work in a safe and appropriate way within the school environment.
• Undertake required training, and maintain an up-to-date knowledge of issues which affect the mental health of children and young people through training, reading and other relevant sources.
• Attend line management meetings, team meetings and a Personal and Professional Development group.
• Support other team members in the provision of a quality service.
• Be prepared to be involved in workshops/training/information events.
• Undertake regular clinical supervision of at least 1.5 hours per month.
• Other duties as required by North Staffs Mind to ensure the efficient operation of the service.

Terms and Conditions:

• Working hours are term time only, plus a week at the end of the school year and a week at the start of the school year - annual leave is in line with the academic school year.
• You are required to commit to the same school for an academic year.
• You are required to provide a car for use at work, and to insure it appropriately, at your own expense.
• You will be reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses that are authorised in accordance with North Staffs Mind's procedures.

Person Specification

• Diploma in Counselling or equivalent MSc.
• Be a BACP Member or willing to register
• Good understanding of emotional and mental health in children and young people
• Experience or knowledge of working with neurodiversity
• Good understanding of child protection issues
• Experience of working with groups of young people
• Work in ways which help the child/young person express themselves including using creative methods
• Be a dynamic, creative person with drive and initiative, and be self motivated
• Committed to the values of North Staffs Mind, the principles and practice of Equal Opportunities and service user engagement
• Organised and efficient with paperwork and administrative tasks
• Confident in IT and able to work with cloud-based client data management system
• A good communicator in both written and spoken media, able to present confidently to a variety of audiences
• Hold a full current driving licence and use of an appropriately insured car
• Good local knowledge about North Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent
• Past experience of working within a school environment