Creative Therapeutic Practitioner, Under 11s Team

Creative Therapeutic Practitioner, Under 11s Team

Location: The hub in Peckham primary schools across the London Borough of Southwark, as well as other locations in the Borough as necessary

Salary: Competitive 

The Nest is a service delivered by the organisation on behalf of Southwark Council. Since opening in May 2020, it has provided an open access service leading on early intervention and prevention to improve the mental well-being of children and young people across the London Borough of Southwark.

The Role

Having gone from strength to strength since launching, The Nest is increasingly expanding its offer of creative therapy groups and 1:1s within Primary Schools.

Funded by Southwark Council and delivered by the organisation through The Nest, the Under 11’s Service provides group and individual therapy in primary schools across the borough.

The Practitioner will be responsible for delivering group sessions to between 4 – 6 young people at any one time, as well as targeted 1:1 sessions. These interventions are term based for up to a maximum of 12 sessions.

Delivered with the support of The School Engagement Team (SET) Programme Manager, this therapeutic group work will support young people with their social, emotional and mental health needs, as well as foster improved communication and social skills. This work will also allow for more accurate signposting/safeguarding of young people across the borough.

They are looking for someone with proven experience of working with young people, specifically those with a training in some form of creative therapy, such as music, art, drama, dance movement, play, etc.

Main Objectives:

• To support young people with their SEMH needs through targeted group and 1:1 support.
• Hold a caseload of service users and support them to access the programme and other services that will be of help to them.
• Support with the monitoring and evaluation of the project through case notes and supervision.

Key Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Support and empower young people to communicate their needs and evaluate their safety and wellbeing.
• Work closely alongside colleagues to make onward referrals should a participant need more intensive and/or specialist support than service is able to provide.
• Develop and maintain a thorough ‘local knowledge’ of the borough and its services and facilities, particularly in relation to mental health issues.
• Build and maintain excellent relationships and communication with stakeholders and partners such as schools, Family Early Help, and Social Services.
• Collect feedback from service users to provide real-time information on service performance that will be used to inform, and where necessary, improve service delivery.
• Ensure all records are completed in a timely manner, kept in line with noting standards and uploaded onto their database, ensuring at all times the safety and security of the Personal and Sensitive Personal Data of the clients and other records.
• Collect data using surveys, reports and case studies for monitoring and evaluation purposes.
• Ensure adherence across the team to Groundwork London’s policies and procedures including confidentiality, safeguarding and the management and sharing of data under the GDPR regulations and of the Data Protection Act 2018.

Other Responsibilities:

• Undertake any other related responsibilities commensurate with the evolving objectives of the post and the evolution of the Trust, as may reasonably be requested by the Manager.
• Work with due regard for Groundwork’s core values and objectives.
• Ensure the effective implementation of and adherence to the Trust’s Diversity, Equal Opportunities, Health and Safety, and Data Security and Protection policies and procedures and reporting lines in the event of any concerns.
• All Staff, the Board and Volunteers will actively support in their daily operations and duties Groundwork London’s Environmental Management System (EMS).

Personal and Professional Development:

• Participate in the organisation Performance Management and Appraisal process, and agree short, medium and long term goals with line manager, and direct line staff.
• Identify learning and development needs with line manager and evaluate T&D to demonstrate needs have been met.
• Share best practice and achievements, and actively seek opportunities to present outcomes and case studies.

Skills and Qualifications

• In training for or qualified as a creative therapist, e.g. music, art psychotherapy, play therapy, dance movement, drama therapy, or another relevant therapeutic modality
• Demonstrable experience working with primary school aged children and their families
• Demonstrate a thorough knowledge, understanding and use of evidence  based therapeutic interventions
• Ability to formulate and undertake risk assessments in relation to self and others
• Ability to form close and effective relationships children and families from a wide range of backgrounds
• Experience of working collaboratively and collecting feedback from children and young people to shape service delivery
• Working knowledge of Safeguarding, the ability to follow procedures, and develop and work within a culture of safe practice
• Ability to follow Policies and Procedures in relation to Data Protection and Security, and Protection of Personal and Sensitive Personal Data
• Ability to plan and manage a complex work programme, prioritise tasks and deliver results on time
• Ability to use MS Corporate Software applications, particularly MS Office, MS Word, MS Excel and MS Outlook Email
• Ability to keep accurate records including service user development logs and use recorded data for evaluation and monitoring
• Commitment to Groundwork London’s diversity, equality and inclusion in practice in the workplace and across communities

To Apply

If you are a suitable candidate and would like to work for this organisation, please do not hesitate to apply.