Family wellbeing practitioner
- Job title: Family wellbeing practitioner
- Job Type: Full time, term time only but part time may be considered
- Salary: £27,000 (£33,500 FTE)
- Department: Wellbeing Team
- Reporting to: Director of Pupil Wellbeing
- Location: Junior School and Pre-Prep
- Start: As soon as possible
- Closing Date: 20 March 2023 at 12:00 am
We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Family Practitioner to join the busy and friendly Wellbeing Team at Highgate School. This is a new role and a fantastic opportunity for a skilled professional to join our established Pupil Wellbeing team.
We are looking for a motivated, creative and experienced Family practitioner to join us. You will be working closely with families and school staff across our Junior and Pre-Prep schools in embedding good wellbeing practices for our pupils.
The Department
Pupil wellbeing matters at Highgate School. We want to support pupils to thrive in school and beyond. Our Wellbeing team work collaboratively with school staff to ensure they are equipped to understand and respond to the wellbeing needs of pupils, knowing when to refer on if needed.
Our Wellbeing team consists of Director of Pupil Wellbeing, 2 Wellbeing Practitioners, 5 Counsellors and 2 Play Therapists and a medical team. We have a wellbeing hub where pupils can go to emotionally regulate and to seek help. We also have a medical center where pupils can go to for treatment of physical ailments.
We have a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing that is based on education and awareness, prevention and therapeutic support. We aim to remove any stigmas that are often associated with struggling with mental health. We want our pupils and families to seek help as early as possible as early intervention can positively change the trajectory of mental health difficulties.
- To work closely with parents and families to help support pupil emotional wellbeing and improving any barriers to pupil wellbeing, ensuring our pupils are thriving and learning.
- To offer a family centred approach and practical interventions to supporting pupils’ emotional wellbeing needs.
- To maintain regular communication with key staff and promote a whole school and child centred approach to improving pupil wellbeing
- To work closely with school staff and parents to actively support the holistic wellbeing of all pupils.
- To work closely with members of the safeguarding team to ensure that all children are kept safe and protected.
- To work with the school counsellor, liaise with relevant agencies and professionals to support pupil wellbeing needs.
- To build up knowledge and understanding of local resources and community and statutory services, including Mental Health Teams, CAMHS and voluntary services, and communicate effectively with them in the best interests of the child and family. To signpost as required.
- To attend, relevant meetings as required and share learning and innovative practice related to wellbeing.
- To work with pastoral team and contribute to a whole school wellbeing strategy
- To organise events for parents related to wellbeing and positive mental health, aimed at improving their ability and confidence to support their child’s wellbeing.
- To operate at all times from an inclusive values base, which recognises and respects diversity and promotes a sense of belonging for all
- Criteria
- How will these be tested or verified?
- Qualifications
Essential
- A recognised clinical qualification in family interventions/counselling/Childhood Development/Social Work
- Other relevant postgraduate degree or further therapeutic training or qualification in working with children and young people
Desirable
- BACP or UKCP registration
- Training in social work
- Approved certification in coaching and mentoring
- CYP IAPT qualification
- Experience
Essential
- Minimum 2 years post qualification children’s experience.
- Experience of direct work with children and families.
- An understanding of the developmental, emotional, social and educational issues of children and young people.
Desirable
- To have worked in a school environment.
- Experience of providing CBT based interventions for children and young people experiencing, mild to moderate anxiety, low mood and behavioural difficulties
- Skills / Knowledge
Essential
- Has a range of strategies for managing and improving behaviour, emotional wellbeing, and mental health.
- Good understanding of safeguarding for children.
- Familiarity with, and ability to comply with, the London Child Protection Procedures and protocols for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young people
- Able to provide evidence-based interventions for families to improve pupil’s emotional wellbeing.
- Good understanding of confidentiality and the boundaries of confidentiality in a school.
- Ability to give accurate psychological information and practical support to family members.
- Excellent written & verbal communication skills
- Ability to work in collaboration with other professionals both in and outside of school
- Ability to work alone, unsupervised and with proven initiative and to be part of a busy and focused team
- Knowledge of child and adolescent development and the role of the family in supporting children and young people’s emotional well-being.
- Demonstrates an understanding of common mental health problems experienced by children and young people.
Desirable
- Good knowledge of mental health issues and a range of support programmes
- A recognised clinical qualification in family interventions/counselling/Childhood Development/Social Work
Benefits
Location | Highgate Village, adjacent to Hampstead Heath, with quaint shops and easy connections across London.
Pension | AVIVA workplace pension scheme offered with a generous 21% employer contribution.
Personal development | Comprehensive induction support for new staff. Focus on continued professional development for all employees.
Leisure facilities | Free access, at stipulated times, to our sports facilities, including a fitness suite and swimming pool (recently refurbished).
Holidays | Generous holiday allowance of 33 days (including bank holidays) for full-time staff. Most holidays will be taken during school holiday periods.
Lunch | A complimentary lunch.
Help with sustainable travel | Access to the Cycle to Work Scheme and a Season Ticket Loan scheme for public transport.
Family-friendly policies | Highgate appreciates that employees sometimes have family commitments so we try to be as supportive as possible, for example with enhanced maternity pay (8 weeks’ full pay, then 10 weeks’ half pay) and paid dependant leave.
Working at Highgate
A culture of community, kindness and belonging
Highgate is a caring, open-minded community, where we promote kindness, empathy and friendship. Everyone who works and studies with us deserves to feel they are part of a welcoming environment that enables them to be themselves and to thrive as individuals.
Our community extends beyond the school, through partnerships, charity work and our commitment to equality, inclusion and sustainability. All members of our school community are encouraged to look outwards and play an active role.
In a recent ISI inspection (Dec 2021), it was noted that “Pupils show exceptional respect for, and appreciate diversity within the school and wider community, and their own and other cultures, demonstrating sensitivity and tolerance to those from different backgrounds and traditions.”
Staff wellbeing
Highgate is committed to staff wellbeing, which we promote by encouraging a strong work-life balance; trying our best to support flexible working requests; providing a nutritious complimentary lunch in the dining hall; and offering access to sporting facilities including our recently renovated swimming pool.
The Staff Wellbeing Committee, with representatives across the School, meets regularly to drive forward initiatives, and a selection of staff have been trained as Mental-Health First Aiders.
We encourage an open culture throughout our school, with regular staff surveys, action committees and opportunities to feedback. We strive for continual learning and improvement, and staff training and development is paramount. There are opportunities to participate in the wider life of our school, such as taking part in trips or societies and getting involved in partnership projects.
More details about working at Highgate can be found here:
Charitable work and sustainability
As an independent school, we want to use our position as a charity effectively: to make high-quality education accessible to as many children as possible – through our bursary programme at Highgate and through our work with local state schools. We have partnerships with over 60 state schools across 7 London boroughs, and we are the principal educational sponsor for London Academy of Excellence, Tottenham – an academically-selective state sixth form in a community where such opportunities are lacking.
Alongside this, our staff and pupils undertake charitable activities throughout the year. These range from staff giving up their time to neighbourhood schools and charitable organisations, focused fundraising campaigns, to pupils undertaking community work in the local area or further afield.
As a school, we have a central role to play in educating our pupils, staff and parents about the importance of environmental sustainability. We are taking positive action to adapt our operational performance to tackle the negative effects of climate change. We encourage all our staff to reflect upon their personal and professional practices, to support our environmental agenda and to make positive changes wherever possible.
Application procedure
- Closing Date: 20th March 2023
- Timing of interviews: From mid March 2023
Contact: Kemi Omijeh, Director of Pupil Wellbeing is happy to answer any questions about this post.
Early Application: Applications will be considered ‘as and when’ received and we may close the vacancy if we appoint before the closing date.
Apply hereInclusion
We know that more diverse teams are stronger teams, and that the more inclusive we are, the more our staff and pupils will feel a sense of belonging and will thrive. To enable us to make reasonable adjustments, please let us know of any disabilities (including neuro-divergence) when you submit your application.
Safeguarding
As this role will have regular unsupervised contact with children you must, if appointed, comply with Highgate’s Safeguarding Policy and Staff Code of Conduct. If in the course of carrying out the duties of the post the post holder becomes aware of any actual or potential risks to the safety and welfare of our pupils, these concerns must be reported immediately in accordance with the Safeguarding Policy. If whilst in the post, Highgate becomes aware of any safeguarding concerns to staff, pupils or the community; these will need to be followed up in line with the safeguarding policy and code of conduct which is underpinned by KCSE and other legislation. These concerns may need to be shared with other agencies. A copy of these policies will accompany all offers of employment. Training will also be provided to all staff to support Safeguarding practice.
Please read before you apply
Highgate is committed to the safeguarding and welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to this post, including checks with past employers, the Disclosure and Barring Service and overseas police check if necessary. Candidates from overseas must provide information about their past conduct, for example, by providing documents issued by overseas teaching authorities.
Please note that this role is ‘exempt’ from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore, you are required to declare any convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings that are not ‘protected’ (i.e. filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013). Shortlisted candidates will be asked to provide details of all unspent convictions and those that would not be filtered, prior to the date of the interview.
In accordance with the latest guidance from KCSIE, we shall be conducting online searches on any candidates who are shortlisted.