Thought-Full Mental Health Support Assistant

Mental Health Support Teams in schools (MHST) are an exciting new initiative and an important strand of the Government’s 2017 Green Paper ‘Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision’.

Thought-Full is the name chosen by young people for this work in West Sussex. Thought-Full is an integrated team with colleagues employed by West Sussex County Council and also Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

We fulfil 3 core functions:
1. Delivering evidence-based interventions in schools for mild to moderate mental health issues.
2. Supporting the senior mental health lead in each education setting to introduce or develop their whole school or college approach.
3. Giving timely advice to school and college staff, and liaising with external specialist services, to help children and young people to get the right support and stay in education.

Salary: NJC Grade 4 £21,575 to £21,968
Working Pattern: Full Time (37 hours)
Contract Length: Permanent
Location: Horsham

The support assistant role is vital to the smooth running of the Thought-Full teams across West Sussex. You will be responsible for providing reliable, efficient and effective administrative support to the teams. This will include processing referrals, responding to queries from schools, parents and service users, giving standard information and guidance relating to the service, maintaining records and producing standard correspondence, providing support and day to day processing according to set procedures. You will also be responsible for producing a number of reports relating to service
activity such as the preparation and monthly upload of data to the NHS and producing reports of referrals and other team activity for stakeholders.

You will also assist in maintaining effective partnerships with a range of organisations and outside bodies (e.g. Schools, Early Help Hubs, GP’s, voluntary sector, and other Mental Health providers) to ensure local community needs are met in a timely way. From time to time the role will include physical effort for carrying, stretching & bending, lifting or pushing items of light to moderate weight e.g. furniture, displays. The work may sometimes involve working with challenging members of the
public and other professionals to solve basic queries such as dealing with the application forms for funding. The role will include the requirement to work flexibly across a given area from a range of locations to meet service needs and to provide cover for staff absence.

Key Skills:

• Good communication, customer service and interpersonal skills in order to interact effectively with the general public and act as a point of information/advice/ guidance where appropriate.
• Ability to work as part of a team completing shared tasks in order to deliver a service to others.
• Good interpersonal skills with the ability to confidently work with children, young people and families e.g. dealing with complex queries and family issues, responding appropriately to challenging behaviour such as aggressive or distressed individuals.
• Ability to meet set deadlines and to understand when problems need to be referred upwards, e.g. in responding to complaints promptly for a quick accurate solution.
• Analytical and judgement skills in order to effectively assist with customer queries.
• Proficient IT skills, using Microsoft Office Suite, in order to be able to use the Service computerised databases, photocopiers, scanners and the internet.

Qualifications and/or experience:

• 4 GCSEs with A-C passes including Maths and English or equivalent qualification or experience demonstrating that level of numeracy and literacy.
• An IT qualification or equivalent experience demonstrating good working knowledge of IT systems/procedures.
• Experience of dealing with the public and providing an excellent customer service providing specialist information, advice and guidance.
• Experience of team working.
• Level 3 Information, Advice and Guidance qualification. Desirable
• Experience in the delivery of child or family support services in the statutory or non-statutory sector. Desirable

As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work they do.

In addition to working within a great team and a brilliant opportunity you will receive:

• A competitive salary
• A generous pension scheme
• Training and development opportunities, including coaching and mentoring
• Flexible working
• A range of discounts giving our staff access to hundreds of offers with the opportunity to save over £1,000 (Including: Argos, Samsung, Asos, B&Q and many more)
• Free access to employee assistance programmes
• Discounted membership at selected local sports and fitness centres
• A range of commuting and business travel discounts and initiatives

For a full list of the benefits offered to you as a West Sussex County Council employee you can find them on our Rewards and Benefits page.

The reference number for this role is CAFHE04333 .

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Frances Ruocco at 07885 473138 or frances.ruocco@westsussex.gov.ukfor issues or queries regarding your application please contact hrrecruitment@westsussex.gov.uk.

To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and cover letter. In your cover letter outline your motivations for applying and explain how you meet the key skills listed in full and the experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to an enhanced SWE Registration, DBS check, 5 years referencing and a health check.

West Sussex County Council is an equal opportunities employer committed to promoting an environment that is inclusive and free from all forms of unlawful or unfair discrimination and values the diversity of its people. We actively welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and take every possible step to ensure that no individual will be disadvantaged.

For information regarding your eligibility to apply for this role under our Disability or Veteran’s Guaranteed Interview Scheme, this can be found on our application help page.