Children’s Mental Health Support Worker

University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust; Bristol; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 26,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS Foundation Trust in Bristol seeks a Paediatric Mental Health Support Worker to provide essential care for children and young people with mental health needs. This full-time position offers a supportive team environment and requires flexibility in working hours, including nights and weekends. Candidates should have relevant qualifications and a passion for working with the youth. The Trust promotes a diverse workforce and encourages applications from underrepresented groups.

Benefits

Flexible working arrangements

Support for staff wellbeing

Training and development opportunities

Qualifications

• Must demonstrate maths and English qualifications at GCSE level or equivalent.
• Experience working in a Mental Health setting preferred.
• Passion for working with children and young people is essential.

Responsibilities

• Provide care and support for children and young people with mental health needs.
• Engage with young patients and their families compassionately.
• Work shifts across days, nights, weekends, and bank holidays.

Skills

Effective communication skills

Ability to work well in a team

Flexibility and adaptability

Good reflective ability

Education

GCSE A*-C in English Language and Mathematics

NVQ Level 3/QCF Level 3 in Health or Social Care

Job description

Main area Paediatric Mental Health Support Worker - Band 3 Grade Band 3 Contract Permanent Hours

• Full time
• Part time

37.5 hours per week (Hours to be discussed at interview)

Job ref 387-WC-7067-Jan

Site Bristol Royal Hospital for Children Town Bristol Salary £24,625 - £25,674 pa pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 05/01/2026 23:59

As an organisation we recognise the value of a healthy work-life balance. When applying, speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate flexible working, so your work life fits around your home life.

We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates as they are under-represented within the Trust.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) describes algorithms that can be used to produce new content, including audio, code, images, text, simulations, and videos. It is developing all the time and is now being used as a support mechanism for all kinds of content-based creations. Please note the use of AI is monitored and if applicants have used it then they are required to declare this.

Job overview

Do you enjoy working with children and young people? Are you interested in children's and young people's mental health? If the answers are "yes" then this may be the position for you!

Bristol Royal Hospital for Children (BRHC) is a tertiary Children’s Hospital within a wider NHS Foundation Trust. We have full and part time vacancies in our team of Band 3 Children's Mental Health Support Workers, to provide care, compassion, assessment and engagement with children, young people and their families who are admitted to BRHC with mental health needs.

Our patients are extraordinary, each of them with their own unique character, strength and drive, which is why we looking for these exact same qualities in our Children’s Mental Health Support workers.

This position requires shifts to be worked across days, nights, weekends and bank holidays to ensure the service is fully covered. This is your opportunity to join us on our journey and become a part of our talented and passionate team. Whilst the role at times can be hard, it comes with team support, supervision and guidance.

Interviews will be on Wednesday the 21st of January in person.

Main duties of the job

We are looking for individuals who are eager to learn, have excellent communication skills, and a positive, can‑do attitude.

To be shortlisted for this role, you must clearly demonstrate on your application the following:

• Maths qualification at GCSE A*-C / 4-9 or Functional Skills Level 2 or equivalent.
• English qualification at GCSE A*-C / 4-9 or Functional Skills Level 2 or equivalent.
• Level 3 qualification (or higher) in any subject.
• Acute experience in Mental Health setting
• Experience or a passion for working with children and young people.
• Strategies to support your wellbeing when working with young people who can present in distress at times
• Be able to work a mixture of Long Day shifts and Night shifts (to include weekends and Bank Holidays.
• If you do not have previous acute experience, we offer a 12-week Band 2 to Band 3 Trainee Programme. This programme will equip you with the necessary skills and experience to successfully transition into the Band 3 role. Please indicate on your application if you are interested in this programme.

Working for our organisation

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) is one of the largest acute Trusts in the country, bringing together a combined workforce of over 13,000 staff and over 100 different clinical services across 10 different sites, serving a core population of more than 500,000 people across South West England. UHBW has been rated by the CQC as ‘Good’ overall and our staff are proud to deliver excellent care to the people of Bristol, Weston and beyond. As a forward‑thinking multi‑award winning Trust and a digital exemplar committed to improving patient care, our world‑leading research and innovations are having a positive local and global impact. Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone’s throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that the South West has to offer. UHBW is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application in order to ensure we’re meeting our pledge.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For a more detailed job description and main responsibilities, please refer to the job description document attached to this vacancy.

Person specification

• Supportive
• Respectful

Public Sector Language Competency

• Be able to speak fluent English to an appropriate standard

Knowledge & Experience

• Has substantial evidence of experience as a nursing/care assistant in a health or social care setting, either public, private or voluntary sector
• Experience of working in an Acute Hospital setting
• Experience of working with young people who are experiencing mental health needs.
• Working knowledge of mental health issues
• Experience of working with a range of learning disabilities, challenging behaviour, eating disorders
• Good reflective ability and an understanding of its importance in the context of interpersonal working
• Working knowledge of mental health nursing
• Knowledge of health & social care issues that impact on mental health and wellbeing

Training & Education

• GCSE A*- C in both English Language and Mathematics or equivalent in these two subjects e.g. Certificates in Adult Literacy and Numeracy at Level 2
• NVQ level 3/ QCF Level 3 in Health or Social Care or equivalent that is relevant to Mental Health

Skills & Abilities

• Effective communication skills, verbally and written
• Ability to work well in a team
• Able to complete appropriate documentation accurately
• Demonstrate an awareness of healthcare work and policies and procedures
• Committed to providing high quality patient care
• IT skills, basic word, Email, keyboard skills, data collection
• Ability and willingness to undertake appropriate training
• Flexible and adaptable to change, able to work a range of shifts and moving across wards/unit as the need arises
• Enthusiasm and commitment to working within the health care setting
• Flexible and adaptable to change, able to work a range of shifts and moving across wards/unit as the need arises
• Able to meet the physical and educational demands of the role
• Adaptable and flexible to work across all wards in hospital wherever the need of the young person is greatest

We hope that you will decide to join us and become part of this exciting journey, helping us to shape our future together.

• As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application to ensure we’re meeting our pledge.
• The Trust is committed to investing in and caring for all our staff. We will support you in maintaining and improving your health and wellbeing, as well as your career development through management and training support - developing exceptional people for exceptional careers.
• UHBW is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults.
• To comply with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 all applicants must be able to speak fluent English to an appropriate standard which will be assessed at Interview.
• If you require sponsorship for a visa to work in the UK, to avoid disappointment, please check to ensure you are eligible under the UKVI points based system.
• The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.
• By applying for this post, you are agreeing to University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.
• Please be aware of scams – unless specified above, we will only communicate with you via @recruit.trac.jobs or nhs.net e‑mails and we will never ask you for any payments.

IMPORTANT:

Please note that if you apply for a position with this Trust, you may be contacted via Trac or via email. This includes invites for job interviews. We therefore recommend that you regularly check your Trac account and email accounts. We may also contact you by texting the mobile number, if provided, on the application form.

Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts we may close this vacancy before the advertised closing date. Therefore, please apply for this post as soon as you can, if you are interested and you meet the requirements of the Person Specification

Only those candidates who clearly demonstrate how they meet the person specification will be shortlisted for this job.

As a guide interviews should usually take place within 3 weeks of the closing date.

When providing employment reference details, please provide correct work‑related email addresses so references can be sought promptly when we are looking to progress your application. Your referee must all be known to you in a line manager or professional lead capacity.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name Nonni Thresher Job title Ward Sister Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 0117 3426406

If you have problems applying, contact

Address University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust
Telephone [phone] (option 1 )