About the Course
The Educational Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP) is a professional role and an exciting opportunity to deliver evidence-based early interventions for children and young people and parents/carers in educational settings. It is a full time, year-long employment training programme on completion of which, trainees will qualify as an EMHP, one of the key roles in Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs).
This programme is part of the national Children and Young People’s Mental Health (CYP-MH) transformation programme, a shared initiative between the Department for Education and Health Education England that supports the government’s priority to increase access of mental health and well-being support for children and young people.
The training is accessed through employment within an existing NHS, Local Authority or Voluntary Sector mental health service working within CAMHS. The course will follow a blended learning approach with some teaching online and some face-to-face in small groups, including workshops and seminars.
The training will be delivered as part of lectures, seminars, and skills sessions; allowing EMHPs to put the skills they have learnt into practice as part of role plays and group discussions. Over the course of the year the training will focus on:
- Fundamental Skills: CYP Mental Health Settings: Context and Values
- Fundamental Skills: Assessment and Engagement
- Evidence Based Interventions: Theory and Skills
- Working, engaging, and assessing in educational settings
- Common problems and processes in educational settings
- Interventions for emerging mental health difficulties in educational settings
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***Please note that you must apply for (and successfully receive) a trainee CWP role at a partnering service in order to gain a place on the course at KCL.
If you would like further information about the EMHP programme at King’s, please refer to our course brochure from last year
For more information about CYP-MH courses at KCL, please contact cyp-mh@kcl.ac.uk.
For information about the EMHP programme based at UCL (Anna Freud Centre), please visit the AFC website.
How to apply
The EMHP programme is not a standalone CYP PT training course. The programme requires potential candidates to apply for both the University-led training course and the role with a participating mental health service.
Service application process
We expect services to begin advertising from mid-late August 2025. This is often through sites such as jobs.nhs.uk and healthjobsuk.com so we recommend setting up automatic job searches/notifications with the following terms:
- ‘Education Mental Health Practitioner’
- EMHP
KCL application process
When to apply:
The KCL application portal will open on the 1st of August 2025. The deadline for applications is Monday 24th November 2025.
For KCL to review your application, you must have submitted, and been shortlisted by one of our partnered services. If you are not shortlisted for an interview by a partnering service, you will not receive feedback on your application.
Services will begin advertising roles from August 2025 onwards. Teaching for the EMHP course will start on Monday 19th January 2026.
It is essential that you read the information below carefully prior to completing the application.
- Please be sure to complete all the sections of the form with all relevant information (all questions with a red asterisk next to them are mandatory and you will not be able to submit without answering these).
- You must submit a completed application form – we cannot process any incomplete applications.
To apply: Please apply via King’s Apply
Please use either Google Chrome or Firefox as your browser. The application portal is not optimised for Internet Explorer.
For information on how to apply to KCL online, please refer to the application guidance from 2025.
Entry requirements
- Qualifications: Normally, a minimum of a second-class Bachelor’s degree from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard in a relevant academic subject (e.g. Psychology, Education, Childhood Development, Social Work, etc), OR any subject with further training or experience in a relevant field (e.g. Teaching/TA; Learning Support; HCA; Youth Work; Counselling, etc)*
*Applicants who do not fulfil the academic criteria are encouraged to apply and may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us for further queries.
Recruitment updates
When trainee roles are advertised, we will provide updates here. Please note: this list is updated when roles become available.
FAQs
I don’t meet the academic requirements, can I still apply?
While candidates are advised that they must meet the entrance criteria we do often receive applications that do not meet this and will always discuss and review these on a case by case basis with the course team and site. We can’t confirm for certain at this stage whether your application would be deemed eligible but would encourage you to apply, please do include as much detail and evidence RE qualifications and work experience as you can in your application.
Should I apply to KCL or sites first?
As there is sometimes a cap on applications received on NHS Jobs, we would recommend applying for the sites first, in order to avoid any disappointment should an advert be taken down early. Our KCL application portal for the January 2026 intake will open on 1st of August 2025 and remain open until 23.59 on 24th November 2025. However, please note that a KCL application should be submitted in tandem with an application to a site or trust - the site/trust shortlisting process involves cross-checking the NHS Jobs application against the university application. Applicants will not be invited to interview unless both applications have been checked.
How is the programme funded/How much will I get paid?
Training and university teaching is funded by NHS England. Successfully appointed EMHP students will be paid at a rate equivalent to the NHS Agenda for Change Band 4 for the duration of their training.
Is the site/Trust vacancy I am appointed to permanent/guaranteed?
Unfortunately, we are unable to confirm if the post held during training is ongoing or guaranteed once the course is complete - this varies depending on the site. We would advise that students contact the site or trust directly for further information.