Child and Young People’s Therapy Trainee Practitioner ASD/LD


Company:	South West London and St Georges Mental Health Trust
Salary:	£47,951 - £56,863 per annum inclusive of Inner London HCAs
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	London, SW17 0YF
Job type:	Contract
Posting date:	5 Oct 2026
Closing date:	5 Nov 2026

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Summary

A Vacancy at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust.

The post holder will work directly with young people admitted to the inpatient ward who also have a diagnosis of ASD and/or LD. They will support the development of positive behaviour support plans, communication plans as well as providing other relevant work under supervision to meet the therapeutic needs of the young people with ASD/LD. The post holder will have an opportunity to work in a creative, adapted and evidence based way with support from a multi-disciplinary team.

This government-funded initiative promotes the growth and skill of the child mental health workforce to meet much needed demand. NHSE covers salary and training costs for a one-year full-time position, allowing services to employ trainees to support specialist pathways to bridge the gaps in CYP mental health support.

This is a unique opportunity to apply your learning from weekly teaching into practical clinical interventions working with clients in the service making a direct impact in the lives of children, young people and their families.

Training Information

This full-time training will begin in January 2027 with around 2-3 days a week for academic work (teaching and personal study), and 2.5 days based at the service seeing clients (children, young people, and carers) related to training assignments. Trainees will be both an employee of the service and an enrolled student with UCL/Anna Freud. Upon completion, qualified trainees will receive a UCL Postgraduate Diploma.

Application Process

This is a dual application process. In addition to applying for this position with us, you must also complete a UCL application for the Course Team to review. The Course Team will liaise with us on whether you meet the academic requirements for the course during the recruitment process. You will only be offered a UCL training place if you are successful in securing this post and you meet the university training requirements.

Unless expressly stated in the job advert this role is not subject to sponsorship, please be advised that all offers of employment are subject to evidence of right to work in the UK.

We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust.

We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’ - we aspire to be ‘outstanding’.

This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services as we invest a further £120m to upgrade and modernise our estate by 2027.

We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together.We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.

We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.

Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.

This is an NHSE funded training post as part of the Child and Young People’s (CYP) Psychological Trainings which involves part time working as a Practitioner in Aquarius Adolescent Unit and part time studying with UCL/Anna Freud undertaking a programme of training in Psychological therapies ASD/LD.

This intensive training post will equip the post-holder to provide interventions for children, young people or families using the core principles of the CYP Psychological Training Programme and consistent with the evidence base in the area of ASD and LD. The post-holder will work in the service, for at least 2.5 days of the week using the newly developed skills whilst attending the training programme or undertaking self-study days for the remaining days, as required by the education provider.

The post holder will hold an appropriate training case load and complete the necessary assignments to meet the course requirements.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in job applications

If you have used AI to support the preparation of your application, please briefly indicate how it was used within your supporting statement or application form.

Please remember, your application is your opportunity to tell us about your skills, experience and motivation for the role. We encourage applicants to complete their application and supporting statement in their own words wherever possible. We recognise that AI tools can be helpful in supporting accessibility, and for improving spelling, grammar and structure.

Applications that rely heavily on AI-generated content can become generic and fail to accurately reflect an applicant's individual experience. Applications that clearly demonstrate your own voice, reflections and experiences are often the most effective and help us better understand your suitability for the role.

Please be aware that information provided in your application and supporting statement may be explored further during the selection process. It is important that all applications accurately represent your own knowledge, skills and experience.

This advert closes on Monday 12 Oct 2026

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