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:	8 Nov 2026

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Summary

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

Our service has an exciting opportunity for a CYP Psychological Trainings: Therapy TraineeASD/LDto join our team as part of the NHS England (NHSE) funded Children and Young People (CYP) Psychological TrainingProgrammes.

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.

Course start date: 18thJanuary 2027

Before you apply

Please watch an introductory video for the modality you areapplyto:

Click here to watch the ASC/LD introduction

Please view the attached document ‘UCL CYP PT Therapy - Application Guidance for Candidates’ for the university application link and more information on how to apply.

Please note: The position will be based atAquarius Ward, Springfield UniversityHospital butsuccessful candidates will be expected to travel to Anna Freud in Central London (Rodney St, N1 9JH) for teaching during the training year.

More information about the course content and the different modalities can be found on the Anna Freud webpage:https://www.annafreud.org/ucl-postgraduate-study/ucl-postgraduate-programmes/child-and-young-person-iapt-therapy-pg-dip/

There is also a useful training FAQ section for prospective candidates:Prospective Trainees_ CYP IAPT Therapy Programme FAQ's.docx - Google Docs

What are we looking for?

We are seeking highly motivated candidates who are enthusiastic about making a difference to children and young people’s mental health through evidence-based interventions based on NICE Guideline recommended treatment.

You will be committed to the CYP Psychological Training Programme core principles: Accessibility, accountability, participation, awareness and evidence-based practice and in providing an inclusive and effective service for children and young people, along with a dedication toequity, diversity and inclusion.

Please review the additional documents for more information on the role, personspecificationother employment documents.

This advert closes on Monday 12 Oct 2026

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