School Counsellor / Clinical Practitioner

School Counsellor / Clinical Practitioner

Location: Wilmslow and Stoke on Trent

Contract Type: Full-time, Permanent

Hours: 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year

Salary: £23.87 to £27.39 p/hr £49,649.60 to £56,971.20 per annum depending on skills and experience

Start date: Ideally April 2026

Aurora – Supporting Children & Young People

Aurora is seeking a skilled and compassionate Counsellor/Clinical Practitioner to join our expanding school-based clinical team. This is a meaningful opportunity to support the emotional wellbeing of children and young people across two services, delivering high‑quality therapeutic interventions within a nurturing school environment.

The Role

You will play a central role in providing therapeutic support to children and young people, offering both individual and group interventions. Working on‑site within two Aurora schools – Aurora Hanley and Aurora Summerfield, you will deliver in‑person sessions and occasionally remote support for students experiencing Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA), using dedicated spaces within each school.

Your work will contribute to a whole‑school approach to wellbeing, including involvement in workshops, parent groups, and wider mental‑health initiatives.

Key Duties:

• Apply a range of therapeutic interventions, drawing on appropriate theoretical models and adapting your approach to meet individual needs
• Conduct regular reviews and use assessment measures to monitor progress, effectiveness, and student wellbeing
• Manage your own caseload, ensuring timely delivery of sessions and effective organisation of client appointments
• Record, monitor, and report on clinical work, communicating complex information clearly to colleagues, school staff, and other professionals
• Maintain accurate, confidential, and timely client records in line with service standards
• Liaise with clients, line managers, and safeguarding teams regarding appointments, absences, or delays
• Undertake risk assessments and manage risk appropriately, escalating concerns to the Clinical Supervisor and Safeguarding Lead when required
• Attend group clinical meetings and local TAC meetings as needed
• Plan, coordinate, and deliver training sessions or workshops in response to service needs
• Develop and facilitate group therapy programmes
• Identify when external referrals are appropriate and support students through the referral process
• Uphold professional registration standards, ethical guidelines, and safeguarding responsibilities

About You:

You’ll thrive in this role if you are:

• Confident in delivering therapeutic interventions to children and young people
• Skilled at managing a varied caseload and working independently within a supportive team
• Able to communicate sensitively and effectively with students, families, and professionals
• Committed to safeguarding, ethical practice, and inclusive support
• Motivated to contribute to a positive, whole‑school approach to mental health

Skills and Experience required:

• Advanced Diploma (or higher) in Counselling/Psychotherapy, including training with children and young people
• Registered with HLCP, BACP, UKCP or NCS
• Minimum one year’s post‑qualifying experience with young people
• Skilled in at least two therapeutic approaches
• Confident delivering short‑term and group therapy
• Strong record‑keeping, reporting and IT skills
• Solid understanding of safeguarding and BACP ethical standards
• Able to make sound clinical decisions and work well in a school setting
• Resilient, reflective, reliable and committed to ongoing development
• Builds positive relationships with young people, families and colleagues
• Inclusive, respectful and confident working with diverse backgrounds and SEND

What’s on Offer at Aurora?

We believe in supporting you as much as we support the children and young people in our care. Here’s a snapshot of the fantastic benefits waiting for you:

📚 Grow with Us – Training & Development

Learning never stops at Aurora! We offer a wide range of training programmes and career development opportunities to help you build your skills and reach your goals.

💸 Save Money on Everyday Essentials

With the rising cost of living, our Perkbox app helps you stretch your money further:

• Discounts on groceries, phone plans, internet, dining out, gym memberships & more
• Access to our Cycle to Work and Car Scheme

📱 Access Wagestream – a financial wellbeing app that helps you track earnings, save, get expert money advice, and even access part of your pay early when needed

💰 Competitive Pay & Reward

We regularly benchmark our pay and benefits to stay ahead of the curve. You’ll enjoy:

• Enhanced Annual Leave
• Company Sick Pay
• Enhanced Pension
• Life Assurance

🩺 24/7 GP Access – For You & Your Household

Need a doctor? No problem. Book a phone or video appointment anytime, day or night. This service covers everyone in your household.

🦷 UK Health Cash Plan

Cover everyday healthcare costs like dental and optician bills. You and your children are included in the scheme, and you can upgrade to add your partner too!

🧠 Employee Assistance Programme

Your wellbeing matters. Get confidential support on a wide range of issues, including:

• Freephone counselling (available 24/7)
• Online tools and resources

👯‍♀️ Refer a Friend – Earn £1,000!

Know someone who’d be a great fit? Refer them and get rewarded!
(*Terms apply)

How to apply?  

Please complete a full online application form.  If you need any assistance with completing your application form or for more information on this position please contact Emma in the Recruitment Team at Emma.McKay@theauroragroup.co.uk

Successful applicants will be subject to pre-employment safeguarding checks including an enhanced disclosure and barring service (DBS) check.

1974 and the Aurora Group is therefore permitted to ask job applicants to declare all convictions and cautions (including those which are "spent" unless they are "protected" under the DBS filtering rules) in order to assess their suitability to work with children."

The Aurora Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children and young adults in our care and is a disability confident and equal opportunities employer

This advert could be taken down at any point in time without prior notice if the position is filled. 

Please note that candidates that are shortlisted might be subject to an online search.