6.5 hours per week – term-time only, working one day per week on Wednesday (there may be some flexibility on the day and can be discussed) / £33,795 per annum pro rata / permanent

Our mission is to help children and young people have a fair chance to be who they want to be. We do this by providing a safe home, increasing life skills and self-confidence, and improving emotional wellbeing and mental health.

Established in 1996, Dialogue School Counselling is a BACP accredited school counselling service covering Sussex and Surrey.

We are recruiting for qualified counsellor or therapist with experience of working with primary age children to join our team and deliver our service at Burstow Primary School in Horley, Surrey from September 2025.

We are seeking candidates who are passionate about making a difference to lives of the children and young people they work with. You will have a keen interest in and experience of working with children and young people of primary age.

Key responsibilities

• Run a suitable appointment system flexible to the needs of the school, offering students appropriate assessments and counselling appointments
• Manage the tight time boundaries of the role and the often complex and varied workload
• Liaise with school staff over referrals, waiting lists and appointments
• Carry out initial clinical and risk assessments and establish appropriate referral pathways with other services where appropriate. Continually assess risk throughout each student’s counselling.
• Follow YMCA Dialogue safeguarding procedures; to know who the School’s Designated Safeguarding Officer/s is and how to contact them when a safeguarding concern arises
• Work at all times within the BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions
•  Maintain individual membership of the BACP and to become a Registered Member (or other professional body such as HCPC)
• You will establish good professional working relationships with key school staff

If you’re enthusiastic about this opportunity but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every requirement, we encourage you to apply anyway and demonstrate how your experience is transferrable. You may be just the right candidate. 

Qualifications, knowledge, and experience

• You will have a Counselling or Psychotherapy qualification, minimum Level four and ideally level six, and two years’ post qualifying experience in individual counselling or therapy with young people. This will include working with risk issues
• You will also have a sound understanding of child protection and vulnerable adult safeguarding issues, policies, and procedures
• You will have proven experience in safeguarding children and young people, responding to, managing, and referring safeguarding issues
• You will have a BACP Membership; BACP Registered or Accredited. Or other professional body e.g. HCPC
• You will have a keen interest in working with children and will be familiar with using creative therapeutic approaches, along with experience of working in a school setting 

If you would like any further information or an informal discussion about this post, please contact Alice.Reid@ymcadlg.org. Should you require any assistance with our application process, please email us at Recruitment@ymcadlg.org

CLOSING DATE: Thursday 12 June at midnight

TO APPLY: Please scroll down the page to the application form

Successful candidates will already have the right to live and work in the UK without restrictions. We are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role

An inclusive workplace We are committed to policies and practices of equity, diversity, and inclusion and to supporting our people to make sure our culture is consistent with this commitment. 

Accessibility If you require assistance or have questions regarding the application process, please do contact us.

YMCA DLG requires all staff and volunteers to be committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and to respond proactively to safeguarding concerns. Successful applicants are required to undertake an Enhanced DBS (including the Children’s and Adults’ barred lists) check, along with a reference and background check carried out by a third-party service provider.