North Kent Mind Children and Young People’s Service will be delivering a NHSE Recruit to Train programme from January 2026 to December 2026, known as Growing Minds: Affordable Service.
The programme is a national training pathway that enables trainees to work within children’s mental health services while completing accredited training, supporting both workforce development and service delivery.
Growing Minds: Affordable Service operates in Dartford, Gravesend and Swanley and is delivered as a low-cost service. Session contributions are set at £15 for CWP sessions and £20 for CBT and ASC-LD sessions. Clients are informed of the applicable contribution following triage and provide consent before commencing support.
This programme provides emotional wellbeing support delivered by trainee practitioners or therapists who are working towards recognised professional qualifications. All trainees are closely supervised by experienced, qualified clinicians, and the support offered follows NHS and organisational standards.
Consists of three different roles:
Children’s Wellbeing Practitioners (CWPs)
- Guided self-help
- For mild mental health difficulties
- Goal-focused
Support offered:
Brief, goal-focused interventions for mild mental health difficulties
Work with children, young people and parents/carers depending on need
Provide evidence-based low-intensity interventions such as guided self-help
CBT Trainees (High-Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapists)
- CBT
- For moderate mental health difficulties
- Structured, evidence-based therapy
Support offered:
Training to deliver full, high-intensity CBT for moderate mental health difficulties
Work within specialist CYP mental health teams
Provide structured, evidence-based therapy under close supervision
Autism & Learning Disability (ASC/LD) Pathway Trainees
- Specialist support
- Adapted psychological interventions
- Work collaboratively
Support offered:
Specialise in supporting autistic children/young people and those with learning disabilities
Receive training in adapted psychological interventions
Work collaboratively with families, schools and multidisciplinary teams
Sessions can be delivered in both 1:1 and group context, in person or online.
The service standard operating hours are Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm (last sessions at 4pm).
How Are Trainees Supervised?
Trainees receive:
· Weekly clinical supervision from an accredited, experienced clinician
· Regular case discussions with their team
· Close oversight of assessment, planning and intervention
They do not work independently. All their work is monitored to ensure safety and quality.
The service supports children and young people aged 5 to 18 years old.
This is a short-term offer ranging between 6 to 14 weeks dependent on pathway, this can be explained during the triage.
We accept self-referrals via the link below, should you have any troubles completing this then you can contact a member of the team at cyp@northkentmind.co.uk for guidance.

