Our mission as a charity is to create brighter todays and better tomorrow for the children and families of Noah’s Ark. The wellbeing team, comprising of the Programme Manager, Senior Ward Counsellor, Sparkle Co-ordinators and Music Therapist, work collaboratively to provide emotional and practical support to children, young people and families within the hospital.
This is an exciting opportunity for a skilled and compassionate professional to join us as a ward counsellor. Working closely with colleagues across the charity and NHS teams, the successful candidate will play a key role in delivering high-quality emotional support and will have the opportunity to see the direct impact of their work on the children and families we support. They will provide emotional and therapeutic support to children, young people and families during their time in hospital. This includes delivering counselling sessions, emotional first aid, wellbeing check-ins and Art for Wellbeing sessions on the oncology ward. The role focuses on supporting those experiencing the emotional impact of hospital admission, treatment and diagnosis, particularly children and families facing long or repeated admissions, medical trauma, complex care needs or significant emotional distress. Working closely with colleagues across the hospital and the charity the ward counsellor will help ensure children and families receive timeline, compassionate and coordinated wellbeing support throughout their hospital journey.
See the job description and person specifiation document for more details.
Registered Charity 
11 - 20
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Pay: M1 (£36,642 - £40,356 a year based on 44.6 weeks per year which is term time, plus one week for insets and holiday pay. This is split over 12 monthly payments).
The trust is part of the Local Government Pension Scheme that contributes 17.8% as employer pension contributions.
Start Date: Ideally September 2026 (please note our intention is for our outgoing Service Manager to work alongside you for approximately 6 weeks so you feel confident in the role before she departs)
Forest House Education Centre (FHEC) is a hospital school for 13-17-year-old pupils, attached to the Forest House Adolescent Unit, a Tier 4 CAMHS inpatient facility on the Kingsley Green hospital site. The Centre provides education for the patients occupying the Adolescent Unit's sixteen beds, while additionally being the sole educator for eight 'day pupils' who are referred by Hertfordshire County Council through ESMA (the LA's tutorial service for pupils who are out of mainstream education for medical reasons).
The Service Manager at Forest House Education Centre will work closely with Trust leaders to effectively manage the day to day provision of the service.
The candidate’s key role will include liaising with stakeholders to ensure effective communication and collaboration between ESMA, Forest House Adolescent Unit, base schools, pupils and their families and professionals involved in the care and education of our pupils; to ensure the best outcomes for all those at FHEC; attend multi-agency meetings as necessary and work in conjunction with the Trust staff to ensure that all aspects of the SLA (service level agreement) are met.
The candidate will have experience of dealing with pupils with Mental Health issues and have excellent communication skills. Interested parties must have a diplomatic, tactful and creative approach to team working.
Please see job description for more information.
Closing date for applications is 9am on Friday 4th September 2026. Candidates are welcome to call and speak to the Head Teacher and/or arrange to visit the school site. Please use contact details above to make arrangements.
Applications Close: 9 am on Friday 4th September 2026
Interviews: Week Commencing Monday 7th September 2026
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.