School and Community Based Counsellor
| Posting date: | 25 November 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £16,541 to £22,301 per year |
| Hours: | Part time |
| Closing date: | 15 December 2025 |
| Location: | The Vale of Glamorgan, Wales |
| Remote working: | On-site only |
| Company: | Barnardo's |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 21258 |
Summary
Vale of Glamorgan School & Community Based Counselling Service
We are looking for an experienced and qualified Counsellor to join our team of counsellors based within Vale of Glamorgan High Schools and the Community. The position is part time, 7.4 hours per day, 3-days (22.2 hours) per week, over 42 weeks (39 weeks term time and 3 weeks non-term term). This is a unique opportunity for a highly motivated individual to work with us; contributing to the delivery of a busy service aligned with our 2024-2027 strategic vision of Changing Childhoods, Changing Lives.
The salary for this role is £30,194 (Full Time Equivalent) £16,541 pro rata and is non-negotiable. Other salaries are shown so that applicants are aware of the progression salaries.
What is the Vale School & Community Based Counselling Service (VSCBCS)?
Commissioned by The Vale of Glamorgan Council, we have successfully run the VSCBCS for almost 10 years. Guided by the School & Community Based Counselling Operating Toolkit (revised 2020) we operate from High Schools across the Vale and within the Community, with counselling rooms in Barry and Cardiff.
The aim of the service is to reduce psychological distress in children and young people by providing a safe space and forming empathic, non-judgemental and supportive relationships to enable them to find their own answers to their own problems. In turn, this will improve their emotional health and wellbeing and support the development of effective coping strategies, enabling them to better understand and cope with what they are going through.
We put the voices of children and young people at the heart of what we do by providing person centred, client led counselling for children & young people using a bespoke combination of talking therapy and creative activities.
What does the role involve?
Practicing ethically and in line with the BACP and Barnardo's policies and procedures, you will contribute to the work of the VSCBCS as a Counsellor. You will be part of a small team and supported by the Team Manager. You will be responsible for managing your own case load, managing a waiting list, undertaking assessments, delivering up to 6 counselling sessions on a 1:1 basis within schools and/or within the Community and completing digital recordings.
You will have:
Level 4 Counselling Diploma (minimum)
Registration and membership with BACP (or equivalent)
Enhanced DBS Certificate
Experience of managing your own caseload to include planning, undertaking and evaluating complex therapeutic interventions
Knowledge, understanding and experience of safeguarding children and young people
Experience of undertaking assessments, including risk assessments.
Experience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team and of working cooperatively with a range of agencies.
Knowledge and experience of the issues relevant to working within an education environment
Experience of using digital recording systems to input data to case files
Driving licence and access to your own vehicle (you will be required to work at any of the sites within the Vale of Glamorgan, sometimes at short notice)
What do we offer?
Comprehensive induction
Monthly Clinical Supervision
6-weekly Manager Supervision
Management, Peer and Admin support
Competitive salary
Pension scheme with Death in Service Cover
Training and CPD opportunities
Employee discount schemes
Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
Recognition Day
Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to exploring flexible working arrangements.
Barnardo's is committed to becoming a trauma responsive organisation and these principles underpin all our services.
Need any further information?
If you require any further information about this opportunity, please contact Katrina Hewitson, Team Manager (VSCBCS) 02920 577074 or 07749437124.
Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date. We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible.
About Barnardo's
We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.
Our basis and values
We are looking for an experienced and qualified Counsellor to join our team of counsellors based within Vale of Glamorgan High Schools and the Community. The position is part time, 7.4 hours per day, 3-days (22.2 hours) per week, over 42 weeks (39 weeks term time and 3 weeks non-term term). This is a unique opportunity for a highly motivated individual to work with us; contributing to the delivery of a busy service aligned with our 2024-2027 strategic vision of Changing Childhoods, Changing Lives.
The salary for this role is £30,194 (Full Time Equivalent) £16,541 pro rata and is non-negotiable. Other salaries are shown so that applicants are aware of the progression salaries.
What is the Vale School & Community Based Counselling Service (VSCBCS)?
Commissioned by The Vale of Glamorgan Council, we have successfully run the VSCBCS for almost 10 years. Guided by the School & Community Based Counselling Operating Toolkit (revised 2020) we operate from High Schools across the Vale and within the Community, with counselling rooms in Barry and Cardiff.
The aim of the service is to reduce psychological distress in children and young people by providing a safe space and forming empathic, non-judgemental and supportive relationships to enable them to find their own answers to their own problems. In turn, this will improve their emotional health and wellbeing and support the development of effective coping strategies, enabling them to better understand and cope with what they are going through.
We put the voices of children and young people at the heart of what we do by providing person centred, client led counselling for children & young people using a bespoke combination of talking therapy and creative activities.
What does the role involve?
Practicing ethically and in line with the BACP and Barnardo's policies and procedures, you will contribute to the work of the VSCBCS as a Counsellor. You will be part of a small team and supported by the Team Manager. You will be responsible for managing your own case load, managing a waiting list, undertaking assessments, delivering up to 6 counselling sessions on a 1:1 basis within schools and/or within the Community and completing digital recordings.
You will have:
Level 4 Counselling Diploma (minimum)
Registration and membership with BACP (or equivalent)
Enhanced DBS Certificate
Experience of managing your own caseload to include planning, undertaking and evaluating complex therapeutic interventions
Knowledge, understanding and experience of safeguarding children and young people
Experience of undertaking assessments, including risk assessments.
Experience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team and of working cooperatively with a range of agencies.
Knowledge and experience of the issues relevant to working within an education environment
Experience of using digital recording systems to input data to case files
Driving licence and access to your own vehicle (you will be required to work at any of the sites within the Vale of Glamorgan, sometimes at short notice)
What do we offer?
Comprehensive induction
Monthly Clinical Supervision
6-weekly Manager Supervision
Management, Peer and Admin support
Competitive salary
Pension scheme with Death in Service Cover
Training and CPD opportunities
Employee discount schemes
Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
Recognition Day
Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to exploring flexible working arrangements.
Barnardo's is committed to becoming a trauma responsive organisation and these principles underpin all our services.
Need any further information?
If you require any further information about this opportunity, please contact Katrina Hewitson, Team Manager (VSCBCS) 02920 577074 or 07749437124.
Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date. We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible.
About Barnardo's
We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.
Our basis and values
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.