Band 7 Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist

Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust; Welwyn Garden City; Híbrido; GBP 44.000 - 50.000; Jornada completa

Ventajas ofrecidas por este puesto de trabajo

Annual leave 27 days +8 after service

Flexible working

Employee Assistance Programme

Cycle to Work

NHS Discounts

Health and wellbeing support

Occupational Pension Scheme

Enhanced sick pay

Descripción de la vacante

Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust is expanding its Early Years SLT service and recruiting Band 7 Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapists. You will work across Hertfordshire with potential bases in West, Stevenage and Hatfield, shaping early years interventions and building workforce capability.

You will implement an integrated consultation-led approach, collaborate with Education Leads, DSPL areas, and Family Centres, and provide expert advice to ensure timely access to specialist

Formación

• Recognised Speech & Language Therapy degree and HCPC registration.
• Post-qualifying training or equivalent experience in the field.
• Full UK driving licence and access to a car for business use.

Responsabilidades

• Collaborate with Early Years settings and education professionals.
• Develop and shape early years interventions with Education Leads and Clinical Leads.
• Build networks with Family Centres and support universal/targeted offers.
• Seek regular feedback from settings and adapt services accordingly.
• Provide training and specialist advice to therapy teams and settings.
• Support senior management at a strategic level.

Conocimientos

Collaboration with educators

Clinical leadership

Service development

Training delivery

Educación

Recognised SLT degree (HCPC registered)

Postgraduate qualification in Speech & Language Therapy

Descripción del empleo

Job summary

As part of Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust's (HCT) commitment to the Experts at Hand model, we are delighted to be able to expand our Children's Speech and Language Therapy Early Years service and offer an exciting opportunity to join our service as a Band 7 Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist for Early Years.

Are you committed to achieving the very best outcomes for children and families?

• Would you welcome the opportunity to shape and develop clinical services for the Early Years population?
• Are you passionate about delivering expert support through collaborative models of care, ensuring specialist knowledge is available when and where it is needed?

If so, this opportunity could be just right for you at HCT.

We are recruiting Band 7 SLTs to join our large and forward-thinking team of therapists and assistants. Postholders will play a key role in sharing specialist knowledge and building capability across the wider workforce in Hertfordshire. Working collaboratively with colleagues, families and partner agencies, you will support a consultation‑led approach that enables children to access the right expertise at the right time, while empowering those around them to develop the confidence and skills needed to meet communication needs effectively.

Our Band 7 Early Years SLTs will be based across Hertfordshire, with potential bases at present being West Hertfordshire and East/North Hertfordshire, e.g. Stevenage and Hatfield.

Main duties of the job

The Experts at Hand model is a key part of the local SEND Reform Plan, which focuses on providing earlier specialist advice, consultation and intervention through an integrated multidisciplinary model. Our Band 7 SLT roles will help to enable the service to continue to shape the support offered to children under 5 years who are at risk of/present with SLCN.

As an Early Years specialist, you will:

• work collaboratively with Early Years settings, strengthening relationships with education professionals (within Hertfordshire DSPL areas)
• work in partnership with our SLT Education Leads, Clinical Leads and Clinical Quality leads, to help develop and shape early years interventions
• develop networks with our colleagues in Family Centres, and continue to support delivery of our universal and targeted offer
• seek regular feedback from Early Years settings and be responsive/make changes to service provision that will benefit the wider Hertfordshire system
• work with therapy teams and settings to provide training and specialist advice and support
• support the senior management team at a strategic level

We offer

• a 2 week induction period where you will have the opportunity to observe and shadow your team
• access to a named buddy
• regular clinical and managerial supervision
• a well-established Appraisal system
• CPD opportunities such as bitesize tutorials; CENs; etc.
• a hybrid model of face:face and remote working

About us

We're delighted that you're exploring a career with HCT. As an organisation, we're committed to creating an inclusive, supportive, and rewarding work environment one where you'll feel valued and empowered to make a real difference.

At HCT, we put patients, their families, and carers at the heart of everything we do. Our vision is simple yet powerful: Outstanding Services and Healthier Communities.

Working with us comes with a host of benefits designed to support your wellbeing and work-life balance:

• Generous annual leave(27 days rising to 33 with long service)
• Flexible working arrangements, including up to 5 days of carers leave (pro rata)
• Employee Assistance Programmeoffering 24/7 confidential support
• Cycle to Work and Car Lease Schemes
• Blue Light Card and NHS Discounts
• Health and wellbeing support, including free flu jabs, Physiotherapy referrals, etc.
• Occupational Pension Scheme
• Enhanced sick payabove statutory entitlements

We celebrate diversity and actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds, ages, and communities to apply.

We're excited about the possibility of welcoming you to our team and taking the next step in your journey with us.

Word versions of documents are available if needed to allow for any adaptations to be made i.e. font, colour, background, convert to Read Aloud.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see Job Description attached, which details the responsibilities within this post.

The Experts at Hand offer is designed to:

• strengthen the ability of mainstream settings to identify and meet needs earlier
• support children and young people without having to rely on intensive individual referrals
• be delivered in and alongside mainstream settings, bringing health and education expertise closer to where children and young people are
• support settings to deliver highquality inclusive practice consistently
• focus primarily on group, class or wholesetting approaches

Experts at Hand: what those leading and working in mainstream settings need to know - GOV.UK

The Experts at Hand model will help our Childrens SLT Service to continue to build on our strengths and the excellent support services we already have in place. We have a very successful model of SLT Education leads across each of our 9 DSPL areas in Hertfordshire, who provide systemic support to schools. We currently have Early Years Band 7 SLTs in post currently who are offering fantastic support to our wider childrens workforce but we want to build on our model and create more roles for Early Years so that we can continue to focus on creating the best outcomes for children.

Applications for full time and part time work will be considered. A full valid driving license and access to a car to use regularly for business purposes is essential (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010).

In addition to the basic salary, this post attracts a High Cost Area Supplement of 5% of basic salary subject to a minimum payment of £1,346 and a maximum payment of £2,270 per annum (pro rata where applicable and dependent on base location).

Interview date is set for 5th October 2026.

Whilst it is not a legal requirement, Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust encourages and supports all its staff to be vaccinated as this remains the best line of defence against COVID-19.

Person Specification

Qualifications and Training

Essential

• Recognised Speech & Language Therapy Degree Qualification or equivalent (Post Graduate Diploma or MSc in Speech & Language Therapy)
• Evidence of post qualifying training and/or equivalent experience to maintain and develop highly specialist knowledge in area of specialism
• Registered to practice with Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC)
• Registered member of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, Membership of relevant CEN

Experience and Knowledge

Essential

• Demonstrate substantial clinical experience and describe experience of assessment; differential diagnosis and evidence-based intervention
• Describe examples of effective co-production (including service users and/ or their representatives) analysing their views and needs and jointly agreeing positive outcomes for children and young people with SEND
• In-depth knowledge and understanding of the Children and Families Act 2014 and SEN Code of Practice 0-25 (2014) and local SEND Reform Plan
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of children's services at both a local and national level
• Show evidence of devising and delivering training, as well as targeted interventions
• Describe experience of effective multi‑agency working across health, education and local authority services

Skills and abilities

Essential

• Describe ability to use advanced oral and written communication to a high standard and strong negotiation skills, to manage conflict and challenging situations
• Provide evidence of adapting to the learning style of others and demonstrate flexibility in own leadership style
• Demonstrates own continuous learning and improvement through reflection
• Able to switch between different techniques and models of service delivery within a short space of time
• Shows emotional intelligence and personal resilience when managing challenging situations
• Evidence of leading on service improvement projects and managing own priorities autonomously

Other

Essential

• Hold a full valid driving licence and access to a car to use regularly for business purposes is essential (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010).

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the .

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. .

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see

Employer details

Employer name

Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust

Address

Howard Court

14 Tewin Road

Welwyn Garden City

AL7 1BW

United Kingdom

Employer's website