Dev Specialist Speech & Language Therapist, dypshagia & complex needs

Whittington Health; London; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 51,000; Part time

Job summary

Whittington Health is seeking a dedicated Speech & Language Therapist to join their team, focusing on children with complex needs and dysphagia in a part-time role. You will collaboratively assess and provide therapy, supporting the multi-disciplinary team while engaged in continuous professional development.

Qualifications

• Evidence of a range of experience working with children with complex needs.
• Experience of carrying out assessment and intervention for children with autism.
• Registered with HCPC and RCSLT.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist input into assessment and therapy for children with SLCN.
• Participate in clinical governance and audits to evaluate practice.
• Support junior colleagues and contribute to professional development.

Skills

Communication

Empathy

Teamwork

Education

Diploma, Degree or MSC in Speech and Language Therapy

Registered Member of the RCSLT

HCPC Registration to Practice

Job description

Dev Specialist Speech & Language Therapist, dypshagia & complex needs

NHS AfC: Band 6

Main area Speech and Language Therapy Grade NHS AfC: Band 6 Contract Permanent: This is a part time post with possibilities of additional hours in other teams. Hours Part time - 22.5 hours per week Job ref 220-WHT-3188

Employer Whittington Health NHS Trust Employer type NHS Site Tynemouth Road Health Centre Town Tottenham Salary £42,939 - £50,697 pro-rata per annum inclusive of HCAs (dependant on experience) Salary period Yearly Closing 06/07/2025 23:59

Getting vaccinated, and getting a booster, remains the best defence against COVID-19.
We encourage and support staff to get COVID-19 vaccine and a booster dose as and when they are eligible.

Please note in order to progress your application, your data will be processed by our 3 rd party recruitment providers – North London Partners Shared Service, who conduct recruitment activities on behalf of Whittington Health NHS Trust.

By applying for this role, you accept in the event you are successful that your personal data may be transferred from the Trust to another NHS organisation where your employment transfers within the NHS. This is in accordance with the streamlining programme which is aimed at saving you time and improving efficiencies within the NHS when your employment transfers.

Job overview

This is a wonderful opportunity to progress in complex needs and dysphagia. The post holder will be part of our rich peer supported network in the Haringey Early Years SLT team and will have an interest in developing a specialism with a caseload of children with dysphagia, SLCN and autism. You will provide assessment and treatment on an individual and group basis. Your caseload will consist of neonates to 5 yrs. You will advise and give training on AAC and autism to parents and EY Practitioners. You will work alongside the specialists in this area and be part of a skilled MDT including PTs, OTs, dietitians, HVs, paediatricians, portage visitors and infant feeding specialists, with opportunities for joint working and interdisciplinary learning. You will also work with and support more junior staff including therapists, assistants and students.

Your caseload of children will have SLCN and/or dysphagia and will include clinic, home and/or nursery visits. You will advise/train carers and multi-agency staff on issues related to both individual cases and effective communication strategies/good communication environments. The postholder will demonstrate a high level of clinical expertise and participate in CPD to maintain and further develop specialist knowledge and clinical practice. This is an opportunity for development in dysphagia competencies.

Main duties of the job

• To provide specialist input into assessment and therapy for children with SLCN (including autism) and dysphagia and their families (age under 5 years).
• The postholder will demonstrate ahigh level of clinical expertise and participate in continuing professional development to maintain and further develop specialist knowledge and clinical practice.
• To be involved in clinical governance issues by keeping up to date with developments in paediatrics, undertaking audits to evaluate practice and participating in research projects.
• To have a support role with junior colleagues, therapy assistants and students.
• To advise and train carers and multi-agency staff on issues related to both individual cases and effective communication and language strategies.

Working for our organisation

Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To take a specialist role in developing the SLT service to children with complex needs & dysphagia, including contributing to developing care pathways and packages, assessment, therapy and training materials specific to this client group.
• To assess, differentially diagnose, plan and implement therapy for children with speech, language and/or communication difficulties on own caseload.
• To carry out home, school and nursery observations as part of the assessment where necessary.
• To be able to gather information that may be sensitive or complex and analyse it as part of a full assessment of a client’s strengths and difficulties.
• To work closely with clients/carers and MDT using empathy, tact, reassurance and active listening to complete assessments, discuss results, and involve them in forward plans and any onward referrals.
• To reflect on clinical practice; adequately identifying strengths & needs of clients, reviewing their response to therapy and providing evidence of sound clinical judgement.
• To routinely overcome barriers to communication during assessment. This includes the use of sign, symbols or other AAC strategies with communication disordered clients/carers, as well as the use of interpreters for clients and carers who do not have English as a first language. Making sure to take into account cultural and linguistic backgrounds and disabilities.
• To seek second opinions from senior colleagues in complex cases.
• To produce accurate and detailed notes, reports, therapy programmes, advice and information as necessary in a timely manner.
• To provide advice/supervision to junior staff and students on a range of issues related to neurodiversity and assessment.
• To demonstrate highly effective personal coordination of day-to-day activities including prioritising caseloads, decision-making and problem so lving.
• Liaise with other agencies involved in the child’s care, including relatives/carers and education staff, as appropriate to the individual child’s needs.
• To adhere to and apply the Health and Care Professions Council’s (HCPC) standards of proficiency and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) code of ethics and professional conduct and all other relevant guidance from Whittington Health NHS Trust.

Person specification

Education/ Qualifications/ Training

• Diploma, Degree or MSC in Speech and Language Therapy
• Registered Member of the RCSLT and HCPC Registration to Practice
• Evidence of successful completion of short courses and other CPD in clinical area

Skills/Abilities/Experience

• Evidence of a range of experience working with children with complex needs
• Experience of carrying out assessment and intervention for children with complex needs including children with Down syndrome, Autism and general developmental delay
• Experience of prioritisation of therapy/ own workload. Experience working collaboratively with colleagues in health and other agencies including education.
• Evidence of a range of experience working with children with dysphagia.

Other Requirements

• To take the majority of leave in school holidays
• An ability to speak a non-European language – especially Turkish or an African language.

SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN AND ADULTS

To comply with the Trust’s Safeguarding Children and Adults policies, procedures and protocols. All individual members of staff (paid or unpaid) have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults This will require you to:

• Ensure you are familiar with and comply with the London Child Protection Procedures and protocols for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young people.
• Ensure you are familiar and comply with theLondon Multi Agency Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Pan London Procedures.
• Ensure you are familiar and comply with local protocols and systems for information sharing.
• Know the appropriate contact numbers and required reporting lines.
• Participate in required training and supervision.
• Comply with required professional boundaries and codes of conduct

Whittington Health is committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Your application form –

• Provide only business email address for your referees – we are unable to request references from yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail accounts.
• Make sure you to include all evidence of where you meet the essential requirement on the jobs description as this forms the base of our shortlisting criteria.

Our processes –

• Closing dates are given as a guide; we are within our right to close adverts early so please ensure you submit your application as soon as possible to avoid delay.
• If you do not hear from us up to 3 weeks after the closing date of the job unfortunatelythis means you have not been successfullyshortlisted for interview. If your require feedback on your application please contact the appointing manager detailed in the body of the advert.
• Please check your emails regularly as all correspondence from us will be via trac.systems – occasionally these emails will go into your Junk folder.
• Employment at Whittington Health is offered subject to successful completion of a 6 month probationary period for all staff with the exception of GMC Registered Doctors.

Other important information –

• Applications from job seekers who require sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. Before submitting your application and to avoid disappointment please check that you areeligible under theUKVI points based system .
• Applications are welcome from people wishing to job share or work flexible patterns. We are committed to equal opportunities.
• In submitting an application form, you authorise WhittingtonHealth NHS Trust to confirm any previous NHS service details via the Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process should you be appointed to the post.

If you are offered a role with one of the NLPSS partner trusts, as part of pre-employment checks youridentity and right to work documentation will be verifiedremotely (in most circumstances), using a certified identity verification service provider TrustID. You will be asked to capture an image of the relevant documents as well as a “selfie” using your smartphone/tablet (if available) for facial matching. TrustID will also perform a digital address check using Trunarrative and Equifax, which is a soft check and does not leave a footprint on your credit rating. For more information, visit www.trustid.co.uk

Please note that during the recruitment process your Identity Documentation (i.e. passport, driving licence, visa, etc.) will be scanned using a device which recognises UV, Infrared and Machine Readable Zone security features of the documents provided

The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.

We would welcome applications from individuals who are from underrepresented groups in the organisation

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name Christine Hennigan Job title Clinical Lead Specialist SLT for complex needs Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 07469 647 386

If you have problems applying, contact

Address WHT
Telephone If you have any queries, please contact NLPSS Recruitment Helpdesk tel. [phone]