Highly Specialist Speech and Language - Experts at Hand

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust; Amersham; Hybrid; GBP 49,000 - 57,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Learning and development

Annual leave and pension

NHS discount schemes

Job summary

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust in Amersham is seeking an experienced Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist to join the Experts at Hand programme. This Band 7 role focuses on consultation, coaching and collaboration with education settings to improve communication and participation for children and young people.

The post offers leadership, opportunities to influence practice at setting and system-wide levels, and a chance to contribute to SEND provision within Buckinghamshire.

Qualifications

• Substantial post-registration experience with children and young people (0–19).
• Experience in education and early years settings.
• Experience delivering training and modelling to non-therapy staff.
• Experience in service evaluation and quality improvement.

Responsibilities

• Provide consultation, coaching and training to education settings.
• Identify and reduce barriers to communication and learning.
• Deliver strategies through the graduated approach with education staff.
• Lead, supervise and support colleagues and therapy assistants.
• Contribute to service development and quality improvement.

Skills

Communication skills

Leadership

Coaching

Training delivery

Multidisciplinary collaboration

Education

Recognised OT degree or equivalent

HCPC registration

RCSLT membership

CPD evidence

Post-registration SALT training

Supervision/mentoring training

Job description

Highly Specialist Speech and Language - Experts at Hand

Band 7

Main area Speech and Language Therapy Grade Band 7 Contract Permanent Hours

• Full time
• Part time
• Job share
• Flexible working

37.5 hours per week Job ref 434-CR8232540

Site Amersham Hospital Town Amersham Salary £49,387 - £56,515 per annum pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 07/10/2026 23:59

Be part of our BHT family

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust (BHT) is an integrated provider of acute hospital and community services for people living in Buckinghamshire and the surrounding area.

We care for over half a million patients every year:

• Provide specialist spinal services at our world renowned National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, the birthplace of the Paralympics
• Nationally recognised for urology and skin cancer services
• Regional specialist centre for burns, plastic surgery, dermatology, stroke and cardiac services
• Deliver community services in health centres, schools, patients’ own homes, community hospitals and community hubs.

More than 6,500 people from different nations, cultures and backgrounds work for us.

We would be happy to discuss possible flexible working options. We strive to be a family friendly, inclusive employer.

We pride ourselves in being a great place to work and invite you to join our BHT family.

Job overview

Are you an experienced Speech and Language Therapist looking to make an impact on outcomes for children and young people? Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust is seeking a S peech and Language Therapy Degree and Speech and Language Therapy/Therapist to join the innovative Experts at Hand programme, part of the Children and Young People's Integrated Therapy Service.

Experts at Hand is a key element of Buckinghamshire's SEND reform programme, providing early, needs-led support to education settings through consultation, coaching, training and whole-setting approaches. In partnership with Buckinghamshire Council and the ICB, the programme aims to build inclusive, communication-friendly environments where children and young people can thrive.

This is an exciting opportunity for a clinician to apply their expertise beyond traditional direct therapy delivery. You will work collaboratively with education professionals to identify and address barriers to communication, participation and learning, supporting the implementation of evidence-based approaches through the graduated response.

The role offers the opportunity to influence practice at a setting and system-wide level, contributing to workforce development, service improvement and the ongoing development of an innovative countywide model of support. If you are passionate about inclusion, empowering others and improving outcomes for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs, we would love to hear from you.

Main duties of the job

As a Highly Specialist S peech and Language Therapy Degree and Speech and Language Therapy/Therapist within the Experts at Hand programme, you will provide consultation, coaching and training to education settings across Buckinghamshire, supporting inclusive, communication-friendly environments.
Working with education staff, you will identify and reduce barriers to communication, participation and learning through observation, consultation and evidence-based recommendations. You will support children and young people with a range of speech, language and communication needs, including Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), speech sound disorders, social communication differences, language and learning needs, neurodevelopmental communication needs and participation difficulties.
Through the graduated approach, you will help education staff implement strategies and reasonable adjustments.You will deliver training, develop resources and promote communication-inclusive practice across educational settings.
Working with colleagues across education, health, social care and the voluntary sector, you will contribute to strengthening SEND provision and improving outcomes. As a senior clinician, you will provide leadership, supervision and support to colleagues and therapy assistants, while contributing to service development, quality improvement, audit and outcome evaluation.
This is an exciting opportunity to influence practice at setting and system-wide level and make an impact for children and young people across Buckinghamshire.

What does Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust offer you?

As part of our BHT family, you’ll benefit from learning and development opportunities to support your career progression.

Alongside NHS benefits of generous annual leave entitlement and pension scheme, you'll have access to NHS discount schemes.

We provide a range of health and wellbeing services to promote a healthy, happy workforce.

What do we stand for?

Our vision is to provide outstanding care, support healthy communities and be a great place to work.

Our mission is to provide personal and compassionate care every time.

We are working hard to increase diversity at all levels within the trust. We believe a diverse workforce can have a positive effect on both staff wellbeing and patient outcomes.

We welcome applications from black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates, candidates with disabilities and care-experienced candidates.

We make employment decisions by matching our service needs with the skills and experience of candidates, regardless of age, disability, gender, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For a comprehensive list of responsibilities and duties, please kindly refer to the Job Description and Person Specification by downloading the JD and PS attachment in the advert.

If you are an internal applicant there is the option for secondment, all applicants must have the endorsement/support of their line manager prior to application.

Person specification

Values

• Communicates openly, honestly and professionally, and actively promotes team working and building strong working relationships
• Patients are always first. Drives service improvements. Strong self-awareness with a desire to grow.
• Treats all with compassion and kindness. Ensures everyone feels valued.
• Consults others and listens to their views/opinions. Enables others to take the initiative

EDUCATION, QUALIFICATIONS & TRAINING

• Recognised Occupational Therapy degree qualification or equivalent
• Current Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) registration / Licence to Practise
• Registered member of the relevant professional body (RCSLT)
• Evidence of continuing professional development, including post-registration training relevant to children and young people
• Post-registration specialist training relevant to speech and language therapy needs (including sensory, motor, self-regulation and functional participation needs)
• Evidence of training in supervision, coaching, teaching or workforce development

EXPERIENCE

• Substantial post-registration experience working with children and young people (0–19) with a complex range of needs
• Highly specialist experience of assessing and managing occupational therapy needs (including DLD, speech sound and social communication needs) in children and young people
• Experience of working within, or in close partnership with, education and early years settings
• Experience of delivering consultation, coaching and modelling to non-therapy staff
• Experience of designing and delivering training to professionals and the wider workforce
• Experience of working as part of a multidisciplinary and multi-agency team
• Experience of supervising, mentoring or line managing staff and/or assistants
• Experience of service evaluation, audit or quality improvement
• Experience of contributing to the graduated approach and SEND processes

SKILLS, ABILITIES & KNOWLEDGE

• Highly specialist knowledge and clinical reasoning relating to occupational therapy needs (including DLD, speech sound and social communication needs)
• Advanced knowledge of current SEND legislation, the SEND Code of Practice, the graduated approach and SEND reform, spanning education and health
• Knowledge of relevant SALT assessment tools and evidence-based interventions for this population
• Highly developed communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex and sensitive information to a range of audiences
• Ability to negotiate, influence and manage differences of professional opinion constructively
• Ability to prioritise and organise a complex, autonomous caseload across multiple settings
• Ability to develop resources and deliver engaging training and coaching
• Knowledge of safeguarding responsibilities and their application in practice
• Competent IT and record-keeping skills, including electronic record systems and remote / virtual delivery, clinical and non-clinical

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES

• Ability to travel independently across Buckinghamshire to multiple community and education settings
• Ability to transport resources and equipment required for service delivery

PPE requirements: Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust requires all colleagues to wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) in accordance with our infection prevention and control procedures.

Flu vaccinations remain the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course our patients from the viruses when working in our healthcare settings. We encourage our staff to be vaccinated when recommended.

Application deadline: This post will close on the closing date stated at midnight, however if we receive a large number of applications or there is a change in circumstance, we may be required to close a job before the advertised date.

Contacting you: We will contact candidates through the email address supplied on their application form. Please make sure you check this regularly.

Application information: If you are offered a job, information will be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records (ESR) system.

Shortlisting: The monitoring and safeguarding sections are not made visible to the shortlisting panel. The safeguarding section may be made visible to the interview panel, dependent on the role being recruited into.

Travel expenses: It is Trust policy that travel expenses for interviews will not be reimbursed.

Smoking: All Trust sites are NO SMOKING. Smoking in all areas of the buildings and premises is prohibited.

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.

We want to ensure you perform at your best during the interview process. Therefore, all shortlisted candidates will receive details of what to expect in the interview process in advance.