Paeds Occupational Therapist Social Care

Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust; Watford; On-site; GBP 31,000 - 47,000; Full time

Job summary

A community health trust in the UK is looking for a motivated Occupational Therapist to join their Children and Young People’s Occupational Therapy Service in Watford. The role involves supporting children and families with their occupational needs, assessing requirements for home adaptations, and working within a multi-disciplinary team. Interested candidates must be HCPC registered and have a passion for enhancing children's lives. A welcoming team and extensive professional development opportunities await the right individual.

Benefits

Generous annual leave

Flexible working arrangements

Employee Assistance Programme

Cycle to Work and Car Lease Schemes

NHS Discounts

Health and wellbeing support

Occupational Pension Scheme

Enhanced sick pay

Qualifications

• Experience working with children and young people required.
• Evidence of training relevant to specialty preferred.
• Ability to adapt communication skills for diverse needs.

Responsibilities

• Support children and families with occupational performance needs.
• Assess and provide recommendations for home adaptations.
• Work collaboratively within a multi-disciplinary team.

Skills

Communication skills

Organisational skills

Clinical reasoning

Education

Diploma/Degree in Occupational Therapy

Registered with Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)

Job description

Paeds Occupational Therapist Social Care

Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust's (HCT) Children and Young People's Occupational Therapy Service has dedicated specialist posts to support CYP with occupational performance needs which impact on their access to activities of daily life including equipment and adaptations to the their home.

We are excited to be able to offer a 1 WTE Band 5/6 (dependent on experience) Occupational Therapist (OT) post on a fixed term basis for 9 months, to cover a maternity leave. The post is based in Watford, in the Social Care team. If you enjoy being community based and working with CYP and their families, this post could be just right for you. We can support with training to develop your relevant clinical skills, and experience in supporting CYP is preferred but not essential. You will be involved in the assessment and provision of equipment and home adaptations for children and families, and with developing clinical pathways.

This is an exciting time for us as we continue to grow our support offer to provide specialist services in a 3-tiered model. We are embedding health coaching & top-down models into our care pathways. You will be part of a friendly and supportive integrated therapy team delivering a locally driven, needs led service; ensuring children and their families are at the heart of service delivery.

Main duties of the job

You will be part of the Social Care team, consisting of a Clinical Quality Lead, Highly Specialist OTs, Trusted Assessors and Therapy Assistant Practitioners. The service sits within the CYP Integrated Therapies service, and has strong links to other health professionals, social care, education and voluntary sector.

You will:

• Be a qualified Occupational Therapist with HCPC registration.
• Have knowledge of working within CYP services with a range of developmental, neurological and health conditions or be willing to develop your knowledge and skills in this area.
• Have interest in the recommendation and delivery of specialist home equipment including minor and major adaptations in the family's own home.
• Maintain a high degree of professionalism when working in highly emotive situations.
• Have a foundation in safeguarding assessment and risk assessment relating to equipment provision.
• Work within the legislative framework of CYP including the Children’s Act (1989), Chronically sick and disabled persons Act (1970) and working alongside housing team.

We can offer you

• A friendly team and a great place to work
• Regular line-management and professional supervision
• Personal development planning and opportunities for continuing professional development.
• Access to internal and external training to further develop your specialist OT and leadership skills.
• Mentoring and coaching
• Structured induction period and a peer buddy during your first few months.

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. Our dedicated staff take pride in being Innovative, Caring, and Agile, working together to turn this vision into reality.

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 to help balance personal and professional life, including up to 5 days of carers leave (pro rata)
• Employee Assistance Programme offering 24/7 confidential support for personal or work-related issues
• Cycle to Work and Car Lease Schemes
• Blue Light Card and NHS Discounts
• Health and wellbeing support, including free flu jabs, Physiotherapy referrals, eye care vouchers, etc
• Occupational Pension Scheme with competitive benefits
• Enhanced sick pay above statutory entitlements

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

If there’s high interest in this role, we may close applications earlier than the advertised deadline – so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

Job responsibilities

Successful candidates will need to be enthusiastic and motivated. Good communication, clinical reasoning and organisational skills are essential and you will need to be flexible in your approach.

You must be a team player but be able to work autonomously and have the ability to champion the needs of your patients, and you must have knowledge of the relevant legislation and a willingness to use clinical reasoning and evidence-based approaches.

You will be joining a well-established, supportive team of therapists and assistants. CYP Therapies at HCT pride ourselves on the support we provide to staff. Please see below comments from a current member of the team:

I love working in CYPT/HCT - everyone in the team is super dedicated. There is strong management support, but also space for being flexible and creative to meet childrens needs; innovation & good practice is valued and encouraged. I enjoy & appreciate the robust supervision structures, training in supervision & coaching, and the many opportunities for personal development and learning, including for example in-house training days and tutorials. I have worked in many teams across Hertfordshire, all without exception friendly and welcoming. There is an ethos of peer support and encouragement & sharing learning; everyone works hard but there is a sense of belonging and always time for a quick chat and plenty of laughs. I feel valued here and I value my lovely colleagues and the fabulous children & young people we work with.

HCT provides integrated Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy Services for families across the county. Our CYPT integrated service provides opportunities for collaborative working, joint training and shared learning amongst each profession. Our service is jointly commissioned by health, social care and education, allowing us to provide a seamless pathway of care from early years through to schools, specialist provisions and further education settings, and at home.

HCT provides both internal and external CPD to support staff in developing and maintaining competencies.

Applicants wanting to work full time or part time will be considered. 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).

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 £1,303 and a maximum payment of £2,198 per annum pro rata (pro rata where applicable and dependent on base location).

If you have any questions at all or you would like to come and visit us, please do contact us – we are only too happy to help and would love to tell you more about our Service.

For an informal conversation please contact Caroline Griffiths, Occupational Therapist, Clinical Quality Lead on 07825316108.

You’ve taken a fantastic first step by considering HCT. 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.

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.

Interview dates are set for 17th December 2025.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Diploma/Degree in Occupational Therapy
• Registered and compliant with Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
• Evidence of postgraduate training or equivalent experience relevant to speciality such as: Sensory Integration, Child Development, Bobath Techniques, Housing Adaptation and Design, Moving and Handling of People, Specialist courses/study on conditions that affect child development, autistic spectrum disorders, ADHD, neurodevelopment conditions
• Continued Professional Development evidenced by attendance at postgraduate courses to maintain and develop own specialist knowledge and expertise.
• Membership of RCOT Special Interest Group – CYPF or Housing specialist section

Experience

• Describe your post registration experience of working with children and young people.
• What is your experience of working in the NHS and/or Local Authority or community settings.
• How have you demonstrated effective multi-disciplinary/agency working skills both within and outside of the NHS.
• Describe how you have used a range of assessments to help formulate treatment plans, including recommendations for suitable equipment, taking into account client, social and environmental factors.
• Describe how you have supported or worked with therapy assistants or student OTs on placement.
• Describe your experience in training the wider children’s workforce, parents and carers and junior colleagues.
• What is your experience of carrying out housing needs assessments in relation to the needs of the disabled child or young person, to be able to recommend housing adaptations or support rehousing applications.

Skills and Abilities

• Give examples of how you have adapted your communication skills both oral and written to meet the needs of the recipient.
• Tell us how you prioritise and manage a varied caseload? Share any tools or strategies you use.
• How do you ensure you have recorded your interventions effectively for all CYP? What systems and processes have you used?

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.

£31,049 to £46,580 a year pro rata.