Specialist Paediatric Occupational Therapist

NHS; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 44,000 - 53,000; Full time

Job summary

A local healthcare trust seeks an enthusiastic Occupational Therapist to work with children aged 0-19 in Barnet. The role involves collaboration with schools and families, providing assessments, treatments, and developing training for parents. The ideal candidate will have a degree in Occupational Therapy, effective communication skills, and commitment to ongoing development. Flexible working arrangements and support for career progression will be provided.

Benefits

Excellent CPD opportunities

Flexible working hours

Agile working arrangements

Qualifications

• Experience working in community settings with children and young people.
• Knowledge of rehabilitation evidence base and assessment tools.
• Commitment to Continuing Professional Development.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with stakeholders to support children's occupational therapy needs.
• Provide quality occupational therapy service for schools and parents.
• Plan and deliver parent training sessions.
• Conduct comprehensive assessments for children with various needs.

Skills

Excellent specific therapy assessment and treatment skills

Effective communication skills

Empathy with clients and families

Ability to manage clinical caseload

Education

Degree/Masters in Occupational Therapy

NVQ level 2 or equivalent

Registration with HCPC

Job description

Job summary

Barnet Children's Integrated Therapies have an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic, innovative and self-motivated Occupational Therapist, who is experienced in interdisciplinary working with children and young people in the community. OTs in Barnet work as part of a dynamic Integrated Therapy Team which includes Speech and Language Therapists, Physiotherapistsand TherapyAssistantsas well asOTs.

The post involves working with children and young people age 0 -19 years in a range of settings including special and mainstream schools and clinics with needs from mild to complex. Your role will be to provide assessment, advice, and treatment to children either in 1:1, groups or integrated MDT groups.

This role involves building relationships with schools as we value working closely with the staff around the child. You will have the opportunity to develop and run new training offers to support parents and schools through the Universal and targeted offer of support.

We have 1 WTE permanent post available for the successful candidates to join our Children's Integrated Therapies (CIT) Team, providing an innovative service to children and families in Barnet.

You will have opportunities for Agile working arrangements including the provision of mobile technology and flexible working hours and arrangements.

Please note a strong Band 5 who is working towards a Band 6 role will be considered as a development opportunity. Alternative working hours and patterns will be considered for this post.

Lead by Clinical Leads recognised for creating a positive work environment, we look forward to receiving your application as the first step towards welcoming you to the Barnet children's Integrated Therapy Team.

Main duties of the job

Main duties of the job

Collaborate effectively with key stakeholders including families, education staff, and community partners to support the occupational therapy needs of children within community settings. This includes upskilling others through advice, education, and practical support to promote inclusive and functional participation across environments.

. To provide an effective and efficient high quality Occupational Therapy universal service for schools and parents to access. This will involve working closely with stakeholders to identify gaps and needs in the service and developing a standard school offer which every school receives.

Instrumental in the development of training packages for school staff to upskills and educate; supporting understanding of needs and enabling modifications to the environment and activities for optimum participation.

Plan and deliver parent/carer training through structured group sessions, informal drop-ins, and individual coaching, enabling families to understand and implement therapy strategies at home to support their child's development and independence.

To carry out and record comprehensive assessments, using a range of standardized and non standardised assessments for children with a range of needs.

Working for our organisation

Working for Whittington Health in Barnet will offer:

• Outer London Pay weighting, worth up to £4,967
• Excellent CPD opportunities;
• Informal networking across the 4 Boroughs where Whittington Health provides services for Children and Young People: Islington, Haringey, Camden and Barnet;
• Commitment to excellence in practice;
• Strong and supportive supervision and direct line management;
• Agile working in the community using mobile technology;
• Flexible working hours and arrangements;
• Shadowing opportunities;
• Service and Trust Induction Packages;
• Specialist advice and second opinions
• Team Meetings
• Appraisals
• Support to develop your own clinical interests
• Team projects co-working with other colleagues

Whittington Health have an excellent reputation for being innovative, responsive and flexible to the changing clinical needs of the local population. We are treating more patients than ever before and are dedicated to improving services to deliver the best for our patients.

Please see detailed job description and specification attached. Full job description and main responsibilities attached.

About us

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.

Details Date posted

17 July 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

£44,485 to £52,521 a year per annum inclusive of HCAS

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working, Home or remote working, Compressed hours

Reference number

220-WHT-3262

Job locations

Barnet

Edgware Community Hospital

Barnet

HA8 0AD

Job description Job responsibilities

Please see detailed job description and specification attached. Full job description and main responsibilities attached.

Job description Job responsibilities

Please see detailed job description and specification attached. Full job description and main responsibilities attached.

Person Specification Education / Qualifications Essential

• NVQ level 2 or equivalent standard of literacy and numeracy
• Degree/Masters in Occupational Therapy
• Evidence of Continued Professional Development
• Membership of the RCOT
• Registration with HCPC

Desirable

• Clinical Educator training
• Masters level modules or equivalent courses in speciality

Skills & Abilities Essential

• oAdvanced knowledge of the evidence base of rehabilitation relating to specialist area.
• Excellent specific therapy assessment and treatment skills in field of specialism utilising a range of approaches.
• Able to independently manage own and others clinical caseload and prioritise as required
• Demonstrates effective communication skills with all disciplines and agencies
• Clear, concise verbal and written reporting skills
• Excellent presentation skills of complex information
• IT skills including word processing and excel
• Demonstrates empathy with clients, carers and families often where barriers to understanding exist ensuring that effective communication is achieved

Knowledge & Experience Essential

• Appropriate assessment tools for this client group
• Current issues in the delivery of community based services
• Sound understanding of confidentiality
• Previous experience working in schools
• Previous experience working with children and young people
• Understanding of the difference between Universal, targeted and specialist service provision.
• Experience of working as part of a multidisciplinary team

Desirable

• Previous NHS experience
• Day to day clinical supervision of the caseloads allocated to junior team members.
• Experience of organising and implementing training programmes for staff
• Involvement in audit and research
• An awareness of NHS 10 year plan

PERSONAL QUALITIES Essential

• Able to respond to pressure appropriately
• Uses initiative
• Commitment to Continuing Professional Development
• Commitment to equal opportunities
• Professional manner
• Demonstrate trust values: innovative, compassionate, accountable, respectful, excellent

Other Essential

• To have access to a car
• To be able to travel efficiently throughout the area

Person Specification Education / Qualifications Essential

• NVQ level 2 or equivalent standard of literacy and numeracy
• Degree/Masters in Occupational Therapy
• Evidence of Continued Professional Development
• Membership of the RCOT
• Registration with HCPC

Desirable

• Clinical Educator training
• Masters level modules or equivalent courses in speciality

Skills & Abilities Essential

• oAdvanced knowledge of the evidence base of rehabilitation relating to specialist area.
• Excellent specific therapy assessment and treatment skills in field of specialism utilising a range of approaches.
• Able to independently manage own and others clinical caseload and prioritise as required
• Demonstrates effective communication skills with all disciplines and agencies
• Clear, concise verbal and written reporting skills
• Excellent presentation skills of complex information
• IT skills including word processing and excel
• Demonstrates empathy with clients, carers and families often where barriers to understanding exist ensuring that effective communication is achieved

Knowledge & Experience Essential

• Appropriate assessment tools for this client group
• Current issues in the delivery of community based services
• Sound understanding of confidentiality
• Previous experience working in schools
• Previous experience working with children and young people
• Understanding of the difference between Universal, targeted and specialist service provision.
• Experience of working as part of a multidisciplinary team

Desirable

• Previous NHS experience
• Day to day clinical supervision of the caseloads allocated to junior team members.
• Experience of organising and implementing training programmes for staff
• Involvement in audit and research
• An awareness of NHS 10 year plan

PERSONAL QUALITIES Essential

• Able to respond to pressure appropriately
• Uses initiative
• Commitment to Continuing Professional Development
• Commitment to equal opportunities
• Professional manner
• Demonstrate trust values: innovative, compassionate, accountable, respectful, excellent

Other Essential

• To have access to a car
• To be able to travel efficiently throughout the area

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 UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

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. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Additional information 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 UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

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. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details Employer name

Whittington Hospital NHS Trust

Address

Barnet

Edgware Community Hospital

Barnet

HA8 0AD

Employer's website

https://www.whittington.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details Employer name

Whittington Hospital NHS Trust

Address

Barnet

Edgware Community Hospital

Barnet

HA8 0AD

Employer's website

https://www.whittington.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)