Specialist Paediatric Speech and Language Therapist

Transformation Unit; Telford; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust in Telford seeks a Specialist Paediatric Speech and Language Therapist (NHS AfC: Band 6) for a 12-month fixed-term maternity cover. The role offers full-time, part-time and flexible working options, 37.5 hours per week.

You will work with Children's SLT teams across local authorities, provide assessment, care plans, and specialist interventions for children with SLCN, and participate in audit and service improvement.

Qualifications

• Holds recognised Speech and Language Therapy degree or equivalent.
• Holds HCPC licence to practice as a Speech and Language Therapist.
• Registered Member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.
• Experience working with children with speech, language and communication needs, including complex cases.
• Experience in multidisciplinary teams and participation in audit or service improvement.
• Knowledge of national policies related to Children's Speech and Language Therapy.

Responsibilities

• Undertake comprehensive autonomous speech, language and communication assessments for children and young people.
• Analyse and interpret information to form profiles of strengths, difficulties and needs.
• Develop care plans in partnership with children, young people and families.
• Deliver care at a highly specialist level.
• Participate in audit, service improvement and research.

Skills

Speech and language therapy

Communication skills

Multidisciplinary teamwork

Education

Speech and Language Therapy degree

HCPC registration

RCST membership

Job description

Main area Children and Families Grade NHS AfC: Band 6 Contract Fixed term: 12 months (Maternity leave cover) Hours

• Full time
• Part time
• Flexible working

37.5 hours per week (flexible working) Job ref 825-8005477-OPS

Employer Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust Employer type NHS Site Stepping Stones Town Malinslee Telford Salary £39,959 - £48,117 per annum/pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 23/10/2026 23:59

Specialist Paediatric Speech and Language Therapist

NHS AfC: Band 6

We recognise that applicants may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to help build their application. However, all information provided must be an accurate reflection of your skills, knowledge, qualifications and experience. Candidates should be prepared to discuss and evidence the content of their application during the recruitment process.

We believe that compassionate care sits at the heart of everything we do. Every member of our team - clinical or non-clinical - plays a vital role in ensuring that patients, families, and colleagues are treated with dignity, empathy, and respect at all times.

We expect all staff to demonstrate compassion not only through their words, but through their actions: by listening attentively, communicating clearly and kindly, and recognising individual needs, feelings, and circumstances of those in our care.

Effective communication is central to safe and high-quality healthcare. We value colleagues who take the time to understand others, explain information in a meaningful way, and respond to concerns with patience and understanding.

By joining our team, you are committing to uphold these values - ensuring that every patient feels heard, respected, and valued, and that compassion is embedded in every interaction, every day.

Job overview

The Children's SLT teams work in close partnership with parent representative groups, and key stakeholders in education and social care across Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin Local Authorities to monitor and improve the service through co-production.

The teams are committed to ensuring staff have the skills and time to feel proud of the work that we do. At Band 6 there are options and opportunities to deliver care and support, and to develop your skills across our specialist pathways. The focus for this role is to provide care across across universal, targeted and specific waves of intervention to children and young people in early years, mainstream and specialist schools with speech, language and communication needs. If you have interests in specific areas of children's SLT please talk with us about those at interview.

The SLT team actively seek to develop everyone's interest and participation in audit, service improvement and research.

We will actively support you to develop your skills and your career during this fixed term contract and encourage you to consider a longer term career with us as opportunities emerge through the SEND reforms in 2026/27.

Main duties of the job

• To undertake comprehensive autonomous speech, language and communication assessment for children and young people, including those with complex presentations, using investigative and analytical skills.
• To analyse and interpret clinical and non-clinical information to form an accurate profile of strengths, difficulties and needs, diagnoses and prognoses in a wide range of complex conditions.
• To develop care plans in partnership with children and young people, parents and others in children's lives.
• To deliver care and support at a highly specialist level.
• To develop your knowledge, skills and clinical networks in your chosen specialist area responding to available evidence and being involved in audit, service improvement and research.

Working for our organisation

Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust provides community-based health services for adults and children in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, and some services in surrounding areas too. These range from district nursing, health visiting and running four community hospitals through to providing very specialist community care through talented and dedicated staff.

Patients, carers and the public play a vital role in helping us to develop and improve our services and we are constantly looking for ways to work with local communities, patients and the public to innovate and improve. Have a look at the Have Your Say section of our website to find out how you can feed back your experiences and help us to continually improve.

Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust is an exciting place to work. It offers a wide range of employment opportunities for many people.

Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust positively encourages applications from all areas of the community, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or religious beliefs. We are committed to ensuring people who work for the community trust have a good working life - and a good work life/home life balance.

The Children's SLT team work closely within Children's Therapy Services with the Child Development Centres and Community Paediatrics, and also provide in reaching services to the local acute wards

There are strong relationships across the Children's and Families service delivery group with all teams.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the Job Description and Person Specification attached for further information on the role.

Person specification

Training & Qualifications

• Holds recognised Speech and Language Therapy Degree or equivalent.
• Holds Health Professions Council licence to practice as a Speech and Language Therapist.
• Registered Member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.
• Evidence of completion of relevant short course and continuing professional development

Experience

• Extensive experience at post-graduate level with a range of speech, language communication difficulties in children including stammering.
• Significant experience of working with children and young people with complex communication needs.
• Experience at post-graduate level of working in multidisciplinary teams to assess the needs of children and families.
• Experience at post-graduate level of using a range of assessments and assessment processes.
• Experience at post-graduate level of delivering and evaluating relevant training and coaching programmes.
• Experience of data gathering methodology and participation in clinical audit.

Knowledge & Skills

• Knowledge of relevant speech, language, communication assessments, interventions and techniques and how to evaluate their relevance and effectiveness.
• Knowledge of national policies and procedures relevant to Children’s Speech and Language Therapy and to Children and Young People’s Education.
• Knowledge of safeguarding procedures and their implementation in practice.
• Knowledge of nationally recognised training and coaching packages of care for parents and other professionals working with children with SLCN.
• An ongoing awareness of recent developments in practice and research including National guidance.
• Understanding of clinical governance and risk management and their implications for the service.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills for a wide audience of children and adults.

Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust believes in fairness, equity and above all, values diversity in all aspects of its work, as a provider of health services and as an employer of people. We provide visa sponsorship to applicants who require this in order to have the right to work in the UK, providing that the role you have been offered meets the requirements set by the Home Office.

Applicants requiring a Skilled Worker Visa (such as data analysts, IT and finance professionals, etc) will need to meet the salary threshold of £41,700 or the 'going rate' for the job you will be doing (whichever is higher). For a limited number of clinical posts ( listed here ), applications to the Health and Care Visa route will need to meet the national pay scale for their role or the minimum salary threshold of £25,000 (whichever is higher ). We advise that you check that the role you wish to apply for meets the requirement for sponsorship before applying.

Further guidance on eligible roles can be found here.

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.