Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust; Erith; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 51,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player in healthcare is seeking a Specialist Speech and Language Therapist to join their dedicated team. This role focuses on delivering high-quality therapy services to children and young people, including those with complex communication needs. You will be an integral part of a multidisciplinary team, working collaboratively with educators and healthcare professionals to enhance the communication skills of your clients. This position offers the opportunity to make a significant impact on the lives of children, providing essential support and guidance to families and caregivers. If you are passionate about making a difference and thrive in a supportive environment, this role is perfect for you.

Qualifications

• Degree in Speech & Language Therapy and HCPC registration required.
• Experience in school settings, especially with complex needs.

Responsibilities

• Provide therapy and assessment for children with speech and language needs.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams for integrated care.

Skills

Speech and Language Therapy

Assessment and Intervention

Organizational Skills

Presentation Skills

Education

Recognised Speech & Language Therapy degree

HCPC Registration

Membership of Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists

Job description

Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Band 6

Main area: Children & Young People Grade: Band 6 Contract: Permanent Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref: 277-6877965-CYP

Site: Children's Speech & Language Therapy - Erith Hospital Town: Bexley Salary: £42,939 - £50,697 pa inc Salary period: Yearly Closing: 05/01/2025 23:59

Job overview

To provide a clinical and advisory Speech and Language Therapy service to children and young people with speech, language, and communication needs, including children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Learning Disabilities (LD) attending Shenstone special school in Bexley, with a focus on the secondary-aged students.

To work with children and young people with speech, language and communication needs at Shenstone School. Shenstone School is an all-through (special primary and secondary) school for children who have severe and or complex learning difficulties.

To be an integral member of the multidisciplinary team providing an integrated care pathway.

To support parents, clients and other professionals in all issues related to client management, with access to supervision from senior therapists.

To participate in the co-ordination, development and delivery of training programmes and information for school staff, parents and carers and colleagues in health and education.

To work as part of a team with class-teachers, learning support assistants, head teacher, therapists, and the child’s family/carers.

Main duties of the job

• To provide an assessment and therapy service for children with speech and language needs, and children with complex communication needs referred to the SLT service.
• To develop the ability to reflect on auditory, visual, and kinaesthetic aspects of clients’ communication and to identify appropriate strategies to facilitate and enhance communicative effectiveness.
• To manage a complex communication caseload independently, accessing clinical/managerial supervision on a regular basis and to make a differential diagnosis on the basis of evidence from assessment, seeking advice when appropriate.
• To deliver care in line with the RCSLT/HCPC professional guidelines and standards.
• To be responsible for the planning, and evaluation of evidence-based therapy interventions. To monitor and review the progress of therapy programmes implemented and facilitate modifications of interventions/targets as appropriate.
• To ensure maximum involvement of the client, family/carer, education staff and other professional staff where appropriate in planning care and the therapy programme.
• To maintain professional competence through personal development and training. To be responsible for maintaining own professional registration and meet HCPC Registration requirements maintaining a professional portfolio.
• To reflect on clinical practice identifying strengths and needs and providing evidence of sound clinical practice.

Working for our organisation

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives.

We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London, we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs.

We are proud of the care we provide and our people. Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

• We Listen
• We Care

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To ensure involvement of education staff, the family/carer, other professional staff and the client in the therapy planning and programme. To provide therapy intervention if required.
• To work with the school leadership team, Inclusion Manager and Teaching Assistant in promoting the child’s speech, language, and communication. To contribute to the setting and review of the child’s IEP, individualised work, and/or group work joint planning.
• To provide therapy planning and intervention within a multidisciplinary framework wherever possible, working alongside SLT Assistants, Educational Psychologists, and therapy colleagues as well as Advisory Teachers.
• To support the establishment and maintenance of standard speech language and communication approaches across education settings through developing and leading on standard and bespoke training sessions and reviewing the impact of this training.
• To respond to the requirements of relevant Education legislation by providing advice as part of any re-assessment process and taking part in Annual and Transfer Reviews as appropriate.
• To write detailed official reports regarding the child’s Speech, Language and Communication and the Speech and Language Therapy advice for Statutory assessment including Education, Health, Care plans.
• To maintain and develop effective and innovative partnership arrangements with other agencies to ensure care pathways for clients are integrated.
• To participate in the co-ordination, development and delivery of training programmes and information packages for colleagues in health, education voluntary sector organizations, and parents/carers.
• To maintain a clinical caseload in accordance with priorities of service.
• To refer on to other agencies as appropriate including services developed to support those requiring Assistive and Augmentative Communication (AAC).
• To liaise with specialist AAC centres and engage in seeking professional updates on alternative and augmentative means of communication including sign, symbols, electronic and digital systems.
• To recognise potential breakdown and conflict when it occurs and seek advice and support to resolve.
• To maintain up to date and accurate case notes in line with RCSLT professional standards and local trust policies.
• To supervise the work of newly qualified therapists, assistants/therapy support staff/administration and clerical staff and learning support assistants.
• To explain the role of Speech & Language Therapists to visitors, students, and volunteers.
• To monitor and evaluate own service delivery accessing clinical supervision on a planned basis.
• To be accountable for own professional action and recognise own professional boundaries, seeking advice as appropriate through mentoring, peer support, clinical and managerial supervision.
• To work within defined departmental and national protocols/policies and professional code of conduct.

Person specification

Education / Qualifications

• Recognised Speech & Language Therapy degree qualification or equivalent.
• Registration with HCPC – Licence to Practice.
• Registered member of Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists.

Experience

• Clinical experience of assessment and intervention of complex speech, language communication needs in school aged settings, including special schools.
• Experience providing training for education staff.
• Experience working with secondary-aged CYP/a keen interest in doing so.

Skills

• Excellent organisational and prioritisation skills.
• Excellent presentation skills, both verbal and written, of complex information to professionals and carers.

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that welcomes and supports individuals of all abilities. Remember, if you meet the minimum criteria for this role and you have a disability, you can be guaranteed an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme - Please ensure you select this on your application form. We would encourage you to be open about your needs so we can work with you to design a comfortable and accessible interview experience.

If you require any adjustments to participate fully in the interview process, please let us know by adding the relevant details when scheduling your preferred interview date and time. Please feel free to contact the appointing manager to discuss your needs.

We encourage applicants to contact the hiring manager before their interview, if they have any questions about the role or the process. This is a great way to get clarity and prepare effectively for the interview.

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.

If you'd like to explore opportunities to work for us please submit an expression of interest form.

Our HR team will keep in touch with you to find the right opportunity.