Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Whittington Health; Greater London; On-site; GBP 34,000 - 57,000; Part time

Job summary

Whittington Health NHS Trust is seeking a Specialist Speech and Language Therapist (Band 6) on a 0.6 WTE, 31-month fixed term contract in London. The post involves working across Health Visiting, Family Hubs, nurseries and early years settings to build practitioner confidence and capability through training and coaching.

You will collaborate with the Integrated Early Years Service to deliver evidence-based approaches, including WELLCOMM and bilingual language development, requiring strong

Qualifications

• Specialist direct and indirect interventions for language and communication in young children.
• Ability to deliver training and present to diverse audiences.
• Ability to work across home, nursery and family hub settings.

Responsibilities

• Deliver interventions across home, nursery and family hub settings.
• Upskill Early Years workforce in identification of communication needs.
• Manage a specialist caseload with supervision and governance.

Skills

Specialist interventions (SLT)

Presentations and training

Education

BSc in Speech and Language Therapy

HCPC Registration to Practice

RCSLT Membership

Postgraduate study in communication disorders

Job description

Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Band 6

Main area Speech and Language Therapy Grade Band 6 Contract 31 months (Fixed term contract) Hours Part time - 22.5 hours per week Job ref 220-WHT-8224468

Employer Whittington Health NHS Trust Employer type NHS Site Hunter Street Health Centre Town London Salary £47,951 - £56,863 per annum inclusive of HCAS Salary period Yearly Closing 22/09/2026 23:59

Please note in order to progress your application, your data will be processed by our 3 rd party recruitment providers – North London Partners Shared Service, who conduct recruitment activities on behalf of Whittington Health NHS Trust.

By applying for this role, you accept in the event you are successful that your personal data may be transferred from the Trust to another NHS organisation where your employment transfers within the NHS. This is in accordance with the streamlining programme which is aimed at saving you time and improving efficiencies within the NHS when your employment transfers.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a set of technology that can perform various tasks that typically required human intelligence. Your application is your opportunity to demonstrate to us how you meet the requirements of the role.

We recognise that AI tools can support accessibility, equity and confidence for applicants. However, it’s important that examples and responses genuinely reflect your own experience and abilities, as these will be explored further during the selection process. AI must not be used to provide misleading or false information during any stage of the application journey.

Whittington Health NHS Trust is committed to ensuring that its recruitment processes are carried out with integrity, transparency, and fairness for all applicants. To help maintain these standards, we ask candidates to provide accurate and truthful information throughout the recruitment process.

If incorrect or misleading information is identified, this may affect the progression of an application, any employment offer, or continued employment. As part of our due diligence, the company may verify the information provided by applicants and take appropriate act ion where necessary.

We do not charge applicants any fees at any stage of the recruitment process, including applications, interviews, sponsorship arrangements, pre-employment checks, or employment offers. All vacancies are advertised through TRAC/NHS Jobs and candidates are assessed solely on their skills, qualifications, experience, and suitability for the role. If you are asked to make a payment in connection with an NHS job opportunity, please treat this as suspicious and contact the organisation directly using the details published on our official career's website.

We are offering an exciting opportunity for a Speech and Language Therapist to secure a 0.6 WTE Band 6 post, 31-month fixed term contract with Camden Early Years Service.

Working across Health Visiting, Family Hubs, nurseries and other early years settings, you will play a key role in building practitioner confidence and capability through training, coaching and consultation. As part of the expansion of the innovative Camden Kids Talk programme, you will collaborate with colleagues across the Integrated Early Years Service to deliver evidence-based approaches, including WELLCOMM, early communication and bilingual language development. This is an ideal role for an experienced and enthusiastic Speech and Language Therapist with strong partnership-working, influencing and training skills

Main duties of the job

Please see the Job Description and the Persons Specification for further details about the job role. If you are unable to access the PDFs, the details of the job description can also be found in the 'Detailed Job Description and Main responsibilities' section.

Working for our organisation

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.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical

1. To demonstrate an ability to implement interventions across a range of settings including the home, nursery and family hub settings

2. To upskill the Early Years’ workforce in identification of needs and support for the development of communication in the under fives.

3. To demonstrate specialist clinical expertise in the assessment, treatment and management of language and communication problems in young children, providing appropriate universal and targeted support.

4. To demonstrate specialist knowledge in this clinical area underpinned by current evidence based practice and outcome measures

• To use / apply specialist knowledge to inform sound clinical judgements/decision making for around care pathways.
• To demonstrate an understanding of how to develop and differentiate and develop communication friendly environments.
• To provide advice to others regarding the management and care of children with a wide range of SLCN.
• To work closely with children, carers and families, to support the development of speech , language and communication skills.
• To deal with initial complaints sensitively, avoiding escalation where possible
• To demonstrate skills in motivating children, carers and practitioners to engage in the interventions, targets and outcomes.
• To employ skills in project planning and implementation
• To maintain sensitivity at all times to the emotional needs of children in particular when imparting potentially distressing information regarding the nature of the children’ difficulties and implications of the same.
• To demonstrate the ability to manage children with challenging behaviours including the application of appropriate management strategies as designated by the commissioning provisions.
• To monitor and review the progress of children against the targets set and agreed, and to modify targets as appropriate.
• To reflect on clinical practice both individually and with peers identifying strengths and needs and providing evidence of sound clinical judgements, based on research and evidence based practice.
• To demonstrate knowledge of current policies and practice in education and incorporate these into the model of working as appropriate e.g. the local offer.
• To manage and prioritise a specialist caseload under supervision, advising line manager on issues of service delivery including shortfall, service pressures etc
• To contribute to multi-agency data reporting as required.
• To demonstrate good negotiation skills across a range of issues and situations, recognising and resolving potential breakdown and conflict when it occurs
• To ensure that children are referred on to other services as appropriate.
• To contribute to Whittington Health’s systems of clinical governance, developing innovations in areas of risk management, quality standards setting and clinical effectiveness in collaboration with others
• To be accountable for professional action and recognising professional boundaries, and working within defined departmental and national protocols/policies and professional code of conduct

Liaison and Teamwork:

• To contribute to the function of clinical teams both multi disciplinary and uni disciplinary by discussing own and others input around children’s needs ensuring a well co-ordinated care plan.
• To liaise and share information with health, educational and other professionals as appropriate, observing data protection guidelines
• To contribute to meetings, Team around the Child , case conferences and multi-agency team meetings, as appropriate, contributing to inter-agency / multi-agency team building and policy development where appropriate, e.g. education, social services and the voluntary sector.
• To provide clinical placements for under graduate, post graduate and MSc students as required.
• To undertake any other duties as required by the Borough Lead, which may include a change in workplace.

Administration

1. To carry out administrative duties including activity data collection, updating this accurately and regularly, ensuring the provision of such information promptly within local Trust guidelines

2. To be responsible for the security, care and maintenance of equipment ensuring standards of infection control and safety are maintained – including equipment loaned to clients

Personal and Professional Development

• To participate in annual appraisal ensuring that the objectives set reflect the Service and organisational plans.
• To attend specialist short courses and advanced training in order to maintain and develop skills and knowledge required of a specialist SLT working in this field and maintain up to date HPC and RCSLT registration
• To contribute to team meetings and participate in in-service training as required

Person specification

• BSc. in Speech and Language Therapy or equivalent (including Dip. CST)
• Health and Care Professions Council Registration to Practice
• Registered Member of RCSLT
• Successful completion of specialist post graduate study relevant to communication and specific speech and language disorders e.g. DLD, SLCN, SEMH, ELKLAN etc.

Skills/abilities

• Of a specialist range of direct and indirect interventions relevant to communication demonstrating the evidence base for these approaches (where appropriate)
• Skills in delivering presentations and training, including basic adaptations to presentation/ training style for a range of audiences

Experience

• Of a specialist range of assessment tools and procedures to evaluate communication, speech & language skills relevant to communication and specific speech and language disorders
• Experience of delivering training to a range of audiences e.g., teachers, teaching assistants and specialist education and health professionals
• Experience of working at a specialist level with pre-school children

SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN AND ADULTS

To comply with the Trust’s Safeguarding Children and Adults policies, procedures and protocols. All individual members of staff (paid or unpaid) have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults This will require you to:

• Ensure you are familiar with and comply with the London Child Protection Procedures and protocols for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young people.
• Ensure you are familiar and comply with theLondon Multi Agency Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Pan London Procedures.
• Ensure you are familiar and comply with local protocols and systems for information sharing.
• Know the appropriate contact numbers and required reporting lines.
• Participate in required training and supervision.
• Comply with required professional boundaries and codes of conduct

Whittington Health is committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Your application form –

• Provide only business email address for your referees – we are unable to request references from yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail accounts.
• Make sure you to include all evidence of where you meet the essential requirement on the jobs description as this forms the base of our shortlisting criteria.

Our processes –

• Closing dates are given as a guide; we are within our right to close adverts early so please ensure you submit your application as soon as possible to avoid delay.
• If you do not hear from us up to 3 weeks after the closing date of the job unfortunatelythis means you have not been successfullyshortlisted for interview. If your require feedback on your application please contact the appointing manager detailed in the body of the advert.
• Please check your emails regularly as all correspondence from us will be via trac.systems – occasionally these emails will go into your Junk folder.
• Employment at Whittington Health is offered subject to successful completion of a 6 month probationary period for all staff with the exception of GMC Registered Doctors.

Other important information –

• You must already have the right to work in the United Kingdom or fully meet the eligibility criteria for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route. We welcome applications from candidates who require visa sponsorship; however, we can only consider these where all UKVI requirements are met. Before applying, please ensure that both you and the role satisfy the relevant UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) points‑based system criteria, as applications that do not meet these requirements cannot be progressed. For more information about the criteria, please click here
• Applications are welcome from people wishing to job share or work flexible patterns. We are committed to equal opportunities.
• In submitting an application form, you authorise WhittingtonHealth NHS Trust to confirm any previous NHS service details via the Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process should you be appointed to the post.

If you are offered a role with one of the NLPSS partner trusts, as part of pre‑employment checks youridentity and right to work documentation will be verifiedremotely (in most circumstances), using a certified identity verification service provider TrustID. You will be asked to capture an image of the relevant documents as well as a “selfie” using your smartphone/tablet (if available) for facial matching. TrustID will also perform a digital address check using Trunarrative and Equifax, which is a soft check and does not leave a footprint on your credit rating. For more information, visit www.trustid.co.uk

Please note that during the recruitment process your Identity Documentation (i.e. passport, driving licence, visa, etc.) will be scanned using a device which recognises UV, Infrared and Machine Readable Zone security features of the documents provided

The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.

We would welcome applications from individuals who are from underrepresented groups in the organisation

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.