Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

LSCft; Preston; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT) is seeking a Band 6 Speech and Language Therapist to join the Specialist Autism Team in Preston. You will assess and support autistic individuals across Lancashire and South Cumbria, delivering communication interventions in both community and inpatient settings.

You will work within a multidisciplinary team to develop person-centred care plans, contribute to team tasks, and provide expert SLT input to prevent unnecessary hospital

Qualifications

• Bsc/ MSc in Speech and Language Therapy.
• Documented evidence of continuing professional development.
• UK professional registration is required.

Responsibilities

• Support autistic individuals and complex healthcare needs across Lancashire and South Cumbria.
• Assess and address communication needs; provide SLT interventions.
• Work within the Specialist Autism Team MDT to develop person-centred care plans.

Education

Bsc/ MSc in Speech and Language Therapy

Job description

Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Band 6

Main area Mental Health Grade Band 6 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 351-PEN1141-ZK-E

Site Greenbank Centre Town Preston Salary £39,959 - £48,117 Per Annum Salary period Yearly Closing 29/10/2026 23:59

Our Vision is to provide the best mental health, learning disability, autism, community, and physical health services for the populations we serve.

As an integrated Trust, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT) delivers a comprehensive range of services, including:

• Primary and secondary mental health care for children and adults, including specialist inpatient child and adolescent mental health provision, perinatal mental health, and forensic services with low and medium secure care.
• Specialist mental health inpatient care for individuals with learning disabilities, alongside specialist community support for children and adults with learning disabilities and autism, including intensive support.
• Extensive community physical health and well-being services for children and adults, covering prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and long‑term condition management.

The Trust was first established in 2002 and employs approximately 7,500 staff who provide care from more than 400 sites. The organisation offers opportunities for medics, mental health, general nurses, children’s nurses, allied health professionals, psychology, administration and clerical staff, apprentices and volunteers, as well as those specialising in learning disabilities and community physical health services.

The post holder will support the provision of the Autism Team to autistic individuals and complex healthcare needs across Lancashire and South Cumbria. Your role will be to ensure that the person’s communication needs are assessed and considered. You will be a registered Speech and Language Therapist who will undertake appropriately delegated work to support the care and treatment of autistic adults within the community and inpatient settings. You will be a key member of the multi-disciplinary team and will work with the team to develop and deliver person centred care plans with the emphasis on preventing unnecessary hospital admissions. Where hospital admission is deemed appropriate, you shall support the inpatient team by providing intervention support regarding communication.

The post holder shall support the delivery of the Specialist Autism Service team model through the provision of routine speech and language therapy assessment and interventions in order to maintain, restore or create a match beneficial to the individual between the abilities of the person, and the demands of the environment/ communication culture around them.

Main duties of the job

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Band 6 Speech and language therapist to join the Specialist Autism Team, a unique and continuously developing service which works closely with secondary mental health care services to prevent unnecessary hospital admissions for autistic individuals.

This role is to work within the team supporting the outreach and inpatient pathways with expert knowledge and neuroaffective practice. You will be required to support the team with the whole team tasks, such as duty and assessments as well as delivering your own specialist interventions. Therefore this post is a fantastic opportunity for a creative and innovative practitioner with a passion for delivering person-centred care, which is driven by the individuals whom we support.

The Specialist Autism Team adopts a multidisciplinary team approach to working which supports the evolutionary scope of the service. The MDT is made up of Occupational Therapists, Nurses (RMN & RLD), Speech and Language Therapists, Social Workers , Therapy Assistants & Clinical Psychologists.

Through such an approach we are continually learning, developing and findings different ways of working in order to meet the needs and wishes of the individuals we work with. For this reason we have regular team development sessions and each team member plays a vital role in sharing knowledge and information.

Working for our organisation

LSCFT values diversity and inclusion, recognising that talent from varied backgrounds creates a flexible, creative, and effective workforce. We actively challenge discrimination and welcome applications from all, regardless of age, disability (including those with experience of accessing or caring for someone who has accessed mental health or learning disability services), ethnicity, gender, religion, belief, or sexual orientation.

Our aim is to reflect the communities we serve, so we particularly encourage applications from under‑represented groups. If you’d like to discuss your application, please ask.

We also welcome individuals with lived experience relevant to the role or service area, as your insight brings authenticity to our services.

LSCFT support flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as term time, part time, compressed hours and flexi‑time.

The wellbeing of our people is at the heart of everything we do. We offer a wide range of resources, tools and support to help you thrive both in and out of work.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

If you would like to learn more about this opportunity, please review the attached job description and person specification.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Bsc/ Msc in Speech and Language Therapy
• Documented evidence of continuing professional development
• Our vision: high quality care, in the right place, at the right time, every time.

Knowledge

• Ability to support autistic people on an individual and group basis
• Knowledge of evidence‑based practice
• Knowledge of contemporary autism policy

Experience

• Previous experience pre or post qualification in learning disability, autism or mental health setting
• Awareness of a range of SLT assessments and interventions
• Broad range of under graduate practice placement experience

You are advised to consider applying for LSCFT vacancies as soon as possible as in some instances vacancies are closed as soon as a sufficient number of applications have been received. If you are not invited to interview within four weeks of the closing date then please assume that on this occasion you have been unsuccessful, as it is not possible to contact all unsuccessful candidates.

Please note that further communication from LSCFT will normally be to the email address given on the application form. You should also ensure that email addresses and telephone numbers are provided for your referees, to enable LSCFT to contact them.

Please ensure that you read the person specification as your application will be measured against this document.

If you use AI to assist with your application, you must declare this. Undeclared use may result in withdrawal. Please ensure your application reflects your own skills and experiences. While AI tools can assist, they may produce generic or inaccurate content. We encourage you to provide personal examples that demonstrate how you meet the essential criteria.

For all posts which require a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check please be aware of the Disclosure and Barring Service Code of Practice, a copy of which is available by logging on to the DBS website. If the post is subject to DBS disclosure, a charge will be made to the successful candidate(s).

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.