Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

NHS; South Shields; On-site; GBP 37,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

The South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust is seeking Specialist Speech and Language Therapists for multiple permanent positions within their Children's Speech and Language Therapy Team. These roles involve supporting children with a broad range of communication disorders across various settings, and the Trust is committed to developing the skills of its staff while providing a dynamic, supportive work environment.

Benefits

Flexible working options

Access to high quality education and training

Childcare support services

Fitness Centre access

Support for personal health and wellbeing

Qualifications

• Experience in assessing and providing therapy for children's speech, language and communication disorders.
• Ability to work autonomously and within multi-disciplinary teams.
• Knowledge of therapeutic interventions relevant to paediatric communication disorders.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist speech, language, and communication service in community settings.
• Mentor and supervise less experienced therapists and students.
• Deliver training programs regarding speech and language disorders to professionals and families.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Analytical skills

Problem-solving skills

Presentation skills

Organisational skills

Innovative thinking

Independent working

Education

Recognised Speech and Language Therapy Degree qualification

Membership of Health Care Professions Council

Membership of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists

CPD certifications (e.g., Dysphagia Management Course)

Job description

Go back South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust

Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

The closing date is 13 June 2025

South Tynesideand Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust We have 3 permanent B6 SpecialistSpeech and Language Therapist roles in our Childrens Speech and LanguageTherapy Team:

2 x full time37.5 hrs per week, permanent posts and 1 x part-time 22.5hrs, 0.6wte permanentpost

We aredelighted when our staff develop and they are internally promoted.and as aresult it means we have some opportunities you might be interested in. If youare looking to develop your specialist speech and language therapy level skills-come and talk to us. We have a range of sessions across a number of clinical areas,and we may be able to help you create your dream job, within a dream team!

We are lookingfor therapists to support children with a wide range of speech, language andcommunication disorders. We have poststhat cover a range of sessions across community clinics, schools and nurseriesand specialist schools/settings across South Tyneside and Sunderland. We alsohave sessions working into our Language, Learning and Partnership (LLP) team. LLP is a multi-agency, multi-disciplinary team, hosted by Together forChildren. The LLP team supports childrenwith language and learning needs in mainstream settings in Sunderland. Dependingon your interest you may be able to develop your skills in eating, drinking andswallowing disorders. We hope we can tailor a job to suit your interests anddevelopment needs if you join us.

Main duties of the job

You will have experience of working with children with arange of speech, language and communication difficulties, and be able toassess, plan and provide intervention and therapy within a range of settings.You will have excellent interpersonal skills and be committed to working in amulti-disciplinary way to facilitate the best outcomes for children. You willbe well supported by our large, dynamic Speech and Language Therapy team. Youmay also have experience of working with children with eating, drinking andswallowing needs.

You will be part of a forward-thinking department thatprovides a range of specialist services and is always striving to be innovativeand put research into practice to improve patient outcomes. Developing our teammembers in their career path is the corner-stone of this.

You will want to develop your skills working across a rangeof mainstream and specialist settings. Your values will align with those of ourorganisation and you will be passionate about making a difference to childrenand young people

Nicola Johnson, ClinicalTeam Manager -0191 5699122 orEmma Bowen, Clinical Team Manager -01912833284

About us

Please help us by adding your telephone number to your application form this will allow us to contact you quickly if required.

One Team One Trust - There are many reasons to work at our Trust. From our commitment to putting people first to our accessible services and award winning teams. We have a passion for research, innovation and tackling inequalities. We are committed to respect, fairness and civility and promote a compassionate, caring and positive culture / working environment.

We welcome all applications irrespective of peoples race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups. Looking after our workforces health and wellbeing is a priority for STSFT. We also provide access to high quality education, training, career progression and support. Flexible working is supported via the Trust's Flexible Working Policy.

The Trust employs around 8,600 people and provides a range of hospital services to a local community of around 430,000 residents. We also provide a range of more specialised services outside this area, in some cases to a population as great as 860,000. We offer our staff outstanding benefits - Fitness Centre (SRH), libraries at both hospital sites, chaplaincy support and access to a Childcare Co-ordinator to help staff with childcare arrangements. The Trust will not accept applications which are found to be AI generated.

Job responsibilities

PLEASE REFER TO THE ATTACHED JOB DESCRIPTION FOR FULL DUTIES OF THE ROLE

Toprovide a specialist speech, language and communication service to patientswith a wide range of speech, language, communication, eating and drinkingdifficulties across a range of community settings including Health Centres, mainstreamschools, specialist provisions and early years settings.

Toprovide clinicalsupport and mentoring for less experienced Speech andLanguage Therapists and supervision for students and Speech and LanguageTherapy assistants.

Todevelop and deliver specialist training and education programmes re. speech andlanguage disorders to parents, carers and other professionals

Toparticipate in clinical governance activity i.e. research, audit, evidencebased practice

Toliaise with and advise other agencies/professionals involved with thepatient.

Tocontribute to service planning, improvement and modernisation to ensurepatient safety

Person Specification

Knowledge & Skills

• 1.Excellent interpersonal skills - including observation, listening and empathy skills.
• 2.Ability to communicate effectively with Health, Education and Social Services professionals, as well as parents/families/carers.
• 3.Influencing and problem-solving skills
• 4.Demonstrate excellent analytical, assessment, deduction and reflection skills
• 6.Excellent presentation skills - written and oral
• 7.Excellent organisational and time-management skills
• 9.Innovative thinking skills
• 10.Highly-developed discrimination skills and ability to transcribe speech phonetically
• 11.Demonstrates ability to be a good team member and assume supervisory responsibilities of assistants and mentoring responsibilities of less experienced therapists
• 12.Independent and autonomous working

Experience

• 1.Significant knowledge and experience of a wide range of developmental speech, language and communication difficulties and their treatments.
• 2.Experience of working within multi-disciplinary teams.
• 3.Experience liaising with other health, education and social professionals.
• 4.Experience of planning and delivery of training for other professionals and parents/carers.
• 5.Relevant experience at post-graduate level e.g. assessment and intervention with more complex communication disorders and writing reports on outcomes.
• 6.Experience of working alongside highly specialised therapists for highly complex cases
• Relevant specialist experience post-qualification e.g. Dysfluency key-worker, Developmental language Disorder, Complex Language and Learning, Autism, Dysphagia.

Physical Requirements

• 1.To have due regard for own personal safety and that of clients/carers, in particular to have regard to moving and handling regulations and ensure the safe positioning of self and others.
• 2.Lifting and carrying equipment for assessment and treatment on a regular basis.
• 3.To maintain intense concentration in all aspects of client management for prolonged periods, in particular, to monitor auditory, visual and kinaesthetic aspects of clients communication, adapting and facilitating according to perceived client needs including cultural and linguistic differences.
• 4.To be flexible to the demands of the environment including unpredictable work patterns, deadlines and frequent interruptions.
• 5.To employ counselling skills with carers and clients (including clients with highly complex needs)
• 6.To demonstrate the ability to manage clients with challenging behaviours, including the application of appropriate management strategies
• 7.To be adaptable to the demands of a variety of working conditions and/or a wide range of clients
• 8.To work within infection control and Health & Safety guidelines in order to deal with unpleasant conditions relating to client contact as they arise, for example exposure to body fluids, infectious conditions, encountered on a regular basis
• 9.To be aware of how to employ appropriate strategies to manage verbally aggressive behaviour within the workplace
• 11.To be able to meet the travel demands of the role
• Car driver/owner or access to mobility support

Qualifications

• 1.Recognised Speech and Language Therapy Degree qualification
• 2. Membership of Health Care Professions Council.
• 3.Eligibility for membership of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists
• 4.Fulfilment of NQT RCSLT competency criteria.
• 5.Evidence of attendance at a wide range of short courses in specialist area e.g. Motor Speech Disorders, Specific Language Disorders
• 6.Evidence of CPD including successful completion of specialist post-graduate training e.g. RCSLT accredited Dysphagia Management Course (Paediatrics), Hanen Certificate, Makaton Signing System
• 7.Membership of relevant Special Interest Groups
• 8.Well-established knowledge of a range of specialist assessment tools relevant to a wide range of paediatric communication disorders
• 9.Knowledge of current national policies and procedures e.g. Education, Health and Care Planning process ( Children and Families Act 2014).
• 10.Knowledge of trends/best practice across the clinical specialisms
• 11.In-depth knowledge of a range of therapeutic interventions relevant to the client groups and an ability to compare and contrast relative benefits of each
• 12.Knowledge of the principles of clinical governance/audit
• 13.Understanding of the roles of other professionals relevant to client group
• 14.Knowledge of standards of record-keeping
• 15.Working knowledge of child protection and vulnerable adult policies
• 16.Working knowledge of structure, policies and functioning of the NHS and and Local Educational Authorities
• Good working knowledge of structure, policies and functioning of STSFT and Local Educational Authorities.
• Good working knowledge of speech and language therapy service provision and examples of care pathways

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.

South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust

£37,338 to £44,962 a year(Pending pay award £38,682 - £46,580)