Speech and Language Therapy Assistant

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Sheffield; On-site; GBP 27,000 - 31,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare organization in Sheffield is seeking a Speech and Language Therapy Assistant to provide essential support to adult patients with swallowing and communication issues within a dynamic team. This permanent part-time role involves direct patient care and collaboration with qualified therapists, requiring relevant qualifications and skills. The successful candidate will contribute to maintaining high standards of service, benefiting from a supportive work culture and opportunities for professional development. Salary ranges from £27,485 to £30,162 per year (pro rata).

Benefits

Commitment to professional development

Supportive team environment

Promotes work-life balance

Qualifications

• Evidence of relevant educational qualifications in Health or Social Care.
• Experience of supporting people with communication difficulties.
• Ability to work in various healthcare settings including acute wards.

Responsibilities

• Provide high-quality speech and language therapy support.
• Work within a defined scope to support dysphagia patients.
• Collaborate with a team to improve patient outcomes.

Skills

Good communication and interpersonal skills (verbal and written)

Computer literate - including basic software packages

Ability to work under own initiative

Ability to cope with change

Ability to organise own work

Education

Evidence of Foundation Degree Level Study (Level 4)

Functional skills at level 2 in English and Maths

Job description

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Speech and Language Therapy Assistant

The closing date is 18 January 2026

An opportunity has arisen for a Band 4 Speech and Language Therapy Assistant (SLTA) role in the acute SLT team in Sheffield. It is an exciting environment, and you would be working within a supportive and very friendly team of Speech and Language Therapists.

The post is 22.50 hours a week as a permanent position.

The successful candidate will be based in the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) service working as members of the acute team working with adult patients on the acute wards who could in one of three hospitals, the Northern General, the Royal Hallamshire and Weston Park.

Main duties of the job

To provide high quality speech and language therapy support to adult patients with swallowing and/or communication difficulties associated with a wide range of conditions under the guidance of the speech and language therapist.

To work within a specified scope of competence with swallowing disordered patients. This will include and equate with Levels 3 and 4 on the Eating, Drinking, Swallowing Competency Framework (EDSCF) of the RCSLT (Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists).

About us

You will be working for an organisation which values and respects all of its staff and the community it serves. The Trust is a leader in the NHS and research sectors and provides excellent benefits for its staff. This includes commitments to professional development but also many policies to support employees in balancing their personal and professional lives.

The SLT service cover acute and community SLT for adults in Sheffield. It is a large service with 66 members of the team (51.94 wte) including SLTs, SLT assistants and admin support.

The SLT teams are highly motivated to provide a quality service to their patients, they are research active and embrace innovation. The service has established processes for supervision and supports personal and professional development.

Job responsibilities

Please view the attached Job Description and Person Specification documents for full details regarding this post.

When completing your application please ensure that you clearly demonstrate how you meet the role criteria

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Evidence of Foundation Degree Level Study (Level 4) or equivalent knowledge/experience
• Functional skills at level 2 (literacy and numeracy/GCSE grade A-C or equivalent in English and Maths)

Experience

• Experience of working in a range of healthcare settings e.g. acute wards, people's own homes and care homes.
• Experience of supporting people with dysphagia
• Experience of communicating with and supporting people with communication difficulties.
• Experience of, and ability to, work as part of a team.
• Ability to relate to the client group/s.
• Ability to interpret dysphagia or communication therapy programmes.
• Ability to devise new activities to enable client to reach goals.
• Experience of working with people with long term medical conditions.
• Experience of training other health and social care professionals
• Experience training and supporting carers

Skills

• Ability to engage successfully in further in-house training in dysphagia in order to gain competence at Levels 3 and 4 on the RCSLT EDSCF. (Eating, drinking and swallowing competency framework.
• Understands the remit and boundaries of Assistant Practitioner role.
• To know where, when and how to obtain information and guidance.
• Able to communicate effectively with carers/ families.
• Understanding of client confidentiality.
• Ability to organise own work
• Ability to cope with change
• Ability to work under own initiative
• Computer literate - including basic software packages e.g. Word processing, Power Point, Excel
• Good communication and interpersonal skills (verbal and written).
• Ability to adhere to protocol guided assessment processes.
• Ability to effectively communicate findings of protocol guided assessment and implement appropriate management plans.
• A basic understanding of: oThe communication process. oLanguage disorders. oNon-verbal communication. oTotal communication. oVisual support. oHigh tech systems. oLow tech systems. oModifying language input

Other Factors

• Flexibility in approach to changes in service need.
• Ability to be proactive and show initiative and take responsibility.
• To maintain and understand the importance of confidentiality in work environment.
• Commitment to equal opportunities in work and service delivery.
• Commitment the Trust's policies relating to Risk Management, Confidentiality and the Health & Safety at Work Act.
• Infection prevention and control is integral to this post. The post holder should at all times demonstrate effective infection control and hygiene practice.
• Able to support the implementation of local and national agendas for health under the guidance of the Registered Practitioner
• Ability to prioritise care delivery in a professional manner, considering Trust policies and procedures.
• Ability to manage own time effectively.
• Commitment to continued personal development and reflective practice.
• Knowledge and application of professional standards and code of conduct.
• Commitment to user and carer involvement

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.

£27,485 to £30,162 a year (pro rata for part time staff)