Speech & Language Therapist

Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust; Greater London; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust in London is recruiting a Band 5 School-Aged Speech and Language Therapist to join the large, diverse team on the school-aged pathway.

You will work with therapists in special schools, Early Years and Complex Needs & Feeding, with a structured induction, regular supervision and a buddy to support your transition into the team.

The post offers opportunities for CPD, training education staff, and contributing to service development within a supportive trust.

Qualifications

• Recognised Speech and Language Therapy Degree Qualification or equivalent.
• Health Professions Council membership - Licence to practice.
• Registration as a member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.
• Competence/willingness to undertake relevant advanced training/post qualification training.

Responsibilities

• Provide a comprehensive speech and language therapy service for children and young people referred to the Team.
• Work with the School-Aged pathway with links to special schools, Early Years and Complex Needs & Feeding.
• Contribute to development and delivery of training packages for parents, carers and education/health staff.
• Contribute to service development with the multi-disciplinary team to achieve effective outcomes.

Skills

Speech & Language Therapy

Teamwork

Training delivery

Multi-disciplinary teamwork

Education

Speech and Language Therapy degree

HCPC registration

RCST registration

Advanced training commitment

Job description

Step into a place where exceptional care, patients, culture, and careers come together.

Explore our current vacancies and take your first step toward making a real difference.

Join us. Make a difference. Be part of Team LGT.

Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, (LGT), is a community-focused provider of local and acute care, delivering high-quality services to over one million people living across the London boroughs of Lewisham, Greenwich, and Bexley. We provide whole-life care and are here to support our communities to live healthier lives as well as taking care of them when they need us the most.

Employing almost 7,500 colleagues, affectionately known as Team LGT, we provide services at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, University Hospital Lewisham, and at over a dozen community settings in Lewisham. We also provide some services at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup.

We have recently launched our new vision and values to mark the LGT10 – the tenth anniversary of our Trust forming in 2013. Our trust vision is to be exceptional. In the quality of our patient care; our support for colleagues; and in the difference we make through our partnerships and in our communities.

Our hospitals and community sites provide a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services, as well as emergency and planned care. The Trust is rated as “good” or “outstanding” in over three-quarters of the services inspected by the Care Quality Commission.

Every year our work includes performing 10,000 procedures in our theatres; bringing seven and a half thousand new lives into the world; carrying out 570,000 visits to patients in their homes or communities and providing emergency care for more than 300,000 patients arriving in our busy Urgent and Emergency Departments.

LGT is a centre for the education and training of medical students enrolled with King’s College London’s GKT School of Medical Education. We are a training centre for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals. We are pioneering new roles that will support the changing needs of our patients and are one of the largest employers of physician associates in the country.

We are committed to working with our partners to deliver the best outcomes for our local communities. This means playing an active role in the South East London Integrated Care System (ICS), and in formal partnerships including the South East London Acute Provider Collaborative, provider partnerships with our local mental health trusts and borough-based boards of the ICS in Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham.

Job overview

Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust Children’s Speech and Language Therapy Service are looking for a band 5 therapist to join our large, diverse, and supportive team on the school-aged pathway. We serve the South-East London Borough of Lewisham, as part of the Community Health Service for Children, Young People and Families (CCYP) rated at ‘Outstanding’ in our last CQC inspection.

Main duties of the job

We have a whole-service approach, which means that, as a therapist on the school’s pathway. You will have strong links and access to the support of therapists working in special schools, Early Years and Complex Needs & Feeding.

We offer a comprehensive and structured induction to all our new starters followed by regular, high-quality clinical supervision. You will also be allocated a ‘schools team buddy’ to support your transition into the team. We provide:

• Both individual and group supervision.
• Inner London HCA (High-Cost Living Allowance)
• A shared base with the wider teamatKaleidoscope CentreCatford.
• Great transport links and easy access to central London.
• Weekly protected admin time.
• A range of digital resources including iPads for assessment and an allocated, networked laptop for offsite working.
• Access to regular team training and CPD events.
• Great peer support from a friendly and diverse team.
• Access to a range of therapists with clinical specialisms, able to offer CPD opportunities and second opinions.
• Opportunities to work with colleagues across clinical pathways on service delivery, audit, and quality improvement projects, including our team EDI objectives.
• Access to the Trust’s Preceptorship programme.
• Involvement in developing and delivering training to education staff. The team is registered as a college with the Open College Network (OCN), allowing our learners to gain high-quality, recognised qualifications.

Working for our organisation

Our people are our greatest asset. When we feel supported and happy at work, this positivity reaches those very people we are here for, the patients. Engaged employees perform at their best and our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) initiatives contribute to cultivate a culture of engagement. We have four staff networks, a corporate EDI Team and a suite of programmes and events which aim to insert the 5 aspirations:

• Improving representation at senior levels of staff with disabilities, from black, Asian, and ethnic minorities background, identify as LGBTQ+ and women, through improved recruitment and leadership development
• Widening access (anchor institution) and employability
• Improving the experience of staff with disability
• Improving the EDI literacy and confidence of trust staff through training and development
• Making equalities mainstream

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post holder will work as part of the School-Aged Speech and Language Therapy Team to provide a comprehensive and inclusive speech and language therapy service for children and young people referred to the Team. The children may present with a range of speech, language and communication needs of varying severity.

The post holder will contribute to the development and provision of a range of training packages for parents, carers and education and health staff.

The post holder will contribute to the development and provision of services for children, young people, parents/carers, education staff and members of the multi-disciplinary team to achieve effective outcomes

Qualifications and Training

• Recognised Speech and Language Therapy Degree Qualification or equivalent
• Health Professions Council membership- Licence to practice
• Registration as a member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists
• Competence/willingness to undertake relevant advanced training/post qualification training

Experience

• Some experience of working with pre and school aged children with a range of speech, language and communication needs
• Some experience working with parents, teaching and/or education support staff
• Delivering training
• Working as part of multi-disciplinary team

Knowledge and Skills

• Ability to make a differential diagnosis between commonly presenting speech and language disorders in pre and school aged students
• Ability to use a range of assessment tools relevant to pre-school and school aged children.
• Ability to use a range of therapeutic intervention techniques for pre-school and school aged children with commonly presenting speech and language disorders
• Knowledge and understanding of Equal Opportunities
• Ability to demonstrate an understanding of the principles of confidentiality.
• Knowledge of IT and computer systems e.g Micro soft Office or equivalent
• Knowledge and understanding of Safeguarding
• A working knowledge of relevant national polices including SEND code of Practice.
• Ability to present information clearly to a wide range of audiences

We reserve the right to close the post before the stated closing date, please apply early. We do not contact applicants with the outcome of the shortlisting. If you have been shortlisted, you will receive an invite to an assessment day or interview.

As a local employer and anchor institution we work closely with our community to recruit locally and we welcome applications from the widest variety of people to ensure our workforce are reflective of the local communities which we serve. We encourage all suitable candidates to apply including if you are Black, Asian or other ethnic minorities, live with a disability (visible or not) or are LGBT+. We have a number of active staff networks including Disability, LGBT+, Multicultural Inclusion and Women’s staff networks to bring staff together and celebrate diversity across our whole workforce.

Please note: Information provided during recruitment and pre‑employment checks must be accurate. Misrepresentation may be investigated as fraud and could lead to withdrawal from the process, professional sanctions, or criminal action.

Please note: that sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route is subject to Trust allocation and UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) approval.

Use of AI in recruitment: We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support the initial review of applications against the essential criteria for this role. Where AI is used, it will support rather than replace human decision-making, and applications will remain subject to appropriate human review.

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.