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We are excited to be seeking a dedicated and passionate Occupational Therapist to join our innovative multidisciplinary team committed to delivering a high-quality clinical service to children and young people aged 0 to 19 within Whittington Health Trust.

Whittington Health encompasses community services in Haringey, Islington, and Barnet, as well as Camden speech and language therapy and the Whittington Hospital. This post is within the Haringey team and is predominantly based in Tynemouth Road Medical Centre and the local community. There is the opportunity to work hybrid between sites and from home.

The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in the ongoing development and transformation of the service to meet demands. This position requires a flexible and creative practitioner capable of exercising leadership whilst delivering clinical care of the highest standard.

The successful applicant will receive a thorough induction programme and regular clinical and safeguarding supervision. We encourage continuous professional development and offer opportunities to engage in external training to support ongoing professional development.

This is a unique opportunity to contribute to a service committed to excellence in clinical care and innovation. If you are motivated to make a positive impact on the lives of children and young people with additional needs, we welcome your application.

The post holder will have the opportunity to engage in evidence based practice with babies, children and young people with a wide range of additional needs including physical disabilities, developmental delays, ASC, syndromes and other neurological conditions who live in Haringey or attend nurseries, mainstream and special schools in Haringey. The children are seen in clinics, at home, nurseries, school and in clinic.

The post holder will support with our 3 -tiered offer including universal offer and virtual training sessions for parents and educators. This design enables us to support the occupational performance in our young people's lives through a goal‑oriented, top‑down approach when they need it most. They will also carry a caseload of babies, children and young people and work with the MDT to support the child engage in their meaningful occupation in the areas of leisure (play), productivity (school) and self‑care (washing/ dressing). The post holder will work in collaboration with the school, special school and directly with children and families, assessing, goal setting, devising and implementing therapy programmes/plans and prescribing equipment and evaluating outcomes.

The post holder will contribute to the Statutory Assessment of SEN as required within time limits set out by the code of practice 2014. The post holder will receive support and supervision from the clinical leads in the Occupational Therapy service.

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.

See full details in the document attached.

PATIENT/CLIENT CARE

1. To carry a personal clinical caseload maintaining a high level of professional competence and demonstrate developing clinical expertise.
2. To administer specialist standardised and structured assessments, interpret results and contribute to accurate diagnosis and prognosis within the team responsible for the child’s care.
3. To assess and treat individual children with complex needs, in their homes and special school, mainstream school or clinic setting, working as part of the multi-disciplinary team, and liaising closely with education staff and parents/carers.
4. To devise and manage a specialised treatment plan individual to a child’s presenting condition through:
   • Home programmes agreed with parents
   • Practice of functional tasks in the natural environment
   • Therapeutic handling and postural management
   • Equipment provision at home and school
   • Developmentally appropriate skills in play, self‑care and nursery activities
   • Sensory based interventions
   • Addressing relevant psychosocial issues
   • Multidisciplinary approach, coordinating support with other members of the team.
5. To attend meetings necessary to co‑ordinate multi‑agency care of the child e.g. transition planning, child protection.
6. To utilise a 3‑tiered model of practice universal, targeted and specialist to deliver high quality evidence‑based care.
7. To keep accurate and timely records, and write reports and discharge summaries as required, ensuring that confidentiality and information‑sharing standards are met as in Trust and professional standards.
8. To provide Occupational Therapy advice to Education Health and Care assessments, as required.
9. To be actively involved in target setting and annual review meetings, working across disciplines to ensure continuity of approach and to maximise the effectiveness of treatment in the home and school settings.
10. To plan and carry out home visits to the child in the home environment, to carry out risk assessments; to assess for specialist equipment, or to advise the parent/carer.
11. To be involved in the assessment for and selection of specialist equipment for children at home and in the special school/ mainstream school, taking responsibility for review of its safety and appropriateness.
12. To establish relationships with community services and facilities, and to assist children and their families to make links with resources available to them.
13. To work effectively with clients, carers, and colleagues around individual case management, providing advice, guidance and support as necessary and involving them in the planning and prioritisation of care wherever possible.
14. To reflect on clinical practice; adequately identifying strengths & needs of clients, reviewing their response to therapy and providing evidence of sound clinical judgement.
15. To monitor and review the progress of children on caseload and facilitate the development or modification of packages of care / targets as appropriate using evaluation/outcome measurement tools.
16. To adapt practice to meet individual client/carers circumstances, taking into account cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
17. To produce accurate, & detailed reports, therapy programmes, advice and information as necessary in a timely manner.
18. To refer children to other Health, Education or Social Services professionals as necessary.
19. To undertake home visits, as necessary, in compliance with Home Visiting Safety Policy.

• Qualification degree/diploma in Occupational Therapy and current HPC registration
• Attendance at specialist post-graduate courses relevant to paediatric OT

• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to communicate complex information clearly, verbally and in writing, and overcome barriers to communication
• Ability to manage own time and a clinical caseload, and to describe ways of prioritising work
• Ability to identify professional training needs, and evidence of updating clinical skills
• Understanding of the role of and process of clinical supervision and the importance of reflective practice
• Understanding of issues involved in working in a diverse community, and of practical ways to ensure OT practice is culturally appropriate and accessible

• Work or placement experience in community / education setting or related work areas
• Experience / knowledge of working with neurological conditions and using standardised assessments and implementing specialised treatment approaches
• Experience / knowledge of assessing for specialist adaptive equipment and minor adaptations, and of evaluating effectiveness and safety
• Experience of goal setting and evaluating the outcomes of OT treatment
• Experience of managing a caseload, and of working with other staff to implement Occupational Therapy treatment programmes
• Experience / knowledge of working with children with special needs focusing on childhood occupation, using standardised assessments and implementing specialised treatment approaches
• Involvement in clinical audit and outcome measures
• Experience/ knowledge of using a 3 tiered model - universal, targeted and specialist in practice
• Experience / knowledge of contributing to planning care in conjunction with service - users and other disciplines
• Experience / understanding of supervising students

• Knowledge of understanding the needs of children with disabilities and their families/carers, and to explain the role of the OT to them
• Understanding of the emotional and physical impact of illness / disability on an individual, their family and carers
• Awareness of and competence in undertaking core therapeutic assessments specific to occupational therapy
• Knowledge of legislative frameworks / current legislation in relation to health care
• Practical experience of designing and implementing treatment programmes in line with best / evidence based practice
• Documented evidence of continuous professional development showing progression of learning and future learning objectives
• Evidence of understanding of the roles of the OT working within a school environment

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.

£44,485 to £52,521 a yearPer Annum Including HCAS