Band 5/6 Run-Through Speech and Language Therapist

at  Whittington Health NHS Trust

Due to additional funding, Camden Language and Communication Service (CLCS) are seeking a Speech and Language Therapist to join our welcoming team. This is a Band 5/6 run-through post. We welcome applications from Newly Qualified Therapists and also from those who are currently working at Band 5 or Band 6. This post is offered as a full-time permanent post. People seeking a part-time pattern of working are also very welcome to apply. This post would suit those currently working at a Newly Qualified Therapist and those already working at Band 5.
CLCS is a unique jointly commissioned team of speech and language therapists and specialist language and communication teachers. We are based in a modern office in Netley campus near Euston and Warren Street stations. All maintained mainstream Camden Primary schools have access to this team who provide support at universal, targeted and specialist levels. We support children with Education and Health Care Plans (EHCPs), Exceptional Needs Grants (ENGs) and also those without additional funding.
Interest, enthusiasm, confidence and flexibility will be essential and in return we can offer structured support, regular supervision, service management, and professional development, as well as a large team of friendly and helpful colleagues both within your team and right across the Whittington Health SLT Services.
The post holder will be based within Camden Speech and Language Therapy Service with a focus on supporting mainstream school environments at primary level. The majority of the work is based within Camden Language and Communication Service which is a specialist multi-agency service for pupils with a range of spoken language and communication difficulties attending around 40 mainstream primary schools, and a primary Language Resource Base, in Camden. The post holder will work in a multi-agency team comprising of Speech and Language Therapists and Specialist Language and Communication Advisory Teachers. The service provided consists of assessment, diagnosis and intervention for individual children as well as providing a whole school support service to schools themselves.
Please see the Job Description and the Persons Specification for further details about the job role. If you are unable to access the PDF, the details of the job description can also be found in the ‘Detailed Job Description and Main responsibilities’ section.
Find out what it is like to work in our friendly, supportive teams which span hospital and community settings across vibrant and diverse North Central London first hand, visit www.whittington.nhs.uk/CYPrecruitment (you may have to copy and paste this link into your browser) to hear from some of our current staff about why they chose to join and stay at Whittington Health.
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.
CLCS are looking for a keen and dynamic therapist interested in developing your clinical skills whilst working in education. This post holder will manage a small caseload of schools, providing assessment/diagnosis, direct and indirect sessions, face to face and virtual therapy as required, as well as training to teachers, teaching assistants and parents. You will be working with children who have a wide range of SLCN. We offer support and regular clinical and line management supervision.
This post will offer you the opportunity to work closely with a range of schools, work closely with a diverse caseload, and develop your clinical and professional skills. Interest, enthusiasm, confidence and flexibility will be essential.
Camden is a central London borough that has a culturally and socially diverse population, including vulnerable populations that require additional support and understanding. It is a vibrant place to work, with access to great amenities, transport links and links with the Speech and Language Therapy Departments at City University and University College London.
CLCS is a large multi-disciplinary team, so there are lots of opportunities for great formal and informal support and supervision as well as access to experienced colleagues who can support your skill/ knowledge development, share effective clinical practice, and support your interest in specific areas of clinical practice.
Many of the children that attend Camden schools arrive with low levels of language and literacy for a host of reasons including EAL, social, emotional and mental health factors, as well as a significant clinical population of children with developmental language disorders (DLD), ADHD, autism and learning difficulties.
The post holder will also be responsible for supporting teaching and support staff to engage and develop children’s skills in the educational environment following local protocols. They will require knowledge of the education system and reforms as it relates to classroom practice. They will also plan and provide individual and small group specialist interventions as required and liaise with the team around the child as required so that this work is supported and generalised throughout the day at school and at home.
Clinical
1. To demonstrate an ability to implement interventions and staff development at a whole school level including joint target setting and outcome monitoring.
2. To demonstrate clinical expertise in the assessment, treatment and management of language and communication problems in school aged children up to 11 years, providing appropriate specialist assessment and intervention and evaluating outcomes.
3. To demonstrate specialist knowledge in this clinical area underpinned by current evidence based practice and outcome measures
To make appropriate differential diagnoses and specialist clinical decisions on evidence from assessment of complex cases
To use / apply specialist knowledge to inform sound clinical judgements/decision making for case management, developing clear care plans based on best practice
To demonstrate an understanding of how to develop and differentiate the curriculum and develop communication friendly schemes of work.
To work with Early Years Services and Camden Service for Young People to support effective transition of children into and out of this service provision.
To provide advice to others regarding the management and care of children with a wide range of SLCN, including ASD.
To work closely with children, carers and families and school staff in order to agree plan of management.
To deal with initial complaints sensitively, avoiding escalation where possible.
To employ excellent communication skills.
To demonstrate skills in motivating children and /or carers to engage in the interventions, targets and outcomes.
To employ counselling skills with parents/carers of children on the caseload.
To maintain sensitivity at all times to the emotional needs of children in particular when imparting potentially distressing information regarding the nature of the children’s difficulties and implications of the same.
To demonstrate the ability to manage children with challenging behaviours including the application of appropriate management strategies as designated by the commissioning provisions.
To monitor and review the progress of children against the targets set and agreed, and to modify targets as appropriate.
To reflect on clinical practice both individually and with peers identifying strengths and needs and providing evidence of sound clinical judgements, based on research and evidence based practice.
To demonstrate knowledge of current policies and practice in education and incorporate these into the model of working as appropriate e.g. the local offer.
To manage and prioritise a specialist caseload under supervision, advising line manager on issues of service delivery including shortfall, service pressures etc.
To contribute to multi-agency assessment procedures as required, including Educational, Health and Social Care Plans.
To demonstrate good negotiation skills across a range of issues and situations, recognising and resolving potential breakdown and conflict when it occurs.
To ensure that children are referred on to other services as appropriate.
To contribute to Whittington Health’s systems of clinical governance, developing innovations in areas of risk management, quality standards setting and clinical effectiveness in collaboration with others.
To be accountable for professional action and recognising professional boundaries, and working within defined departmental and national protocols/policies and professional code of conduct.

Please refer the Job description for details