Specialist Children and Young People\'s Occupational Therapist

Do you want to make a tangible difference to people's lives, with the best of London on your doorstep?

Central London Community Healthcare (CLCH) is one of the largest community healthcare organisations in London and Hertfordshire, providing our services to diverse communities/boroughs in 11 London Boroughs and Hertfordshire. We are rated Good by the Care Quality Commission and are ranked among top NHS employers. Community healthcare is our focus and our passion. We champion the role of community health professionals to make sure our patients get great care closer to home.

We are looking for a dynamic, self-motivated Occupational Therapist with paediatric or similar Occupational Therapy experience to join our new Community Health service in Merton Borough. Your role will be to provide assessment, advice, and treatment to children with a range of needs. Although community-based, the role could also include work within the local specialist schools. You will work closely with established multi-professional teams within Merton Community services and with outside services to deliver Occupational Therapy advice and treatment meeting the functional needs of children. You should have experience of working with children in community and/or educational settings, and your communication and team working skills will be excellent.

We are committed to professional development and evidence-based practice, offering regular in-service training and peer group/one-to-one supervision. Internal and external courses are supported. You will be required to have at least 2 years’ experience working as a practitioner with appropriate transferable skills working with children. Engagement in postgraduate training and education in areas related to working with sensory integration disorders or neurodevelopmental conditions is desirable.

Main duties of the job

To provide a high standard Occupational Therapy service to children and young people within the Merton Borough who have a Merton GP or Education, Health and Care plan, and who experience difficulties in their functional abilities or skills development in the areas of self-care, productivity, and leisure. The post may include work in schools, clinics, and homes in accordance with the service level agreement. The role will include working with Occupational Therapy Assistants to implement therapy programmes for identified children and young people on your caseload.

Working for our organisation

Just as we care about our patients’ well-being, we care about yours! We can offer you:

• A comprehensive induction into the community service followed by a local induction to introduce you to the role
• Car lease scheme (only available for Band 5 and up)
• Flexible working options
• Training, support, and development in your career

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to Job Description and Person Specification for outline of skills, knowledge, and experience required.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Degree or diploma in Occupational Therapy
• Registered with the Health Care Professions Council
• Up-to-date knowledge through CPD
• Relevant post-registration specialist education related to children and young people with physical disabilities
• Evidence of attendance to training in assessment and treatment of children with complex functional needs
• Membership of relevant specialist groups such as the Children, Young People and Families specialist section of the British Association of Occupational Therapists, Sensory Integration Network
• Professionally active in Specialist Section Local/Regional Groups

Experience

• Specialist knowledge/experience in paediatric occupational therapy or appropriate experience in other Occupational Therapy settings which brings relevant transferable skills.
• Experience of working with ASD, neurological conditions, coordination disorders, and functional needs.
• Knowledge/experience in the use of relevant assessment and treatment approaches and practices, including the use of standardized assessments.
• Community/school or educational environment experience
• Evidence of effective multi-disciplinary and multi-agency work
• Evidence of understanding EHCP processes or willingness to prioritise as part of induction
• Experience of equipment prescription and principles and its application in the paediatric setting
• Experience assessing for fabricating upper limb splints
• Experience of supervising staff and/or as a fieldwork educator
• Experience in setting up new projects/initiatives

Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts, we may close this vacancy before the advertised closing date. Therefore, please apply for this post as soon as you can if you are interested and you meet the requirements of the Person Specification. Only those candidates who clearly demonstrate how they meet the person specification will be shortlisted for this job. Interview arrangements will be communicated via email, so please check your email regularly following the closing date.

At CLCH we appreciate and are proud of the diversity in the communities we serve and the workforce we employ. Applications are open and welcome to anyone, regardless of your age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, ethnicity, religion, and disability. We are proud to say that we follow the workforce race equality standard and 28% of our senior staff (8A and above) are from a BAME background. CLCH also has active BAME and LGBTQI networks: Disability and Wellbeing Network (DAWN), Race Equality Network, Rainbow Network which supports LGBTQI staff. Each network has a champion who is an executive director at the Trust and they hold regular meetings to discuss issues and make plans to improve CLCH.

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.