Paediatric Occupational Therapy Assistant

We're looking for an enthusiastic and motivated Paediatric Occupational Therapy Assistant (NHS Band 4 equivalent) to join our growing Occupational Therapy Service. This role attracts a health market supplement in addition to the advertised salary.

Working under the guidance of qualified Occupational Therapists, you'll support children and young people aged 0-19 with neurological and developmental needs, helping them to develop skills, increase independence and participate in everyday activities. Based within our Integrated Team for Children with Disabilities at the Moor Lane Centre in Chessington, you'll be part of a supportive and dedicated team committed to improving outcomes for children and families.

Main duties of the job

As an Occupational Therapy Assistant (Band 4), you will work within our Paediatric Occupational Therapy Service, supporting children and young people with developmental needs and neurological conditions across schools, clinics and community settings. You'll join a friendly and experienced multidisciplinary team, working closely with Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Speech and Language Therapists, Paediatricians and Social Care colleagues.

In this role, you will:

• Deliver occupational therapy programmes and interventions under the guidance of a qualified Occupational Therapist.
• Work collaboratively with children, families, carers and professionals to support positive outcomes and maintain a holistic approach.
• Provide advice and support alongside other professionals across education, health and social care.
• Support the smooth running of the service through activities such as arranging appointments, organising clinics, maintaining records and managing equipment.

Current opportunities are available within our Special Schools, Specialist Resource Provisions across Kingston and Richmond, and our community team supporting mainstream schools.

About us

Achieving for Children is a Community Interest Company that has a public sector ethos, combined with the freedom to innovate enabling us to do things differently. As a not-for-profit social enterprise owned by three local authorities (Windsor & Maidenhead, Kingston and Richmond), we offer the freedoms of a social enterprise with the employment benefits of local government.

Job responsibilities

As part of the Paediatric Occupational Therapy team you will work with children, young people and their families to support their participation in occupations that are meaningful to them, under the supervision of a HCPC registered qualified Occupational Therapist. You will assist with planning and implementing advice and therapy programmes to support children and young people's participation in play, activities of daily living and school function. You will work with young people in groups or one to one therapy sessions. You will support parent and teacher training sessions run by the occupational therapist. In addition to supporting clinical work, you will be involved in admin tasks such as arranging appointments, clinics, creating resources, placing orders and clinical record keeping. You will work across schools, the Moor Lane clinic and families' homes. It is expected that you will work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team to support children with complex health needs, social and communication difficulties aged 0-18 years old.

Person Specification

Experience

• Experience of working in a healthcare or childcare environment which brings relevant transferable skills.
• Experience of working with children or young people with disabilities.
• Understanding of child development.
• Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team.
• Experience of running groups.
• Experience in teaching or training others.
• Excellent understanding of the role of an Occupational Therapist when working with children and young people.
• Understanding of the basic treatment principles that an occupational therapist uses to enable independence in everyday activities.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to prioritise workload effectively and work independently.
• Ability to maintain accurate record keeping.

Qualifications

• Educated to GCSE level or above with good written and spoken English as well as good basic numeracy.
• Attendance at training courses relevant to post e.g. First aid, Lifesaving, Makaton course, BTEC or equivalent in Child Development.

Personal attributes

• A passion for working with children and young people.
• Willingness to learn.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Strong organisational abilities including: time management, creative-thinking, problem-solving and multitasking.
• Personal determination, drive, energy and ambition to overcome obstacles, achieve challenging objectives, celebrate success and deliver excellent outcomes for children.
• Commitment to resource-sharing and collaborative working within Achieving for Children and across organisational boundaries in the best interests of children and families.
• Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills that are open, honest, persuasive and pragmatic, including excellent negotiation and influencing skills.

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.