Highly specialist speech & language therapist - mainstream schools

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Highly specialist speech & language therapist – mainstream schools

NHS AfC: Band 7

Main area Paediatric Speech and Language Therapy Grade NHS AfC: Band 7 Contract Permanent Hours Full time – 37.5 hours per week Job ref 333-G-HC-1535-B

Site Wood End Centre Town Hayes Salary £53,751 – £60,651 per annum incl. HCAS (pro rata if P/T) Salary period Yearly Closing 13/02/2026 23:59

CNWL (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust) has almost 8,000 staff providing integrated healthcare to a third of London\’s population, Milton Keynes and areas beyond. We involve service users, carers, the public, staff and partner organisations in the way that we are run.

Our catchment area spans diverse communities, with over 100 first languages spoken. It contains areas of great affluence as well as areas of much deprivation. We are committed to providing services that meet the needs of the people who use them, and we actively encourage involvement from local people who can help make a difference.

We’re proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME and people with disabilities to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.

We are recognised locally, nationally and internationally for providing high quality, innovative healthcare. We aim to employ only the best people, and our experts are frequently called upon to contribute to national health strategy and policy, and many models of our care have been adapted for use in other countries.

We offer a generous relocation package (subject to eligibility assessment) and flexible working options, including bank assignments for most roles. For more information on these and other benefits of working for us, see our Benefits, Reward and Wellbeing page

Become part of our team. We care for you as much as you care for others.

CNWL NHS Foundation Trust are committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices to protect children and vulnerable adults.

Job overview

Do you want to be part of a friendly and supportive SLT team?

Do you want to be able to offer direct therapy to children in mainstream schools?

Do you want to develop your leadership skills?

Full Time Band 7 role:

We are looking for a passionate speech and language therapist to work in the Hillingdon mainstream schools team supporting children and young people who have a speech, language or communication need.

You will be offering direct therapy for CYP in schools – working closely with school staff.

You will be part of a supportive band 7 team – and take a lead in developing projects and supervising more junior staff.

Have a look on our Hillingdon Talks, Moves and Plays website to find out about our wider service.

Main duties of the job

• To provide a highly specialist speech and language therapy service to children in mainstream schools who have an identified speech/language/communication need. This role will include primary and secondary schools.
• To be responsible for providing highly specialist assessment & therapy packages into allocated schools.
• To train and support school staff & parents, in order for them to implement therapy advice effectively.
• To support schools with the early identification of children with speech/language/communication needs.
• To meet regularly with the SENCO to ensure that the needs of the schools are being met.
• To prioritise the Safeguarding of Vulnerable Children at all times
• To support the service to achieve Key Performance Indicators and maintain Target Activity Levels
• To lead on identified audits and service improvement projects for the team/service
• To lead on identified clinical working groups for the service
• To deliver workshops for the wider speech and language therapy team
• To deliver training workshops for parents and school staff
• To offer joint consultations to other members of the team
• To jointly lead on developing the quality of the service provided to schools
• To be responsible for the performance management of identified team members
• To formally and informally support team members
• To support the team leader in the leading and development of the team
• To deputise for the team leader in the day to day management of the team as requested

Working for our organisation

We can offer you:

• A buddy who will meet with you every week at first to help you settle in and who you can ask lots of questions
• Regular supervision meetings with the team leader every 6 weeks, alongside annual appraisal and informal support
• Termly peer supervision meetings where you can discuss difficult cases, read articles together and share your experiences
• Regular meetings with the other band 7 mainstream team SLTs to ensure that the workload is being shared and support given
• A busy but manageable caseload across a range of schools
• Opportunities for remote working in school and at home at the end of the day once a week
• Opportunities to develop your clinical and leadership skills and knowledge through termly study afternoons, shadowing more experienced therapists/ leaders, membership of a CEN, training courses – clinical and leadership

We are proud to say that the service has:

• Excellent relationships with schools – 91% of SENCO’s report that they are happy or very happy with the service
• Good relationships with parents – 92.5% of parents report that they are happy or very happy with the service. A parent representative attends all of the mainstream schools meetings and parent feedback is sought for new developments
• An annual service improvement plan in order to ensure that the service is continually evolving and developing
• A strong track record on innovation and service development in order to provide a high quality service to children, schools and families

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To provide a highly specialist speech and language therapy service to children in mainstream schools who have an identified speech/language/communication need. This role will include primary and secondary schools.
• To be responsible for providing highly specialist assessment & therapy packages into allocated schools.
• To train and support school staff & parents, in order for them to implement therapy advice effectively.
• To support schools with the early identification of children with speech/language/communication needs.
• To meet regularly with the SENCO to ensure that the needs of the schools are being met.
• To prioritise the Safeguarding of Vulnerable Children at all times
• To support the service to achieve Key Performance Indicators and maintain Target Activity Levels
• To lead on identified audits and service improvement projects for the team/service
• To lead on identified clinical working groups for the serviceTo deliver workshops for the wider speech and language therapy team
• To deliver training workshops for parents and school staff
• To offer joint consultations to other members of the team
• To jointly lead on developing the quality of the service provided to schools
• To be responsible for the performance management of identified team members
• To formally and informally support team members
• To support the team leader in the leading and development of the team
• To deputise for the team leader in the day to day management of the team as requested

Qualifications

• Recognised Speech and Language Therapy Degree qualification or equivalent (minimum of 2:2 or equivalent)
• Further training courses relevant to the post
• Attendance at special interest group/ clinical excellence group
• Health and Care Professions Council licence to practice.
• Registered member of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.
• Extensive training relevant to the post

Experience

• Extensive experience of working in a mainstream/special school as a therapist
• Experience of developing and delivering a range of training
• Experience of leading on a project to improve/develop the service
• Experience of providing informal support to junior colleagues
• Experience of supervising students
• Experience of formally supervising less experienced staff
• Experience of leading appraisals for junior staff
• Experience of leadership tasks

Skills and Knowledge

• In‑depth knowledge of assessment tools, and experience of using them relevant to school age children with SLCN.
• In‑depth knowledge of a range of appropriate therapy approaches, and experience in using them with school age children with SLCN including: speech, language, stammering, social communication, selective mutism.
• Experience of contributing to an audit
• Knowledge of national policies and procedures relevant to school age children with SLCN
• Good knowledge of the roles of other professionals relevant to school age children with SLCN
• Experience of leading clinical audits

Other

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with professionals, children and their families
• Evidence of being a pro‑active and supportive team member.
• Good negotiation and problem solving skills.
• Good analytical and reflection skills
• Good presentation skills; both written and verbal.
• Good organisational skills and ability to prioritise and meet deadlines

The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.

• Due to the high response levels we receive for some vacancies, we may expire any of them prior to the advertised closing date and advise you to submit your application as soon as possible.
• Applications from job seekers who require sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. Before submitting your application and to avoid disappointment please check that you are eligible under the UKVI points based system
• Our Agenda for Change employment contracts are subject to a contractual 13 week probationary period.
• If you are offered a job, information will be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

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.

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