Band 5 Occupational Therapist in Wallington

Are you looking for a job in paediatric practice? Do you want to be part of a large trans-disciplinary team of dedicated teaching staff, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and wellbeing practitioners helping children aged 4-19 years with complex needs? Do you have a passion for working with children, a growth mindset and are confident, enthusiastic, calm, and adaptable? We welcome you to apply to join our team.

About us: Sherwood Foundation School is an all age foundation special school, which consists of three campuses: Sherwood Park Campus in Wallington, which provides for pupils whose primary needs are profound and multiple learning disabilities and severe learning disabilities. Sherwood Hill Campus in Carshalton, which provides for pupils where their diagnosis of Autism has a significant or profound impact on their learning and/or social and emotional skills, affecting their capacity to cope across daily activities. Sherwood Manor Campus in Wallington is for secondary aged students and primarily for autistic learners as well as some with moderate learning difficulties many of whom have additional differences and complexities.

Main duties of the job: Sherwood Foundation School prides itself on its individualised, trans-disciplinary approach to learning; with the child/young person and their family at the heart of our practice. We are dedicated to using strengths based, relationship focused, person-centred practices to support the learning and growth of our pupils. We aim to create a school culture and learning environment that facilitates the active engagement and participation of our learners, using motivating and meaningful activities that support the development of regulation, communication, social skills, cognitive abilities and life skills in preparation for adulthood.

We have an exciting opportunity to invite applications from Band 5 therapists, who wish to develop their knowledge, experience and their expertise within a dedicated and supportive team. Clinical supervision, managerial supervision and opportunities for Continuing Professional Development are provided.

About us: Cognus Therapies is a thriving multidisciplinary team of Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, and Therapy Assistants who support children and young people in schools, colleges, bases and specialist provisions within the London Borough of Sutton and surrounding boroughs. We work with children and young people aged 4 to 25 years of age, across Primary, Secondary and Post-16 provisions, with a variety of special educational needs, e.g. Autism, Global Developmental Delay, Hearing Impairment, Down Syndrome, PMLD, MLD and many more. We encourage all our therapists to gain experience and expertise across a range of specialisms. Cognus Therapies forms part of the Cognus Limited provision for special educational needs within the London Borough of Sutton.

Job responsibilities:

• Work within a multidisciplinary team of occupational therapists and speech and language therapists.
• Have the opportunity to work in schools, colleges, bases and/or specialist provisions across the London Borough of Sutton.
• Support local schools/settings to support children and young people with Occupational Therapy Needs.
• Manage own caseload with support, to ensure intended outcomes are delivered within agreed service standards.

Principal accountabilities:

• To personally undertake a caseload to include visiting children and young people at their educational setting.
• Completing assessments with children and young people.
• Delivering therapy programmes to individuals or small groups.
• Offering advice and support to parents/carers and teaching staff.
• Maintaining all records to a high standard.

Specific Duties:

• Provide advice and support to school staff.
• Use screening and assessment tools (formal and informal assessments).
• Prioritise new referrals, with support.
• Complete case histories to gather relevant information.
• Write reports based on assessment information.
• Make onward referrals, with support.
• Liaise with all professionals involved.
• Liaise with parents/carers and school staff to work collaboratively.
• Contribute to professional advice regarding statutory assessments (Education, Health and Care Needs Assessments).
• Contribute to professional advice for Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) annual reviews.
• Monitor and record the child or young person's progress towards their outcomes and targets.
• Attend team meetings, clinical supervision, and managerial supervision.

Training and Development Responsibility:

• Promote Evidence Based Practice and embed this into professional activities.
• Engage in CPD activities.
• Comply with the Cognus Limited mandatory training requirements.

Generic Objectives:

• Contribute to Cognus Limited's business objectives by ensuring every child matters and has access to education and learning opportunities.

General: Safer Recruitment: Cognus is committed to safeguarding and protecting the children and young people that it works with. An offer of employment is subject to safer recruitment practices which include an enhanced DBS check, two professional references acceptable to Cognus Limited, proof of qualifications, proof of right to work in the UK, proof of personal address and employment history covering 5 years and fitness to work with children.

Person Specification Qualifications:

• Educated to degree level or equivalent in Occupational Therapy.
• Relevant qualifications including registration with HCPC and RCOT.
• Knowledge of relevant assessment tools and therapy interventions.
• Excellent organisational skills.
• Excellent ICT skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively and in partnership with other professionals.
• Adherence to RCOT and HCPC policies and procedures.
• Committed to safeguarding and protection of children.
• Experience of working in educational settings.
• Experience as a paediatric occupational therapist.

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 to check for any previous criminal convictions.