Occupational Therapist Lead

This is an exciting opportunity for an Occupational Therapist who is passionate about supporting children and young people to develop their independence, regulation, participation and functional skills, enabling them to engage more confidently in education, relationships and everyday life. You will provide specialist occupational therapy assessments, formulations and interventions to children and young people with a range of complex needs, including neurodiversity, Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA), trauma and adverse childhood experiences. You will manage your own caseload and provide individual and small-group interventions tailored to the needs of each child or young person. As Occupational Therapist Lead, you will also provide clinical leadership within the outreach provision, supporting the development of occupational therapy practice, contributing to service development and promoting high-quality, evidence-informed interventions. Working closely with teachers, pastoral colleagues, families and the wider multidisciplinary clinical team, you will provide specialist advice, consultation and intervention to support participation, independence, sensory regulation and engagement in learning.

We are seeking an experienced and compassionate Occupational Therapist Lead to join our growing therapeutic team at Great Minds Therapy & Training, based at our North West London site .,

• Hold HCPC registration as an Occupational Therapist and a recognised Occupational Therapy degree qualification.
• Evidence of continued professional development relevant to children and young people, SEND, safeguarding, autism, sensory processing, regulation, trauma-informed practice or therapeutic education.
• Experience of working with children and young people with SEND, SEMH needs, autism, ADHD, sensory processing needs, trauma histories or other barriers to learning and participation.
• Experience of delivering specialist occupational therapy assessment, intervention, advice and consultation within education, community, clinical or specialist settings.
• Experience of developing and implementing individualised occupational therapy programmes and providing practical strategies to support participation, independence, sensory regulation and engagement across different environments.
• Experience of providing clinical leadership, supervision, mentoring or professional support to colleagues, with the ability to contribute to the development of occupational therapy practice.
• Confidence working as part of a multi-disciplinary team, contributing to shared plans, risk discussions, safeguarding processes and professional meetings.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work collaboratively with children and young people, families, education staff and other professionals.
• An interest in helping to shape a new outreach service and developing innovative, therapeutic approaches to support children and young people within different settings and service models. Competitive salary and terms and conditions.
• An opportunity to make a real difference to children and young people through specialist Occupational Therapy.
• Opportunities to support and train education staff and parents in sensory, regulation, independence and participation strategies through Great Minds Therapy and Training Services.
• Continuing Professional Development: paid comprehensive training for all staff.
• Comprehensive induction process.
• IT equipment: laptops and mobiles supplied, as well as technical support where necessary.
• Regular half-termly staff wellbeing days.
• A range of employee support and wellbeing benefits, including Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), counselling, contributions towards medical costs and an exclusive rewards platform.
• Great Minds is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of pupils and expects all staff to share this commitment. The appointment is subject to all relevant checks, including references, medical clearance and a satisfactory enhanced DBS disclosure. We are an equal opportunities employer.