Senior Speech and Language Therapist in Loughborough

Organisation: Leicestershire County Council

Work Location: Oakfield Short Stay School

Worker Category: Field Based Worker

Salary: Grade 13 £49,221 - £53,826 per annum (Pro rata for part time)

Working Hours: 37 hours per week, 42 weeks per year

Contract Type: Permanent

Closing Date: 2nd December 2025

Interview Date(s): TBC

About Us: Oakfield Short Stay School is Leicestershire's provision for school aged children who have been permanently excluded or are at risk of permanent exclusion from school. We have expanded the age range of Oakfield School and as a result we are recruiting staff. Our Secondary Inclusion Partnership staff who did put provisions in place for secondary aged children and young people who have been excluded from school, or are at risk of this, have recently joined the team. Therefore, you will be part of a vital team in an exciting period of development, working with us to meet the needs of children and young people between the ages of 5 and 16 who struggle to manage in mainstream and need a different offer of education to secure their successful next steps.

Role Overview: You will work collaboratively within a multi-agency Advisory team under the direction of the Head of Therapeutic Inreach and Outreach to provide support to education settings to best meet the needs of children and young people referred to Oakfield. Your role will be crucial in the delivery of high-quality training to professionals and families. Delivering programmes of intervention and group work / support for children at home and in school / Early Years setting, you will oversee and provide advice and support to multi therapy assistants. The role would suit an experienced person who has experience leading and managing a multidisciplinary team, ensuring the deployment of Speech and Language Therapists and other therapy professionals is responsive, high quality, customer and outcome-focused and supports children, young people, families and partner agencies. Many of our young people present with challenging behaviour, and we are looking for someone who can demonstrate strong empathy and ability to intrinsically connect with pupils with complex SEMH needs and lead in delivering a service that enables pupils to receive the therapeutic interventions that they require.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and Inspire: Take responsibility for the achievement of a high level of professional practice that is outcome focused and evidence-based, including the ongoing professional development of workers and volunteers.
• Collaborate with Agencies: Develop and maintain effective working relationships with external agencies and internal colleagues to ensure the best outcome for service users and their families.
• Accountability: Undertake assessments, making appropriate recommendations to enable achievement of outcome focused service to meet user needs.
• Promote Inclusion: Demonstrate a commitment to inclusion, ensuring all pupils and staff members feel valued and supported.

What We Offer:

• Unique Learning Environment: Experience a diverse and dynamic workplace where every day is different.
• Professional Development: Access opportunities for professional growth and bespoke training.
• Supportive Team: Join a highly skilled and supportive team of practitioners.
• Make a Difference: Play a crucial role in transforming the lives of young people.
• Flexibility: Options for part-time or full-time work to suit your lifestyle.

A DBS enhanced check for a regulated activity is required for this post.

About You: To apply for this post, you must be/have:

• UK qualified status and registered with the HCPC
• Extensive knowledge of Autism Spectrum and SEMH and how these may affect communication development and function.
• In depth knowledge of appropriate assessment and therapeutic interventions relevant to the client group
• Extensive knowledge of principles of effective working with families and application to practice.
• Significant experience in assessment and intervention of children with complex needs
• Experience of management information obtained from case work is duly uploaded into the appropriate database, reporting and commenting on any significant or relevant matters that derive from the reports produced.
• Experience of taking responsibility for the achievement of a high level of professional practice that is outcome focused and evidence-based, including the ongoing professional development of workers and volunteers.

You must also have an understanding of, and commitment to, equality, diversity and inclusion. In addition, we also expect you to share our commitment to our values and will ask you to evidence when you have demonstrated them as part of the selection process. Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a disability.

Interested in Flexible Working? We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below. This may include requests for term-time working, part-time hours, compressed hours, flexible start and finish times, home/remote working, etc.

Contact: To arrange a visit or for an informal discussion about the role, please contact Vicky Edwards Victoria.Edwards@leics.gov.uk / 07860 611280.

How to Apply: Leicestershire County Council is an inclusive organisation which is on a journey to embed and celebrate equality, diversity, and inclusion at every level. We warmly welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, as having a diverse workforce with different perspectives and ideas is fundamental to our values and enriches the services we offer our communities. We particularly welcome applicants from Ethnically Diverse and LGBTQ+ communities and people with disabilities to create a balanced workforce and one that reflects the communities we serve. Applicants with a disability who meet the criteria listed in the 'About You' section above will be offered an interview under the Disability Confident Employer Scheme. To apply for this job, please click on the apply button. You will need to upload a supporting statement as part of your application which explains how you meet the criteria listed in the 'About You' section above. For more information, see the How to Apply section on our career site. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible. If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post or you want to request an application pack in an alternative format, please contact our Employee Service Centre by telephoning 0300 3030222 (select option 2) or raising a ticket via our online portal: https://emss.org.uk/support. By applying for this post, you agree to our Terms and Conditions.

About Leicestershire County Council: Leicestershire County Council is a Disability Confident, Menopause Friendly, Mindful Employer, Fostering Friendly, Forces Friendly, and Cycle Friendly organisation. In August 2021, we also signed up to the Race at Work Charter. We are strongly committed to promoting equality and opportunity, championing employee wellbeing and investing in staff training and development. Our aim is to work with communities and partners to deliver public services that make Leicestershire the best possible place to live and work for everyone. Our employees play a key role in supporting this goal and helping us deliver the vital services we provide to the people of Leicestershire.