Children's Occupational Therapist Polegate, East Sussex

Please note: at this stage, the role is open only to colleagues currently employed within Kent and Medway NHS Trusts, the Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB) and Medway Community Healthcare. Nursing vacancies are also open to Student Nurses and Newly Qualified Nurses.

Are you looking for an opportunity to kick-start your occupational therapy career in Paediatrics? Although based in East Sussex, we are employed by KCHFT which is an outstanding trust. We are currently seeking a B5 Occupational Therapist with experience in paediatrics either prior to training or post-qualification or with an interest in working with children and young people with special educational needs and/or neurodiverse needs, physical disability. We are a community-based service; we work in clinics, nurseries, schools and in the home with an emphasis on working geographically smart and hybrid-working.

You will need to be initiative-taking, resilient and solution-focused to embrace new ways of working; with an emphasis on multi-agency working and driving improved outcomes for children and young people. Car-driver is essential. The post-holder will work closely within the Neighbourhood team including Speech and Language Therapy, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Adaptations and Integrated Therapy Assistants. The service has a strong commitment to training and development with robust supervision and shadowing opportunities across the service.

Main duties of the job

• The post holder is an autonomous practitioner, working with children aged 0-19 years with a range of disabilities.
• The post holder will be based in Chaucer clinic but work across East Sussex.
• To manage a defined caseload and provide occupational therapy assessments and treatments to children.
• To assess, plan and deliver therapy and be able to evaluate and develop services for children.
• To work as an integral member of the Children's Integrated Therapy and Equipment Service (CITES).
• To maintain and uphold professional standards and adhere to professional codes of conduct.
• To communicate effectively and develop negotiation skills with children, carers and colleagues to ensure the best outcomes for the child.
• Develop skills to motivate clients/carers to engage in the therapeutic process.
• To produce with support, comprehensive patient related reports for other disciplines or agencies relating to assessment findings and/or treatment management outcomes.
• To apply clinical reasoning in order to monitor and prioritise your own and the team caseload.
• To develop the ability to conduct, score and interpret specialist paediatric standardised assessments when appropriate with support.
• To develop the ability to evaluate therapy outcomes to ensure a high standard of clinical practice and patient care is maintained.
• To achieve effective management of a caseload, prioritising clinical needs and balancing other patient related and professional activities.

About us

Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust is due to integrate with Medway Community Healthcare on 1 October 2026. Following integration and to align our community services to the new Neighbourhood Model of care delivery, there will be a period of consultation which may result in changes affecting some services, teams or roles. Depending on the area you are applying to work in, this could include potential changes to your role, work base, reporting arrangements, or terms and conditions of employment. Any changes would be subject to consultation and managed sensitively and in line with relevant employment processes.

Rated 'Outstanding' by CQC, we deliver high-quality care that improves the health of our communities. We are looking for people who share our values: Compassionate, Aspirational, Responsive and Excellent. We are proud to be an inclusive, welcoming organisation and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds.

We know life outside work matters. As a flexible working-friendly organisation, we welcome conversations about arrangements that help you thrive while supporting excellent care for our patients.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Essential: Degree/Diploma in Occupational Therapy, State Registered with HCPC.

Experience

• Essential: Experience across a broad range of placements, Experience in assessment and planning occupational therapy treatment for a variety of conditions, Experience of working with children in any setting.
• Desirable: Documented evidence of CPD.

Knowledge

• Essential: Knowledge of assessment, treatment planning and evaluation, Understanding of professional ethics and their application to practice.
• Desirable: Knowledge of common treatment tools and outcome measures, Knowledge of complex neurological problems.

Skills and Abilities

• Essential: Ability to work with both groups and individuals, Knowledge of typical conditions and child development, Good personal organisational skills.
• Desirable: Training and presentation skills.

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.

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications.

Applicants must have current UK professional registration.