Occupational Therapist

Organisation: Leicestershire County Council

Work Location: County Hall Glenfield, Leicester LE3 8RA

Salary: £39,939-£42,699 per annum (pro rata for part-time)

Working Hours: 37 hrs per week, term time (39 wks per year)

Contract Type: Permanent

Closing Date: 6th April 2026

Interview Date(s): TBC

About the Role:

Oakfield Short Stay School is Leicestershire’s provision for primary and secondary school aged children who are at risk, or who have been permanently excluded from school. 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 in both the Primary and Secondary phase who struggle to manage in mainstream and need a different offer of education to secure their successful next steps.

Role Overview:

Working as part of the multi-disciplinary therapy team, to support pupils/students who need help to overcome barriers both inside and outside the school, in order to achieve their full potential. Our students have a variety of learning needs and learn in small groups. We are looking for a person who is creative, flexible, holistic, and has a trauma-informed approach, and possess specialist knowledge to raise engagement, support independence and inspire our children to achieve remarkable outcomes. You will be at the heart of our mission, supporting us to engage our pupils and achieve high rates of attendance. The role would suit someone with excellent communication and interpersonal skills who can inspire others. 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.

Key Responsibilities:

• Teach and Inspire: To assist with the planning, delivery and evaluation of pupil interventions, including identifying how the pupils can best be supported.
• Support Reintegration: To run programmes for individuals or groups to help develop pupil’s knowledge, independence and confidence.
• Collaborate with Agencies: To liaise with staff to set targets with pupils/students and the appropriate staff, keeping parents informed and evaluating achievement towards these goals.

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 able to evidence in your application how you meet the following criteria:

• The post-holder must hold a Degree in Occupational Therapy approved by the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) or equivalent Occupational Therapy qualification approved by HCPC, and the post-holder must be registered with the Health Care Professions Council and is responsible for maintaining registration.
• Commitment and ability to undertake Educator/Best Interests Assessor or other relevant specialist training, and evidence of further relevant training since qualification.
• Evidence of effective assessment and risk management delivery, evidence of prioritising work and meeting deadlines, post qualification experience in a social care setting.
• Experience of partnership working with children to identify and meet need with creative and pragmatic solutions, evidence of working with service users and their carers to identify issues and specific actions, experience of multi-agency/multidisciplinary working and/or of hospital discharge processes.
• Knowledge of Occupational Therapy, methodologies and models of practice and ability to use them, knowledge of relevant legislation including The Care Act, Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act, Moving and Handling and where required Children’s Act and Disabled Facilities legislation relating to children, skills and knowledge relevant to the Occupational Therapy role within social care e.g. Reablement, Moving and Handling, Equipment and Adaptations, moving and handling risk assessment knowledge and experience.
• Knowledge of the needs and issues of different individuals including ethnic minorities, disability and age issues, knowledge of Social Care policy such as personalisation, asset based social work, preventative strategies and solutions, preparing for adulthood, knowledge of welfare benefits and welfare rights, knowledge and understanding of housing issues and their link to social care, knowledge and understanding of commissioning services to meet needs.
• Evidence of practice in line with the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct (College of Occupational Therapists).

In addition, we expect you to share our commitment to our values and will ask you to evidence when you have demonstrated them as part of the interview process. Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a disability. We are a Disability Confident Employer.

Interested in Flexible Working? We are open to discussions about flexible working, which may include part time working, job sharing, term-time working, flexible start and finish times, and hybrid working, depending on the requirements of the role and the service.

If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below.

For more information or an informal discussion, please contact: Visits are strongly encouraged. Please contact Mel Carte to arrange a visit. For informal discussions about the role, please contact Mel Carte at melanie.Carte@leics.gov.uk.

How to Apply:

At Leicestershire County Council we’re looking for top talent from all walks of life. Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, and whatever your background - we care about what you bring to our organisation, not just what’s on your CV. That’s why we’ve designed a recruitment process that’s fair, accessible, and focused on potential. And with benefits that support people at every age and stage of life, we make sure you can thrive - both personally and professionally.

If you share our passion to make a difference for the people of Leicestershire, we’d love to hear from you. Click the apply button to submit your application, ensuring that you upload a supporting statement that explains how you meet the criteria listed in the ‘About You’ section above. Without this information, we won’t be able to assess your suitability for the role, and your application will be rejected.

For tips on how to write your statement, 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.