Specialist Occupational Therapist in Winkleigh

About The Role

Job Location: This role will work between three education settings, spending time at Acorn School, Winkleigh, Petherton Park, North Petherton, and our Residential Children’s Homes.

Contract Type: Permanent – Term Time only

Salary: £32,287.50 – £38,871.00 per annum (Term Time Only). You'll receive a pro rata salary based on a full-time equivalent of £39,975.00 – £48,126.00 per annum, offering the benefit of school holiday periods while working in a rewarding term-time-only role.

Are you an Experienced Specialist Occupational Therapist Ready for an Exciting New Career? This is a fantastic time to join us as we continue to grow and expand our Therapies Team. We're looking for an experienced Specialist Occupational Therapist to help shape and develop our Occupational Therapy provision across two of our amazing specialist education settings and within our Residential Children’s Homes.

This unique role offers the opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of children with neurodiverse needs, many of whom have experienced trauma, while enjoying the variety and professional fulfilment of working across multiple settings.

As part of our passionate and innovative integrated therapies team, you'll have the autonomy to influence practice, contribute to service development, and deliver meaningful, person-centred interventions that empower pupils and learners to thrive.

You'll work across a variety of settings, giving you the opportunity to make a meaningful impact while gaining a diverse and rewarding experience:

• 2 days per week at Acorn School, Winkleigh
• 1 day per week at Petherton Park School, North Petherton
• 2 days per week supporting our Residential Children's Homes, with travel across the South West as required (this may vary from week to week)

When you're not working directly within these settings, you'll have dedicated time to deliver training, collaborate with team members, and provide additional support within our schools, ensuring the best possible outcomes for the children we support.

If you're looking for a role where you can lead, inspire, and be part of an ambitious and expanding therapies service, this is an exciting opportunity to make a lasting impact every day. Join us and help shape the future of our therapy services while transforming lives.

A day in the life of a Specialist Occupational Therapist will involve:

• Taking a Neurodiverse affirming and trauma-informed approach to clinical work, working within a small caseload of pupils who have neurodiverse needs.
• Assessing, writing indirect therapy programmes, providing advice and consultations, and delivering direct therapy.
• Working alongside the integrated therapy team, consisting of Speech and Language Therapists and Creative Art Therapists.
• Designing and delivering specific training and mentoring for your team members with the support of the Clinical Lead to further develop the Occupational Therapy offering.

To be a successful Specialist Occupational Therapist you’ll need:

• A recognised post-graduate qualification in Occupational Therapy with an essential qualification in Sensory Integration and Processing, along with HCPC registration as an Occupational Therapist with RCOT Membership.
• Great experience as an Occupational Therapist.
• The experience and ability to complete or contribute to capacity assessments.
• Good IT skills – We’ll train you on how to use our systems, but it would help if you had a working understanding of using Microsoft packages like Excel, Word, Outlook and Teams.
• A full driving licence.

In return for your time, you’ll get:

• Holidays – You’ll get 28 days annual leave, including public holidays.
• Pension scheme – Our pension scheme is based on you paying in 5%, and us adding 3%.
• Learning & Development Opportunities – We provide comprehensive learning opportunities for team members to develop themselves.
• Discounts – You’ll have access to brilliant discounts through the Blue Light Card and our own employee benefits platform.
• Wellbeing Support – Your wellbeing is always our priority. You’ll have access to mental health and wellbeing support. On top of this, our therapies team offers a monthly confidential check-in clinic, and group reflective practice sessions.
• Cycle2Work – The cycle to work scheme enables you to buy a bicycle at a discounted rate.
• DBS – As this role requires you to have an enhanced DBS carried out, we will cover this cost.
• After 12 months service – You’ll also be eligible for our Medicash scheme which covers a wide range of medical, health and wellbeing expenses (Including immediate access to a GP!). You’ll get life assurance paid at x2 your annual salary, and even more high street discounts.

Please note that as part of our safer recruitment processes, successful applicants will be subject to pre-employment checks including an enhanced disclosure and barring service (DBS) check, and online and social media checks, and reference validation.

At Phoenix Learning and Care, we pride ourselves on our diverse workforce, and ensuring we have an inclusive environment for all our team members. We remain committed to ensuring our teams can bring their true selves to work without risk or fear of discrimination.