Children'S Specialist Speech & Language Therapist in Bristol

Make a real difference to children and young people across Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire. The Children's Speech and Language Therapy Service is looking for Band 6 Speech and Language Therapists to join our friendly and supportive early years team. You’ll work with children and young people with a range of speech, language and communication needs, delivering assessment, advice and therapy across a variety of settings in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

Our team is passionate about supporting staff development and wellbeing, offering:

• Regular clinical training and CPD opportunities
• A buddy system for new starters
• Regular line management and supervision
• Whole team and smaller locality meetings
• A large, experienced team with opportunities for progression and internal development

This role offers the chance to build strong relationships with families and wider professionals while making a meaningful impact on children’s communication and learning outcomes. As the role involves travelling to settings across a wide geographical area, access to a vehicle would be highly beneficial.

We currently have 1.3WTE vacancies available:

• 0.8 WTE Permanent position providing support to early years children who are awaiting an ASD assessment.
• 0.5 WTE Permanent position providing early years community SLT support at universal, targeted and specialist levels.

Main duties of the job:

• Work autonomously to deliver high-quality, evidence-based assessments and interventions for children and young people, including those with complex needs.
• Use advanced clinical reasoning skills to assess, plan, implement and evaluate child-centred interventions using an evidence-based approach.
• Analyse assessment findings in depth to identify appropriate specialist interventions, develop programmes of care and contribute to differential diagnoses where required.
• Demonstrate clinical effectiveness through evidence-based practice, clear care planning and the use of outcome measures.
• Provide education and advice to children, young people, families and carers about their condition and the role of therapy services, working collaboratively with other professionals.
• Identify the needs of children and young people and actively involve them, alongside their families and carers, in treatment planning and goal setting, recognising the impact of recommendations on family life and daily routines.
• Deliver specialist advice, training and demonstrations to parents, carers, early years setting staff and colleagues to ensure therapeutic recommendations are effectively embedded into everyday activities and routines.
• Work across a range of community settings, including homes, clinics, and early years settings in line with clinical need.
• Manage and prioritise a varied caseload effectively, ensuring workloads are organised in accordance with service priorities and clinical need.

About us:

Ever dreamt about a career that sparks excitement and fosters your professional growth? Picture yourself waking up eager to make a real difference in our community, surrounded by teams who value your unique ideas. We are Sirona care & health - England's largest provider of Adult's and Children's Community Services and we'd love for you to join us in Bristol, North Somerset or South Gloucestershire.

Agenda for Change Salary, full NHS benefits, 27+ days' annual leave, and participation in the NHS Pension Scheme - just a glimpse of the benefits you'll receive. We welcome and encourage all applicants. We are committed to having a workforce that reflects the communities we support and are proactively seeking to improve the diversity of our workforce. We know diversity fosters creativity and innovation.

Person Specification:

Qualifications:

• Essential: BSc Hons Speech and Language Therapy, HCPC Registration
• Desirable: Evidence of attendance or additional training in area of specialism eg AAC, Autism, Other relevant qualifications e.g. Makaton

Experience, Skills & Knowledge:

• Essential: Sound understanding of the SEND code of Practice, Experience of working with children in early years settings, Experience of working as an autonomous practitioner e.g., caseload management, prioritising cases, effective organisation and time management skills, Experience of working as part of Multi-Disciplinary and Multi-Agency Teams
• Desirable: Experience of providing training to families and/or professionals, Experience of working in partnership with families and other professionals, Experience of working with neurodivergent children and their families to maximise communication potential

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. Applicants must have current UK professional registration.