Therapies Senior Technical Instructor – Children’s Community Therapy in Plymouth

• Therapies Senior Technical Instructor – Children’s Community Therapy
• Job overview

This is an exciting opportunity to make adifference in thelives of children & young people with neurological and neurodevelopmental conditions.

In addition to your clinical work, you will be leading a small team of Therapy Technical Instructors & helping them to co-ordinate their workload within a community setting.

You will be part of a supportive multidisciplinary team, working alongside experienced Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists while developing your own clinical knowledge and skills.

You will be supporting children in the Child Development Centre and the wider community, including mainstream and special schools, nurseries, children’s centres and children’s homes.

Every day will be different.

You will work directly with children and families, helping them develop their abilities, increase their independence and achieve meaningful goals in their everyday lives.

Your work will have a direct impact on children’s participation, confidence and quality of life.

We are looking for someone who is caring, enthusiastic, reliable andcommitted to providing high-quality, child-centred care.

You should be able to communicate well with children, families and professionals, work effectively independently and as part of a team, and have the confidence to work within agreed clinical protocols and your own scope of practice.

If you're passionate about supporting children to reach their potential and want a role where your work truly matters, we'd love to hear from you.

Main duties of the job

Leading a small team of Therapy Technical Instructors which will include supervision, appraisal and caseload support.

Working in the community independently across a large geographical area which includes the Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall localities working in mainstream and special schools, nurseries, children’s centres and children’s homes.

To organise your own workload schedule across these settings and support Band 3 colleagues with this.

To organise staffing, resources and content for Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy groups where a number of children attend with their parents/ carers and lead on the running of these groups.

Be responsible for monitoring and maintaining the tidiness and resources of the department to ensure optimal running of the service.

To deliver therapy programmes as directed by the therapists to children with Neurological and Neurodevelopmental conditions and feed back to therapists on the child's progress.

To supervise Band 3 TI's on their clinical work with support from qualified therapists.

To engage children and their families in therapy activities to facilitate this being carried out in their everyday life.

Proposed Interview date - 14th October 2026

Preference will be given to internal Trust staff, as well as ‘Priority’ and 'At Risk' status including NHS At Risk staff throughout Devon who are able to display recent relevant experience as dictated by the Person Specification.

Working for our organisation

We are a people business – where every member of staff matters and can make a difference.

Patients are at the heart of everything we do.

Joining University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust means becoming part of a team of dedicated staff, who are committed to leading the way through innovation, clinical excellence and great customer care.

The Trust has great opportunities for career development in a highly progressive working environment.

We offer all of this in a vibrant, modern city with a historic reputation for adventure.

We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for our roles, as diversity strengthens our teams.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Leading a small team of Therapy Technical Instructors which will include supervision, appraisal and caseload support.

Working in the community independently across a large geographical area which includes the Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall localities working in mainstream and special schools, nurseries, children’s centres and children’s homes.

To organise your own workload schedule across these settings and support Band 3 colleagues with this.

To organise staffing, resources and content for occupational therapy and physiotherapy groups where a number of children attend with their parents/ carers and lead on the running of these groups.

Be responsible for monitoring and maintaining the tidiness and resources of the department to ensure optimal running of the service which will include delegating responsibility of tasks to others.

To deliver physiotherapy and occupational therapy programmes as directed by the therapists to children from 0-19 with Neurological and Neurodevelopmental conditions and feed back to therapists on the child's progress.

To supervise Band 3 Technical Instructors on their clinical work with support from qualified therapists.

To engage children and their families in therapy activities to facilitate this being carried out in their everyday life.

To model professional behaviour and interactions with colleagues and patients and their families.

To work within the Trust's values.

To work within scope of practice of the role and to be proactive in seeking support from qualified staff when needed.

To work with the Trust's electronic patient records system to maintain documentation.

SKILLS / KNOWLEDGE

• To actively participate in the Trust’s Personal Development Programme (PDP) and have a positive approach to continual professional development.
• The post holder will demonstrate skills and knowledge regarding specific patient conditions and specialist therapy beyond that of a Technical Instructor.

These skills and knowledge can be gained through experience or formal training.

Organisational

• To complete mandatory trust updates and training and attend in-service training sessions where appropriate.
• To abide by the Trust Code of Conduct.
• To comply with Trust and departmental policies and procedures.
• To be aware of the Health and Safety aspects of your work and abide by policies including the prompt recording and documentation of incidents and accidents.
• Participate in the staff appraisal scheme as an appraisee and be responsible for complying with your agreed personal development programmes to meet set knowledge and competencies.
• To participate in the appraisal system and Personal Development Programme.
• Any other duties which may be considered appropriate by the qualified staff or the Therapy Lead.
• To undertake as directed the collection of data.
• Be responsible for the safe and competent use of postural management equipment by patients, through teaching, training and supervision of practice.

Person specification

• Knowledge and Experience
• Demonstrable experience in working with children.
• Demonstrable experience of working in a healthcare or childcare setting.
• Demonstrable experience of supervising colleagues.
• Demonstrable experience of safeguarding practices.
• Proven evidence of Continuous Professional Development & values based learning.
• Proven awareness of current NHS and Health priorities.
• Previous work in physiotherapy/ occupational therapy department.
• Proven knowledge and demonstrable experience of exercise prescription / rehabilitation for a wide variety of clients.
• Proven knowledge and demonstrable experience of disabilities/ conditions affecting children.
• Demonstrable experience and proven understanding of goal setting principles.
• Demonstrable experience of audit/ outcomes and quality improvement projects.
• Demonstrable experience working within a multidisciplinary team.
• Aptitude and Abilities
• Ability to communicate with children.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Professional and patient focussed approach acting as a role model to colleagues and junior staff members.
• Excellent organisational skills, ability to manage own time, prioritise and plan timed activities.
• Ability to carry out manual work during clinics.
• Ability to lone work for long periods of time.
• Legible and concise handwriting.
• Proven evidence of personal leadership.
• Healthcare values based education and training.
• Demonstrable experience of use of Excel and Word.

Qualifications

• Foundation degree or equivalent.
• Minimum NVQ / diploma in healthcare or equivalent level 3.
• Attendance of additional professional courses.
• Level 5 diploma for assistant practitioners.
• Care certificate.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COMMUNICATION WILL BE ELECTRONIC, PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT REGULARLY INCLUDING YOUR JUNK FOLDER.

We recognise that work life balance is important for our colleagues and so we invite requests from applicants about less than full time/flexible working for our advertised roles.

We recommend contacting the manager of the role prior to applying and we commit to giving requests full consideration.

We welcome and encourage applicants who identify with all protected characteristics to apply for our roles.

We believe that diversity strengthens our teams and improves our patients' experience.

At UHP we aim to create an inclusive workplace and hospital where everyone feels they belong and included .

It is sometimes necessary to close vacancies before the closing date.

If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.

Providing false information is an offence & could result in the application being rejected or summary dismissal/police action if an applicant is successful.

Please note that if you are successful in your application & accept the position you agree that the Staff Health and Wellbeing Department can access your health records from your current/previous employer in order to check the status of your inoculations & screening tests.

This is an automated process & the information will only be used for these purposes prior to your taking up the position with us.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name Deborah Pritchard Job title Children's Community Occupational Therapy Lead Email address deborah. pritchard@nhs. net Telephone number 01752 439400

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