Specialist Speech & Language Therapist

This Band 6 post is an exciting opportunity for a therapist looking to continue developing their skills working with school aged children. Becoming a Specialist Schools therapist allows you to continue working with a wide range of children, and supporting a whole setting in a Universal, Targeted and Specialist way.

The Children’s Integrated Speech and Language Therapy Service for Hackney and the City is a unique partnership between health and education and has grown into a large dynamic team that delivers innovative models of working. It is welcoming, fun and supportive; with well-established supervision and access to CPD: a great place to start your career, or make the move to being a Specialist SaLT.

This post is mainly in Orthodox Jewish primary schools, as part of Talking Together, and in mainstream settings. Talking Together is an exciting joint service with Children Ahead, a community therapy organisation. It provides SaLT to a community which has historically not been able to access support; developed over a number of pilots. You would be working alongside a small team of therapists, both from Homerton and from Children Ahead, an Orthodox Jewish therapy organisation. This is a unique opportunity to develop your skills and gain experience, in a developing service.

Main duties of the job

• Work closely with a team of highly supportive & dedicated SaLTs from both Children Ahead and Homerton.
• Develop your knowledge and skills, as part of a community of practice.
• Develop specialist skills working with children & young people with language and social communication in a school environment.
• Develop leadership skills, and be involved in service development including QI.
• Raise awareness of SLCN and how to support this in the classroom, supporting staff to embed different ways of working.
• Develop strong working relationships with a range of staff in and out of SaLT.

The service has developed the largest and most comprehensive traded services offer in the UK. We are proud to be commissioned by health, education and schools and colleges in Hackney and out of borough as well as Youth Justice and the Virtual School for Looked after Children. We have a strong relationship with schools and alternative providers and are growing in traded services. The service employs over 100 staff and so opportunities arise frequently and staff are deployed flexibly to meet changing need. We embrace flexible working and will consider applicants who wish to work term-time.

Working for our organisation

Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a high performing and flourishing organisation serving the population of Hackney, East London, The City and beyond. We are extremely proud of the fact that Homerton Hospital has recently attained the highest possible rating of "Outstanding" from the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Our integrated Trust provides comprehensive hospital and community health services for its local population and a range of specialist services for a wider group of patients.

In addition, the Trust manages services out of St Leonard's Hospital and the Mary Seacole Nursing Home. Homerton aims to ensure equality and value diversity, and we are committed to inclusion for all of our staff. This is reflected in our policies, procedures and People Plan. All of our staff are expected to embody our Trust values at all times. We are also committed, through our Fair Recruitment Standards, to ensuring all applicants are treated fairly.

Homerton has a proud tradition of supporting and developing its staff, including its well regarded and valued nursing community, and all staff are able to take advantage of a great range of benefits. Homerton is proud to have been included on the HSJ & Nursing Times Best Places to Work list.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required.

Person specification

Education / Qualifications

• Recognised Speech and Language Therapy Degree Qualification or equivalent (Post-Graduate Diploma or MSc in Speech and Language therapy leading to registration with HCPC).
• Health and Care Professions Council – Licence to Practice.
• Successful completion of short courses related to specialism.
• Clinical supervisors course for staff and students.
• Registered Member of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapist.

Other Requirements

• Understanding of the Trust values.
• Commitment to equal opportunities.
• Ability and willingness to travel round the borough.
• Passion for the clinical area.

Experience

• Post-graduate experience in relevant specialist area.
• Evidence of having received mentoring support in the relevant specialist area.
• Experience of providing clinical supervision to SaLT students.
• Experience of instigating and managing change.
• Other relevant experience (e.g. personal experience of children, previous experience of working with children and/or people with other disabilities).
• Previous experience of working with young people in a trauma informed fashion.
• Experience of working in a Universal way within school and/or nursery settings.

Skills/ Abilities

• Excellent interpersonal skills – including observation, listening, tact, and empathy.
• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a team, including with children, parents, other professionals and colleagues.
• Ability to share sensitive and complex information with families and professionals.
• Good auditory discrimination skills and ability to transcribe speech phonetically.
• Well developed negotiation, problem solving & conflict resolution skills.
• Able to adapt to a range of clinical areas, and to seek advice appropriately.
• Good level of computer literacy e.g. able to use MS Office including Outlook, Powerpoint & Excel.
• Able to contribute to project work associated with developing and evaluating new service areas.
• Able to work independently e.g. if line manager/supervisor off site.
• Able to plan assessments and interventions, including use and interpretation of a range of assessment tools.
• Good organisational and prioritisation skills.
• Speaker of a relevant community language.

Knowledge

• Understanding of the roles of other professionals.
• Understanding of principles of assessment and intervention for bilingual children.
• Knowledge of standards of record keeping and confidentiality issues.
• Understanding of the principles of clinical governance/audit.
• Well established knowledge of national policies and procedures (relevant to the specialist client group).
• Knowledge of the Orthodox Jewish community.

General Guidance for Applicants

Please ensure that you read the "Guidance Notes On Submitting An Application" under "Additional Documentation" before completing your application. Please note: we reserve the right to expire vacancies prior to the advertised closing date once a sufficient number of applications have been received. We are committed to achieving equality and inclusion at Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, and we respect and value the diversity and differences of our patients and our people, ensuring everyone is enabled to thrive, feels a sense of belonging, and is able to be their authentic self.

We offer a range of flexible working options that enable you to balance your work and personal life, including part-time, compressed hours, remote working and job-shares. If you are interested in joining our team, please let us know your preferred working pattern in your application, and we will consider all requests for flexible working and try to accommodate them wherever possible.

Please note that secondment arrangements will be considered for any fixed term positions, with the agreement of the existing line manager. We are committed to equal opportunities, and have been approved as a Disability Confident Employer.

Additional information

To find out more about this post please contact Helen Wilson on helen.wilson75@nhs.net or 02076834262. In addition, we offer the opportunity for potential candidates to meet a member of the team prior to their application.