Band 6 Paediatric Occupational Therapist – West London

Location: West London, Hounslow & Hillingdon Role: Band 6 Paediatric Occupational Therapist (full-time; Term time) Specialism: Paediatric Occupational Therapy, Sensory Processing & Sensory Integration Client Group: Children & young people within mainstream, specialist secondary education settings and Occasional EOTAS. Salary: £40,000-50,000

About Unlocking Language

Unlocking Language is a specialist paediatric therapy service supporting children, young people and their families across London and Essex. We are looking for an experienced and enthusiastic Band 6 Paediatric Occupational Therapist to join our multidisciplinary team, providing school/home based Occupational Therapy across West London, primarily within Hounslow and Hillingdon. This is an exciting opportunity for an Occupational Therapist with experience and an interest in sensory processing, sensory integration, regulation and functional participation within education. The role offers the opportunity to work across both mainstream and specialist education settings, supporting young people with a diverse range of occupational, sensory, developmental and learning needs. You will work collaboratively with education staff, families and our wider therapy team to ensure that Occupational Therapy strategies are embedded into pupils' everyday learning and school experience.

The Role

The successful Occupational Therapist will provide specialist assessment, intervention and advice to children and young people within school settings. The caseload will offer a varied mix of needs and presentations and may include young people with:

• Autism
• Social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs
• Sensory processing differences
• Sensory seeking or sensory avoidant behaviours
• Emotional and sensory regulation difficulties
• ADHD
• Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)/dyspraxia
• Fine and gross motor difficulties
• Motor planning and praxis difficulties
• Poor body awareness and proprioception
• Vestibular processing difficulties
• Attention and engagement difficulties
• Learning disabilities and additional learning needs
• Physical disabilities
• Difficulties with activities of daily living and independence
• Handwriting and functional classroom difficulties
• Difficulties with participation in education and everyday school activities

A key part of the role will be understanding how a pupil's sensory, motor and regulation needs affect their access to learning, independence and participation within school.

Sensory Specialist Responsibilities

Sensory processing and regulation will form an important part of the Occupational Therapy provision.

• Carry out specialist sensory assessments and observations.
• Identify individual sensory processing profiles and how these affect participation, regulation and learning.
• Plan and deliver individualised sensory-based Occupational Therapy programmes.
• Develop sensory strategies and programmes where clinically appropriate.
• Design and deliver sensory circuits, including alerting, organising and calming activities.
• Support pupils experiencing sensory dysregulation.
• Provide strategies for sensory seeking, sensory avoidance and sensory sensitivities.
• Support proprioceptive, vestibular, tactile and interoceptive development.
• Work on body awareness, motor planning, coordination and postural control.
• Advise education staff, parents, therapists and other professionals on environmental adaptations and regulation strategies.
• Develop practical strategies that can be incorporated into pupils' classrooms and wider school routines.
• Support school staff to confidently implement recommended sensory approaches.

School-Based Occupational Therapy

As this is a school-based position, you will have the opportunity to work closely with teaching and SEND teams to integrate Occupational Therapy into pupils' everyday environments.

• Observe pupils within classrooms and other school environments.
• Complete comprehensive Occupational Therapy assessments.
• Develop individualised therapy goals and intervention plans.
• Deliver one-to-one and small-group Occupational Therapy interventions where appropriate.
• Review pupils' progress and adapt intervention accordingly.
• Support fine motor, gross motor and visual-motor development.
• Develop handwriting and functional classroom skills.
• Support participation, independence and access to learning.
• Work on self-care and everyday functional skills where appropriate.
• Recommend environmental adaptations and equipment.
• Provide practical strategies for teachers and support staff.
• Liaise with parents, carers, education staff and other professionals.
• Maintain accurate clinical records and documentation.
• Complete reports, recommendations and therapy programmes.
• Contribute to EHCP outcomes and reviews where appropriate.
• Contribute to multidisciplinary assessments and intervention planning.

Multidisciplinary Working

Unlocking Language has a strong Speech and Language Therapy team, and collaborative working will be an important part of this role.

You will work closely with Speech and Language Therapists, education professionals and other members of pupils' multidisciplinary teams to understand how sensory regulation, attention, motor skills, communication and learning needs interact.

• Joint OT and Speech and Language Therapy approaches.
• Developing sensory regulation strategies to support communication and learning.
• Supporting pupils to achieve an appropriate level of regulation for engagement.
• Joint goal setting.
• Collaborative parent and school consultations.
• Sharing strategies across disciplines.
• Supporting young people who use AAC and other communication systems.
• Contributing to multidisciplinary discussions and pupil reviews.
• Providing advice and training to school staff.

Essential Requirements

The successful candidate will:

• Hold a recognised degree or postgraduate qualification in Occupational Therapy.
• Be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
• Have relevant paediatric Occupational Therapy experience.
• Have experience working with autistic children and/or young people with additional or complex needs.
• Have strong knowledge of sensory processing and regulation.
• Have experience planning and implementing sensory programmes and sensory circuits.
• Be able to assess children's functional, motor and sensory needs.
• Be confident working within educational environments.
• Be able to work independently while contributing effectively to a multidisciplinary team.
• Have excellent communication skills when working with children, families, education staff and other professionals.
• Maintain high standards of clinical documentation and professional practice.

Desirable

We would particularly welcome applicants with:

• Sensory Integration training or postgraduate Sensory Integration qualifications.
• Experience using standardised sensory assessments.
• Advanced knowledge of sensory processing.
• Experience supporting children and young people with SEMH needs.
• Experience supporting autistic young people.
• Experience with DCD/dyspraxia and motor coordination difficulties.
• Experience working within mainstream and/or specialist schools.
• Experience contributing to EHCPs and Annual Reviews.
• Experience delivering training to teachers, support staff or parents.
• Experience supervising junior Occupational Therapists, particularly for Band 7 applicants.
• Experience developing school-based therapy services or pathways.

Who We Are Looking For

We are looking for someone who is passionate about paediatric Occupational Therapy, sensory processing and neurodiversity, and who enjoys working directly within education. You'll be comfortable adapting your clinical approach to different school environments and working with young people who have a broad range of needs. You'll understand that regulation, sensory processing and motor skills can significantly affect a young person's ability to engage, communicate, learn, develop independence and participate in school life. Most importantly, we're looking for a therapist who enjoys collaborative working and wants to help us provide high-quality, evidence-informed Occupational Therapy across our West London school partnerships.

Benefits

Full employment benefits include:

• Pension Scheme
• Staff Discounts and Well-being programme
• Access to Technology
• Child care flexible
• Working and supervision
• Clear career progression
• Cycle to work scheme and gym discount.

• Annual Leave : 20 days’ holiday per year, plus 8 bank holidays and an additional day off for your birthday.
• Company closure periods: The company closes from 23 December to 2 January, for the final week of July
• Optional August break: Therapists can choose to take the full month of August off, with salary adjusted accordingly.

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