Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist

Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist

NHS AfC: Band 7

Main area Occupational Therapy Grade NHS AfC: Band 7 Contract Permanent Hours Part time - 22.5 hours per week Job ref 220-WHT-8301807-A

Employer Whittington Health NHS Trust Employer type NHS Site The Bridge Schools (Inclusion Bases) Town Islington Salary £58,133 - £65,261 Per Annum (Per Rata) Including HCAS Salary period Yearly Closing 11/11/2026 23:59

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An exciting opportunity has arisen to make a positive impact within The Inclusion Bases within the London Borough of Islington. This newly created post will support a caseload of Primary Aged Children with complex learning needs, the majority of whom have a diagnosis of Autism.

Islington Additional Needs and Disability Service (IANDS) provides a multi-agency team approach to working with babies, children and young people who present with a wide range of needs. The postholder will work within a multi-disciplinary and multi-agency environment, including other Allied Health Professionals, specialist teachers, social workers, psychologists, therapy assistants, nurses and Paediatricians.

The post holder will deliver a highly specialist Occupational Therapy service to children and young people with Education Health and Care Plans within the Islington Additional Needs and Disability Service who have autism, learning disabilities and/or other complex developmental needs affecting participation, learning and engagement. The role will adapt specialist occupational therapy approaches across a tiered service model. This post holder will be based within the Special Schools Team, working primarily at Inclusion Bases within the Islington borough, and may also be involved in supporting the development and delivery of Occupational Therapy interventions to support children & young people with complex needs in other settings.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will manage a specialist caseload, providing assessment, intervention, review and coordinated multidisciplinary working to support children to achieve meaningful occupational outcomes across school, home and community environments. Working closely with children, families, educational staff and partner agencies, they will contribute to target setting, annual reviews, Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) processes, and the development of Individual Support Plans. They will also deliver Occupational Therapy provision stipulated within EHCPs.

A key aspect of the role will be working closely with education staff within the Inclusion Bases to support the implementation of Occupational Therapy strategies and interventions within daily classroom routines and activities. The post holder will model practical approaches, provide advice and training, and work collaboratively with staff to develop their knowledge and confidence in meeting the needs of children with complex needs within the settings.

In addition to delivering clinical interventions, the post holder will coordinate Occupational Therapy provision across the two inclusion-base settings, working collaboratively with school leaders, school improvement partners and multidisciplinary colleagues to identify emerging needs, promote consistency of practice, monitor outcomes and evaluate the impact of the service.

Working for our organisation

We have an excellent reputation for being innovative, responsive and flexible to the changing clinical needs of the local population. We are treating more patients than ever before and are dedicated to improving services to deliver the best for our patients.
Our mission
Helping local people live longer, healthier lives.
Our vision
Provide safe, personal, co-ordinated care for the community we serve.
Our goals
We have developed six key strategic goals to make sure we continue to support people to live longer, healthier lives.

• To secure the best possible health and wellbeing for all our community
• To integrate and coordinate care in person-centred teams
• To support our patients and users in being active partners in their care
• To be recognised as a leader in the fields of medical and multi-professional education, and population-based clinical research
• To innovate and continuously improve the quality of our services to deliver the best outcomes for our local population

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To demonstrate highly specialist knowledge and skills in supporting children and young people with complex developmental needs, including autism, learning disabilities, sensory processing differences, social, emotional and mental health needs, and behaviours that may impact participation and engagement.

To maintain high standards of evidence-based occupational therapy practice, using appropriate assessment tools, outcome measures and clinical reasoning to inform intervention planning and evaluation.

To undertake specialist occupational therapy assessment, using standardised and non-standardised approaches to identify strengths, needs and barriers to participation across home, school and community environments.

To establish child-centred and functional goals in partnership with children, families, educational staff and other professionals.

To develop, implement and review individualised Occupational Therapy intervention plans that promote participation, independence, wellbeing and access to learning.

To select and deliver appropriate Occupational Therapy interventions, balancing clinical need, risk, safety, child and family preferences, and available resources.

To deliver individual and group interventions using meaningful, graded and occupation-focused activities to achieve identified outcomes.

To ensure informed consent is obtained and that children, young people and families have a clear understanding of assessment findings, recommendations and proposed interventions.

To utilise advanced clinical reasoning to analyse complex presentations, prioritise needs and determine appropriate intervention pathways.

To formulate and deliver specialist intervention programmes which may include environmental adaptations, sensory-based approaches, equipment provision, functional skill development, home programmes and recommendations for school-based support.

To work collaboratively with multidisciplinary colleagues to coordinate assessment, intervention and review processes for children with complex needs.

To adapt Occupational Therapy practice to meet the individual circumstances, strengths and needs of each child and young person.

To maintain knowledge of current educational policy, SEND legislation and inclusive practice, incorporating these into clinical decision-making.

To apply specialist knowledge of medical, developmental and neurodevelopmental conditions when assessing needs and recommending adaptations to physical, social and learning environments.

To provide specialist advice, guidance and training to parents, carers, educational staff and other professionals to support implementation of occupational therapy recommendations.

To work closely with Inclusion Base and school staff to model therapeutic approaches, support implementation of strategies and develop staff confidence in meeting the needs of children with complex needs.

To liaise with educational colleagues regarding joint target setting, annual reviews, EHCP processes and staff development activities.

To utilise knowledge of health, education, social care and voluntary sector services to ensure timely referrals and coordinated support.

To contribute to Education, Health and Care Needs Assessments, Education, Health and Care Plans and annual review processes as required.

To assess for and recommend specialist equipment, environmental adaptations and assistive resources where appropriate.

To assess, manage and document clinical risk, ensuring compliance with Trust policies, safeguarding procedures, moving and handling requirements and lone-working guidance.

To work autonomously across community and educational settings, exercising professional judgement in complex situations.

To communicate effectively and sensitively with children, families, colleagues and partner agencies regarding clinical care, service delivery and support planning.

To communicate complex and sensitive information in a clear and accessible manner, taking account of communication differences and individual needs.

To establish and maintain effective relationships with children, families and professionals, including those experiencing distress, uncertainty or challenging circumstances.

To motivate and support children, families and educational staff to engage in therapeutic programmes and agreed intervention plans.

To demonstrate excellent negotiation, influencing and conflict-resolution skills across a range of professional situations.

To practise in accordance with Occupational Therapy Service policies, Trust procedures, HCPC standards, RCOT professional standards and relevant legislation.

To maintain knowledge of safeguarding, SEND legislation, Equality Act 2010 requirements and other relevant statutory frameworks.

To manage workload effectively, prioritising competing demands and using sound professional judgement in day-to-day decision-making.

To maintain accurate, timely and legally compliant clinical records and reports.

To provide specialist advice and support to less experienced colleagues, therapy assistants, students and partner professionals involved in the management of complex cases.

To delegate work appropriately and provide supervision to Occupational Therapy Assistants, students and less experienced staff.

To contribute to the promotion and representation of the Paediatric Occupational Therapy Service.

To participate in service development, quality improvement, clinical governance and implementation of service policies and procedures.

To support the Team Lead and Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist in the delivery and development of the service as required.

Person specification

Education and Qualifications

• Diploma or Degree in Occupational Therapy and current HCPC Registration
• Member of Royal College of Occupational Therapists and specialist section Children, Young People and Families
• Evidence of CPD and attendance at relevant post graduate courses/training.

Skills and Abilities

• Able to independently prioritise work, caseloads, and competing demands and support others in co-ordinating daily, termly and annual priorities
• Specialist knowledge of a broad range of clinical conditions impacting children e.g., Autism, learning disabilities, genetic conditions, DCD, etc.
• Demonstrates excellent clinical reasoning through assessment, intervention, treatment planning and review
• Specialist clinical skills in early intervention, child development, sensory based strategies, etc.
• pecialist skills in managing children’ and young people’s behaviour that challenges, or with high levels of distress

Knowledge and Experience

• Experience working at a specialist level supporting children with complex autism and learning disabilities
• Experience of leading or making contribution to service development, pathway redesign, quality improvement or innovation within children’s services.
• Experience writing assessment reports/advice
• Experience providing supervision and support to less experienced therapists, assistants, and students.
• Experience working within resource bases, inclusions bases or special schools
• Experience writing statutory assessment/ EHCP advice

Personal Qualities

• Able to build rapport with clients with communication difficulties
• Treat people with respect, irrespective of age, gender, culture, religion & sexuality

SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN AND ADULTS

To comply with the Trust’s Safeguarding Children and Adults policies, procedures and protocols. All individual members of staff (paid or unpaid) have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults This will require you to:

• Ensure you are familiar with and comply with the London Child Protection Procedures and protocols for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young people.
• Ensure you are familiar and comply with theLondon Multi Agency Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Pan London Procedures.
• Ensure you are familiar and comply with local protocols and systems for information sharing.
• Know the appropriate contact numbers and required reporting lines.
• Participate in required training and supervision.
• Comply with required professional boundaries and codes of conduct

Whittington Health is committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Your application form –

• Provide only business email address for your referees – we are unable to request references from yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail accounts.
• Make sure you to include all evidence of where you meet the essential requirement on the jobs description as this forms the base of our shortlisting criteria.

Our processes –

• Closing dates are given as a guide; we are within our right to close adverts early so please ensure you submit your application as soon as possible to avoid delay.
• If you do not hear from us up to 3 weeks after the closing date of the job unfortunatelythis means you have not been successfullyshortlisted for interview. If your require feedback on your application please contact the appointing manager detailed in the body of the advert.
• Please check your emails regularly as all correspondence from us will be via trac.systems – occasionally these emails will go into your Junk folder.
• Employment at Whittington Health is offered subject to successful completion of a 6 month probationary period for all staff with the exception of GMC Registered Doctors.

Other important information –

• You must already have the right to work in the United Kingdom or fully meet the eligibility criteria for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route. We welcome applications from candidates who require visa sponsorship; however, we can only consider these where all UKVI requirements are met. Before applying, please ensure that both you and the role satisfy the relevant UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) points‑based system criteria, as applications that do not meet these requirements cannot be progressed. For more information about the criteria, please click here
• Applications are welcome from people wishing to job share or work flexible patterns. We are committed to equal opportunities.
• In submitting an application form, you authorise WhittingtonHealth NHS Trust to confirm any previous NHS service details via the Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process should you be appointed to the post.

If you are offered a role with one of the NLPSS partner trusts, as part of pre-employment checks youridentity and right to work documentation will be verifiedremotely (in most circumstances), using a certified identity verification service provider TrustID. You will be asked to capture an image of the relevant documents as well as a 'selfie' using your smartphone/tablet (if available) for facial matching. TrustID will also perform a digital address check using Trunarrative and Equifax, which is a soft check and does not leave a footprint on your credit rating. For more information, visit www.trustid.co.uk

Please note that during the recruitment process your Identity Documentation (i.e. passport, driving licence, visa, etc.) will be scanned using a device which recognises UV, Infrared and Machine Readable Zone security features of the documents provided

The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.

We would welcome applications from individuals who are from underrepresented groups in the organisation

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

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.

Application numbers

This vacancy may close early if it receives a high number of applications. Please complete and submit your application in good time to avoid disappointment.

Name Kirsty Hammond Job title Team Lead, The Bridge Health and Therapy Team Email address kirsty.hammond1@nhs.net

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