Children and Young People\'s Speech and Language Therapist in Poole

Main area: Children and Young People’s Speech and Language Therapy

Grade: Band 5

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time/Part time/Flexible working/Compressed hours/Term time hours/Annualised hours (37.5 hours per week)

Job ref: 152-M454.25

Employer: Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust

Site: Poole Town, Poole

Salary: £31,049 - £37,796 p.a., pro rata for part-time

Salary period: Yearly

Closing: 10/02/2026 23:59

Job overview:

Are you newly qualified or an experienced Band 5 Speech and Language Therapist, or hoping to return to practice? We are very excited to be recruiting Band 5 Speech and Language Therapists to join our dynamic and supportive Children and Young People’s Speech and Language Therapy service on the beautiful South-West coast in Dorset. This is an exciting time to join our service. We have transitioned to a new speech, language and communication pathway for Dorset based on the Balanced System® Framework. Working collaboratively with our Education and Children’s Centre Partners, aiming to give all children the right input at the right time.

As a Speech and Language Therapist you will work with a caseload of children and young people (0-19) with speech, language and communication needs including Developmental Language Disorder, Dysfluency, Selective Mutism, Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia, Autism Spectrum Condition, Complex Needs, Speech Disorder and Speech and Language delay. You will be involved with clinical care and decision-making including assessment, diagnosis, advice and therapy interventions and work in collaboration with children, their family and other professionals in a variety of settings including schools, pre-schools, clinics, children’s centres and sometimes at home. We can offer flexible working around core hours.

Main duties of the job:

• Provide speech and language therapy services to pre-school and school-age children with communication needs.
• Assess, diagnose, and deliver therapy to individuals and groups.
• Develop therapy programmes, contribute to IEPs, and support children in local schools.
• Offer advice and guidance to teachers in schools and preschool settings.

What We Offer:

• Strong clinical and management support, including mentoring, peer supervision groups, and regular 1:1 sessions with your team lead.
• Access to clinical lead specialists for advice and guidance.
• Excellent opportunities for formal and informal training.
• Involvement in service development projects and bi-annual training days.

Applications Welcome From:

• Newly qualified nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and SLTs (comprehensive Preceptorship Programme provided).
• SLTs returning to practice (paid Return to Practice opportunities with progression to Band 5 upon meeting competencies).

Additional Information:

Employment requires an Enhanced DBS check (cost covered by the Trust). Applicants subscribed to the DBS update service may present a valid certificate instead.

Working for our organisation:

At Dorset HealthCare we’re on a mission to empower people to make the most of their lives through our outstanding, joined-up healthcare services. We’re a dynamic, forward-looking Trust, running 12 community hospitals, specialist inpatient facilities and a wide range of integrated community and mental health services for a population of almost 800,000 people. We do things differently here – it’s one of the reasons the CQC rated us ‘outstanding’ in 2019. It’s also why 95% of patients across our services say they have a good or very good experience of our services and 89% of staff feel they can really make a difference.

Whether you’re looking to work with us in one of our bustling market towns, vibrant urban locations, thriving seaside spots, or among the rolling hills of Dorset, there are lots of ways you can make a difference in our communities. Our 7,000-strong workforce is at the heart of what we do and our success is a testament to our brilliant people. We’re all about building a workplace for the future, we believe in equal opportunities and we celebrate diversity. We’re an inclusive workplace, where everyone is welcome, everyone can be authentic, and we are all encouraged to be the best version of ourselves. Working with us you’ll be part of a strong team, challenge yourself, build a career, and teach us what we don’t know. And you’ll be working towards our vision to be better every day through excellence, compassion and expertise in all we do.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities:

For the main duties and responsibilities for this role please read the attached job description and person specification. When completing your application please ensure your supporting statement reflects the criteria set out in these documents by showing how your experience and skills apply to this post.

We understand that using AI can be a useful and supportive tool when completing your application. However, we have also seen an increase in the over-reliance of AI tools which is negatively impacting applications as they remove candidate’s individuality, and it becomes much harder to get a sense of who you are and your authentic experience. If you do use AI, it should be used to enhance your application and not to create your supporting statement in its entirety. If we suspect you have used AI to create your supporting statement and this does not match your experience, we may withdraw your application.

As part of our vision to have a skilled, diverse and caring workforce, Dorset HealthCare offers support for people getting into work. We offer an employability service to support individuals with application writing, interview skills and other employment support. If you would like or know of anyone who would value this support, please do contact dhc.wideningparticipation@nhs.net

We would welcome applications from newly qualified Speech and Language Therapist and we provide a very comprehensive and fully supported Preceptorship Programme.

Person specification:

Knowledge, Skills and Training:

• Degree/diploma in Speech and Language Therapy
• Member of HCPC
• Member of RCSLT

Job Specific Experience:

• Student placement in a community clinic
• Student experience of work within a mainstream school
• Previous experience as a qualified SLT working in an NHS setting
• General experience of working with children in a paid or voluntary capacity

Additional Requirements:

• Demonstrable skills in written and spoken English, adequate to enable the post holder to carry out the role effectively
• Subject to the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act, able to travel using own vehicle on Trust business

Personal Quality:

• Ability to work as a team player
• Good organisational and planning skills

At Dorset HealthCare we want to offer all our staff the opportunity to work flexibly, putting health and wellbeing first, whilst continuing the delivery of excellent patient care. Flexible working looks different for everyone and we welcome applicants to discuss flexible working opportunities with the recruiting manager.

What working for us will provide:

• 27 days of annual leave, rising to 33 over ten years (for staff on Agenda for Change terms and conditions)
• Health and wellbeing services
• Flexible working options, including family-friendly hours
• Free training and one-to-one career coaching to reach your career goals
• Preceptorship programme for newly qualified nurses and AHPs
• Access to nine staff networks – have a voice and transform our Trust
• Relocation costs where applicable
• Salary sacrifice scheme opportunities – including childcare vouchers, car lease and cycle scheme, home technology equipment and buying annual leave
• NHS discounts to save in your shopping, gym membership and more

Visit our careers website to learn more about our culture, staff stories, benefits, development programmes and opportunities.

What you need to do:

Before applying for this post, please do ensure that you have read the job description and person specification requirements. If you think you have everything we’re looking for, then we’d love to hear from you, alternatively if you would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Regrettably, we are not able to offer sponsorship for all our job roles. If you attempt to apply for a role that we do not offer sponsorship for, you will receive notification of this at the time of starting your application and you will not be able to proceed. At this point, we wish to thank you for your interest in working for us and apologise we cannot take your application any further.

Please note that from January 2021, to work in the UK candidates who are not UK or Republic of Ireland (RoI) nationals require sponsorship unless you have permission to work via another route. Further guidance can be found on the gov.uk website. It is vital that you provide full and accurate details of your current immigration status on the application form. Overseas applicants applying for entry clearance into the UK must present a criminal record certificate from each country that they have continuously or cumulatively resided for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Guidance can be found you Criminal records checks for overseas applicants - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

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.