Joining #TeamNELFT means you’ll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We’re CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London, and Essex. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.
The Trust has award winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development, because when you are valued and supported, we provide the best care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for five consecutive years, and we have achieved a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Along with our staff networks and training opportunities, we work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture here at NELFT.
Find out more about NELFT careers and what makes our Trust a great place to work, in this video
Job overview
An exciting opportunity have arisen for an enthusiastic Children’s Occupational therapist to further develop their skills. The post is located in the Basildon Integrated therapies team, and is part of the well-established specialist Children`s OT team covering the South West Essex area.
The post holder/s will demonstrate a working knowledge of the main treatment approaches, research and best evidence based practice in children`s OT. They will be motivated to develop their own learning and to contribute to service development and the training and development of colleagues and students.
The successful applicants will thrive on working as part of a team and will demonstrate excellent communication skills.
The Children`s OT service is a large and supportive professional team committed to providing excellent opportunities for clinical development and continuous learning.
Main duties of the job
• To be responsible for managing allocated caseload independently, showing ability to prioritise appropriately.
• Deliver specialist OT to children with Neurodevelopmental conditions and Physical Conditions aged 0-19 in the Brentwood or Basildon areas.
• To work collaboratively with family/carers, colleagues and all agencies involved in the child’s care, in order to provide the highest level of care and safeguarding.
• To access clinical professional development opportunities relevant to learning needs and clinical specialism.
• To contribute to service development including audit, training and development of colleagues and students.
Working for our organisation
Our Values 2025 - 2030
Working with our colleagues, patients and carers we have co-produced three new values that we aim to embed within our culture here at NELFT.
They are:
We are kind. We are respectful. We work together with our communities.
These three values help us to strive to provide the best care by the best people.
Starting with NELFT
NELFT place a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers, and attend a number of drop-in sessions focusing on engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.
Probationary Period
This post will be subject to a probationary period.
High Cost Area Supplement - Fringe
This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 5% of the basic salary (minimum payment of £1,303 and a maximum payment of £2,198 per annum, pro rata for part time)
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Key Responsibilities:
1. To work autonomously as a specialist children’s OT within the children’s OT team, to provide an effective occupational therapy service across the allocated locality and clinical specialist area, to children and young people 0-19 years old, in a range of settings and environments child’s home, nursery, mainstream, special schools, Family Hubs and other community settings.
2. To contribute to the development of good practice within your specialist OT team as part of the BB&T Children’s OT Service
3. To provide a high standard of assessment and contribute to the diagnostic process, and based upon clinical findings, develop and implement an individualised intervention programme in conjunction with the child and family/carers referred to the service. To provide specialist advice to multi-disciplinary team, carers and other agencies.
4. To work collaboratively with family/carers and all agencies involved in the child’s care, encompassing all private and public sectors, in order to provide the highest level of care using best practice principles to maximise the child’s level of function in accordance with trust and government recommendations.
5. To supervise students and OT assistants/ Apprentices
Leadership
1. To provide mentoring and support to peer and more junior members of staff, and to supervise students and support staff working within the team.
2. To assist all team members with the day to day activities of the team and attend to urgent enquiries and information.
3. To chair team meetings, collating information, setting an agenda, as required on a rotational basis.
4. To attend and actively participate in OT team meetings, including researching and presenting on specific topics relevant to your specialism.
5. To delegate to support staff appropriately and supervise case work in line with departmental guidelines.
Clinical Skills
1. To comply with the trusts and departmental guidelines, protocols and policies, whilst adhering to the College of Occupational Therapists guidelines, Health Professionals Council requirements, CYPSS guidelines, and government guidelines.
2. To comprehensively assess service user understanding of suggested occupational therapy intervention, gain valid informed consent and to have capacity to work within a legal framework with patients who are unable to consent to treatment.
3. To be aware of the child’s and families/carers needs, respecting culture, religion, and attempting to communicate therapy needs in an understandable and meaningful way.
4. To perform a comprehensive specialist assessment of children, including those with multiple complex pathologies, utilising evidence-based clinical reasoning skills, skilled observation, standardised and non standardised assessments in order to identify specific functional needs of the child within the domains of self-care, productivity (school or play) and leisure.
5. To utilise skilled reasoning to develop and provide child centred intervention programmes based on evidence based practices which may be undertaken by parents/carers, team
members, other agencies involved in the child’s care. This may include sensory advice, whole school approaches, hands on treatment, splinting, postural management techniques, and other options.
6. Lead on Pre-school school drop in’s supported by Occupational Therapy assistant
7. To provide advice when requested on the OT advice line
8. To provide skilled treatment to the child/young person and inform and educate parents/carers, education and non statutory agencies on the impact of the child’s needs and assist them in supporting the child’s/young persons skill acquisition.
9. To motivate children and carers and gain cooperation for treatment where there may be significant barriers to understanding learning disability, language, cultural diversity, religious beliefs, pain.
10. To provide ongoing periodic reviews of the child’s needs when required and modify therapy programmes in order to ensure continued effective intervention according to the child’s changing needs, including urgent response to rapid change of needs deterioration.
11. To provide case coordination, linking with key professionals and the child and family/carers for more complex cases where a lead role is undertaken by the OT.
12. To provide carers a moving and handling plan, with other team members, for children where moving and handling is a potential risk, within the department.
13. To be responsible for equipment used in interventions and follow team policies, including ensuring competence of carers and staff using equipment.
have a working knowledge of Thurrock and Essex safeguarding children procedures, to attend conferences, relevant local and legal procedures, court attendances, and attend supervision sessions.
15. To ensure that your clinical knowledge and skills are up to date, demonstrating your competence to practice in your specialist clinical area.
Computer/Administration
•To be computer literate and encourage implementation of the Trust’s IM&T Strategy.
•To ensure accurate recording of actions, and updating patient’s records, maintaining confidentiality at all times.
•To take part, and assist, in the planning and administration relating to day to day running of the caseload.
Communication
•To have a wide range of knowledge in approaches to communicating and managing patient care.
•To be able to effectively communicate with colleagues, peers, senior managers and clinical leads within the Trust.
•To be able to communicate complex patient related information facilitating positive outcomes and ensuring collaborative working.
•Participate in the review and development of clinical policies and identifies improvements to service provision.
Training
•To act as mentor to students/apprentices, providing effective education, facilitating their development and promoting high standards of Occupational Therapy.
•Ensure students/apprentices are actively supported to enable them to achieve their learning needs.
•To ensure own continued professional development and support a culture of lifelong learning in self and others.
•To undertake, and assist, in the planning of own mandatory training.
•To undertake a regular appraisal, developing a personal development plan that includes clinical competencies reflecting the health needs of the local population and relates to Trust strategy.
•To support new staff and their integration within the team.
•To support training as part of the role including changes to professional development and implementation of new policies and guidelines.
Certificates of Sponsorship
Although we are a registered sponsor organisation, we are unable to offer sponsorship for all job roles. Please check your eligibility under the UKVI points-based system. When calculating the basic salary for sponsorship, HCAS (High-Cost Area Supplement) is not included to ensure fairness and consistency within our Trust.
Use of AI
Please see attached document regarding acceptable use of AI during the recruitment process.
Person specification
Clinical skills
Essential criteria
1. Qualified OT and registered with HCPC
2. Car Driver
3. 2 years postgraduate experience as OT
Desirable criteria
4. Previous experience working with children with additional needs
5. experience working with systmn one
6. experience working with specialist equipment
7. Post graduate training relevant to children's OT
Communication
Essential criteria
8. Working with MDT members
Desirable criteria
9. supervision of junior members of staff and students
Benefits
We believe in bringing your authentic and best self to work, in order to deliver the best care to our patients. We are committed to supporting our employees holistically. Here is a snapshot of what is on offer at NELFT:
10. A long-standing and award-winning approach to equality and diversity with supportive networks for ethnic minority staff, staff with disabilities or long term/chronic conditions and LGBT staff.
11. A commitment to supporting colleagues to achieve a work life balance, through flexible working opportunities and our effortsto support our working parents and carers. This has resulted in us being recognised as a ‘Top 10 Family Friendly Employer’ from the Working Families Charity.
12. Proactive health and wellbeing support, including access to our employee assistance programme, staff psychological support, individual wellbeing conversations and a network of health and wellbeing ambassadors.
13. Detailed information about our wellbeing and benefits offer can be found in this link.
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s a job share, part time hours or another flexible pattern.