Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Specialist Speech and Language Therapist to join our Therapy Team on a fixed term contract until the end of March 2025.
This role will require the successful candidate to provide a high quality, evidence-based speech, and language therapy across the organisation, which promotes the participation, function and safe care of children and young people accessing The Childrens Trust.
Staff benefits include shuttle bus, and more Read more below.
Main duties of the job
Role Requirements
Your aim is to deliver child and family focused, goal led interventions supporting those with speech, language, communication, and feeding / swallowing needs, including children and young people with a tracheostomy.
You will also be embedded in our Multidisciplinary Team, delivering training across our services, both within the Trust and beyond .
With experience of working in a complex environment, across a large and diverse workforce, you will be exceptionally organised with a high-level of attention to detail. You will naturally possess excellent inter-personal skills, and an ability to consult and positively engage with key stakeholders across the organisation.
Interview Date: To be confirmed.
About us
About Us
The Childrens Trust isthe UKs leading charity for children with acquired brain injury, providingexpert rehabilitation, education, therapy, and care at our national specialistcentre in Tadworth, and to children and their families across the UK, via ourBrain Injury Community Service.
Boasting a beautiful 24-acre site in Surrey, weare located just outside of London, close to the M25 (accessible via Junction8, A217 to Tadworth) and easily accessible via National Rail, by way of:Clapham Junction, Sutton, and Epsom.
Staff Benefits
The work we do ishighly rewarding, and in addition to an attractive salary, we offer a valuablerange of benefits, including, adoption pay, time off for fertility treatment,enhanced paternity leave, paid carers leave, time out days for thoseexperiencing menopause symptoms, time off for gender reassignment.
We also offeradditional annual leave days for those with long service, with entitlementsranging from 35 to 41 days (including bank holidays) depending on your lengthof service.
Other benefits includefree on-site parking; a staff shuttle service from Epsom and Sutton trainstations to Tadworth Court, subsidised cafeteria, on-site staff accommodation(subject to availability), the ability to retain your NHS pension (whereapplicable) or the opportunity to join an alternative scheme, and theopportunity to develop your career in a supportive and collaborativeenvironment.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Clinical Skills and Responsibilities:
1. Provide high quality, evidence based and equitable speech andlanguage therapyinterventions forchildren and young people attending The Childrens Trust in partnership withother members of the multidisciplinary team.
2. Devise suitable, individual, plans that fit within the childsdaily routine, whether to be carried out by parents or members of theMultidisciplinary team; these should be monitored, evaluated, and adjustedappropriately according to the needs of the child.
3. Facilitate involvement of family and carers in therehabilitation process, including day-to-day therapy sessions, and the handingover of practical skills and care.
4. Be an autonomous practitioner with responsibility forassessment, treatment and planning for an allocated caseload of children/youngpeople.
5. Be a key point of support and advice for the speech and languagetherapy team and Multidisciplinary team.
6. Work closely with all members of the Multidisciplinary team, aswell as the child and family, to provide a fully integrated approach to theoverall management of the child. This will include any home/school visits,professional child related meetings and / or appointments, as required.
7. Liaise with all appropriate medical staff, whether employed byThe Childrens Trust, visiting consultants or at off-site clinics, and attendclinics with the child as required.
8. Contribute to the assessment and discussion of new referrals toThe Childrens Trust, carrying out off site referral assessments around theUnited Kingdom, as required.
9. Identify, assess, and refer appropriate children / young peoplerequiring instrumental assessment, for example Videofluoroscopy Swallow Study,in accordance with departmental policy and guidance.
10. Contribute to child related reports, including looked afterchildren and annual review reports as required, and assist with the collationof these as and when required, in a timely manner and in line withorganisational targets.
11. Utilise patient reported and standardised outcome measures foreach allocated child/young person and complete in a timely manner.
12. Assess, evaluate, and recommend discharge/transition plans forchildren/young people within the multidisciplinary team framework.
13. Provide clinical cover across the service during episodes ofstaff shortage/heavy workload, in order to ensure effective service delivery.
14. Work flexibly in terms of hours, in order to meet the needs ofthe individual child / young person, as well as the service as a whole,including an early evening (maximum one per week) and weekend day (maximum oneper month)
15. Actively participate in and support the running of relevantmeetings.
16. Actively contribute to audit and research, including productionof research outputs.
17. Undertake other or additional duties that are within yourskills and abilities, as the organisation may reasonably require from time totime.
Communication:
18. Facilitates effective communication with families and members ofthe multidisciplinary team, supporting others to embed the advice regardingmanagement of needs around communication and eating and drinking.
19. Recognises barriers to communication and be able to reduce andrepair these as appropriate.
20. Communicates regularly and effectively with the wider team andTherapy Leads.
21. Maintains clear and concise documents and records, in accordancewith The Childrens Trust Policy.
22. Ensures documents are managed confidentially at all times.
23. Involve children and families in areas of service development.
24. Use a range of advanced communication skills, to sharespecialised information and discussions with a range of audiences, withdifferent levels of knowledge and expertise.
25. Attend, contribute and chair Multidisciplinary Team meetings, todiscuss individual children/ young people.
26. Manage informal complaints, in line with The Childrens Trustpolices and contribute to the resolution of written complaints and as theyoccur, taking immediate action where necessary.
27. Develop and promote relationships with external networks,including professionals, stakeholders, and specialist centres, in order toensure excellence of care, whilst representing the organisation and reflectingThe Childrens Trust core values.
Management of Self and Others:
28. Working alongside the Therapy Leads to develop the speech andlanguage therapy contribution to the service.
29. Participate in the overall day-to-day management and developmentof the Speech and Language Therapy Service, to ensure an efficient and safeservice for all.
30. Provide day-to-day leadership, support and supervision forjunior staff, technicians, volunteers, and students, within area ofresponsibility, providing direction, motivation, and support to achieve keyobjectives.
31. Take on the role of Lead Professional or Coordinating Therapist,following team discussion or as requested by the Therapy Leads, in accordancewith the current profile description.
32. Participate in the annual Performance Development Review andmonthly supervision sessions, as required by The Childrens Trust, both asAppraiser and Appraise.
33. Advise the Therapy Team Lead and Clinical Specialist Speech andLanguage Therapist, regarding resources and equipment needs, includingshortfalls.
34. Manage time effectively, prioritising, and delegating work, asrequired.
35. Participate in assessing needs, deciding priorities andorganise, monitor, and evaluate the provision of an efficient and effectiveTherapy service, in liaison with the Speech and Language Therapy Team.
Governance:
36. Read and implement all policies, procedures, and riskassessments, pertinent to working practice and keeps up to date with policychanges as they occur.
37. Critically evaluate new intervention methods and implement whereappropriate.
38. Critically evaluate practice through clinical audits and by appraisalof the information gained, in combination with current knowledge ofevidence-based practice; identify opportunities for service improvement anddevelopment.
39. Recognise and critically appraise situations where theeffectiveness, efficiency and quality of the service are compromised and takeappropriate and timely action to resolve the situation.
40. Critically reflect on own performance and that of other staff;use this evaluation to enhance the effectiveness, efficiency, and quality offuture practice. Actively participates in local clinical governance activities.
41. Undergo The Childrens Trust Risk Assessor training, to ensurethat all activities are risk assessed and documented in the most appropriateformat. Ensure that detailed risk assessments are completed, as required.
Professionalism:
42. Meet the current HCPC and Royal College of Speech and LanguageTherapy Therapists standards with respect to professionalism and to keep up todate with any changes.
43. Be responsible for maintaining registration with HCPC and otherProfessional Bodies.
44. Adhere to the policies and procedures of The Childrens Trust.
Career Long Learning, Education andResearch:
45. Undertake all mandatory training, in line with The ChildrensTrust policies.
46. Independently advance personal knowledge, understanding andskills, in line with identified learning needs, by making appropriate use of avariety of learning and development resources and opportunities,, byattending courses/ lectures, attending, and contributing to journal club,contact and involvement with relevant Clinical Excellence Networks, engaging inshadowing and peer observation sessions, and/ or visiting other departments.
47. Develop and deliver external training courses in area ofspecialism, where potential demand is identified.
48. Disseminate and ensure the embedding of relevant new practice,through attendance at and contributing to in-service education, LiteratureReviews, mentoring and shared sessions.
49. Record outcomes of learning activities, in a format that reflectspersonal preferences and professional requirement, in line with the RCSLTcompetencies.
50. Complete and maintain clinical competency documents in line withjob role, for example RCSLT dysphagia competencies.
51. Take an active part in the training of junior colleagues andlead the development of Reflective Practice in others.
52. Participates in in-service competency training programmes andteaching sessions, as appropriate.
53. Continuously updates knowledge of the external environment andhighlights any issues that will impact upon existing policies and procedures.
Limits of Authority and Problem Solving:
54. In addition to The Childrens Trust policies, the SpecialistSpeech and Language Therapist is governed by, and should adhere to, the Healthand Care Professions Council (HCPC) Standards of Proficiency for speech andlanguage therapists and the Royal College of Speech and Language TherapistsQuality Assurance Standards.
55. Make day-to-day decisions regarding speech, language and feeding/ swallowing requirements for children and young people, based on case load,including recommendations for specialist equipment.
56. Responsible for day-to-day time management and prioritisation ofworkload, taking into account the needs of the whole service.
57. Monthly formal supervision.
58. Provides formal supervision monthly to junior Speech andLanguage Therapists and/or Multidisciplinary Technicians.
59. Support recruitment processes, as requested by the Therapy TeamLead.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
60. RCSLT recognised degree or postgraduate diploma in Speech and Language Therapy.
61. HCPC registration.
62. Member of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapy.
63. Evidence of successful completion of specialist courses.
64. Willing to participate in any relevant training identified to develop skills required to carry out duties including extended role activities.
65. Maintains a portfolio of CPD in line with regulatory body standards.
Desirable
66. Demonstrated competency in dysphagia.
Skills & Abilities
Essential
67. Formal and informal assessment of speech, language, communication, and ability to devise and carry out intervention plans.
68. Ability to meet the physical demands of a speech and language therapy.
69. Attention to detail.
70. Professional integrity, particularly in clinical governance.
71. Commitment to working flexibly to meet the needs of the service.
72. Advanced written and verbal communication skills.
73. Analytical and creative problem-solving skills in unpredictable situations, synthesising a variety of evidence and presenting this in a relevant format, report; presentation.
74. Workload management including delegation of tasks and day-to-day teamwork.
75. Competent IT skills in order to collect and interpret data, present reports, and compile presentations in a range of contexts.
76. Advanced verbal, non-verbal and written communication skills including communicating complex or potentially distressing information to parents/carers and managing conflict when appropriate.
77. Reflective practice skills able to give clear and effective feedback and support others to develop.
78. Develop and lead clinical audit within specialist clinical area.
Desirable
79. Competent in supporting junior staff in developing dysphagia skills.
80. UK Driving License.
Experience
Essential
81. Willingness to engage in awareness level tracheostomy training and dysphagia training.
82. Experience in any one or a combination of the following.
83. Neuro rehabilitation; adults or paediatric, Children or adults with complex medical needs.
84. Worked within a multidisciplinary team.
85. Worked with children and families.
Desirable
86. Minimum of five years clinical experience post basic qualification.
87. Clinical experience of working with children, young people, or adults with feeding / swallowing issues.
88. Experience of service development and quality improvement.
Personal Qualities
Essential
89. Physically fit and able to comply with The Charitys manual handling guidelines; able to carry out moderate - intense physical effort, throughout the working day and carry out concurrent activities.
90. Commitment to the vision and values of The Childrens Trust.
91. Flexible and can do attitude to competing commitments in workload.
92. Highly motivated and reliable.
93. Ability to cope working in a demanding environment.
94. Commitment to maintaining personal wellbeing and the wellbeing of colleagues.
Knowledge
Essential
95. Knowledge of dysphagia assessment and management.
96. Knowledge of current research, clinical audit, and service evaluation methods.
97. Clinical assessment and intervention skills relevant to children and/or adults people with neuro-disability.
98. Clinical reasoning skills in predictable situations, analysing a variety of evidence and presenting this in a relevant format, report; presentation.
99. Knowledge and understanding of safeguarding children and young people with complex disabilities.
100. Commitment to the vision and values of The Childrens Trust.
101. Flexible and can do attitude to competing commitments in workload.
102. Highly motivated and reliable.
Desirable
103. Knowledge of tracheostomy impact on speaking; secretions and swallowing; and knowledge of management of tracheostomy care and weaning.
104. Understanding of physical, communication, behavioural and emotional changes after acquired brain injury (ABI).