Job overview
Band 4 Therapy Assistant - working in the Social Communication Team (0-5 years)
4 sessions (15 hrs per week) Permanent Position
Band 4
Whittington Health comprises Islington community services, Haringey community services, Camden speech and language therapy and the Whittington Hospital.
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.
Main duties of the job
We are looking for a dynamic and highly motivated person to join the Social Communication Team; a specialist service for autistic children of 5 years and under. The team provides assessment, diagnosis and post diagnostic support for autistic children and their parents/carers. The team also provides support, training and consultation to staff across a range of providers. You will need to be passionate about autism, working in a multi-disciplinary team and able to work sensitively with very young autistic children and their parents/carers.
You will be responsible for assisting in the effective delivery of individualised support and care to children undergoing neurodevelopmental assessments and receiving post-diagnostic support. You will work as part of a team of Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Clinical Psychologists and Neurodevelopmental Paediatricians. The role comprises of a mix of administrative and clinical duties.
The post holder will be based primarily at the Northern Health Centre. You will receive regular supervision and receive relevant in-service and external training. The post will evolve and is subject to change as the neurodevelopmental pathway develops across North Central London (NCL).
Working for our organisation
Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
·To support the neurodevelopmental assessment process (including booking appointments, liaising with parents/carers and educational settings, information gathering, supporting the clinic assessments, completing observation records, contributing to the assessment report, updating spreadsheets and maintaining client records)
Please refer to the Job Description for full details
Person specification
Education / Qualifications
Essential criteria
1. GCSE pass or equivalent for Maths and English
Desirable criteria
2. Attendance at formal or informal training related to autism
Skills & Abilities
Essential criteria
3. Awareness of neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism and ADHD
4. Good organisational and prioritisation skills
5. Ability to use basic computer systems (email, Word, Excel)
Knowledge & Experience
Essential criteria
6. Experience of working in a clinical role as a teaching assistant, therapy assistant or co-worker
7. Experience of working with autistic children
8. Experience of working with parents/carers
Desirable criteria
9. Participating in delivering training and presentations
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:
10. 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.
11. Ensure you are familiar and comply with the London Multi Agency Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Pan London Procedures.
12. Ensure you are familiar and comply with local protocols and systems for information sharing.
13. Know the appropriate contact numbers and required reporting lines.
14. Participate in required training and supervision.
15. 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.