Go back East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust (Cambridge)
Children's Physiotherapy/Occupational Therapy Assistant
The closing date is 21 June 2026
This is an exciting opportunity for you to join our vibrant and innovative community children's occupational therapy and physiotherapy services.
You will be based in the Cambridge area and your role will predominantly involve working within special school, clinic, home, and mainstream school/nursery settings supporting the Occupational Therapist and Physiotherapist.
As well as working within the special schools, you will also be visiting mainstream schools and local preschool settings and working within a clinic setting supporting OT and Physiotherapy. Children seen will have a range of disabilities and developmental delays.
Your role is instrumental in supporting our therapists in the delivery of care to the children and families accessing the services which will include administration tasks. You will also carry out clinical interventions under the direction of the therapists.
There is a strong commitment from East of England community Trust for continued professional development for all members of staff.
Interviews will take place at: The Peacock Centre, Cambridge, CB1 3DF
Before applying for this vacancy please be aware of the salary threshold required for a certificate of sponsorship to be granted. Unfortunately overseas applicants who are new to care may not reach the minimum salary threshold to obtain a certificate of sponsorship.
Should we receive a high number of applications, we reserve the right to close this vacancy at any point after 12.6.26.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will be responsible to work flexibly to assist occupational therapists and physiotherapists in their clinical and administrative work, including data entry.
The post holder will carry out clinical interventions under the direction of the therapists in special school, clinic, home and mainstream school/nursery settings.
The client group is children and young people (0-19 years) with disabilities and developmental delays.
Job responsibilities
Main Duties and Responsibilities
Clinical
To carry out clinical interventions with children and young people under the direction of the Occupational therapist and/or Physiotherapist. This includes children/young people of preschool and school age, including those attending local special schools.
To support therapists in clinic settings to carry out standardised assessments and record findings.
To support therapists in the provision, correct prescription and monitoring of specialist equipment and orthotics for children/young people.
The post holder may be required to visit children/young people at home, under the direction of the therapist.
To monitor the children/young peoples progress and recognise when to discuss any changes with the therapist (apart from discussions already scheduled).
To make observations about children/young peoples abilities and responses to activities and to feed these back to the therapist in order to assist in assessment and therapy.
To liaise with Equipment Company Representatives to set up assessments and obtain quotes for equipment for children and young people.
To work flexibly to support the diverse work of the Physio and Occupational Therapy Teams in supporting the care of children and young people, prioritising the work which is asked of them.
Administrative
To carry out clerical and administrative tasks supporting the delivery of clinical work. These may include arranging appointments, data collection and entry (manually and/or using IT), filing, photocopying, and typing of clinical reports, letters, and treatment plans.
To ensure that agreed data is collected and entered onto the therapy databases.
To organise and prepare treatment materials and clean as necessary.
To use IT resources to support administrative tasks (e.g. e-mail, internet).
To support the assessment, ordering and delivery of equipment for children and young people in nursery, school and home settings.
To contribute to administrative duties connected with the caseload including maintenance of case notes, following service standards.
Maintaining own professional development and requirement to take part in the annual appraisal process.
To assist the therapists in the organisation and delivery of training to other professionals and parents as appropriate.
To actively participate in in-service training and other courses as appropriate in order to develop and maintain knowledge and skills as appropriate and identified through objective setting and personal development review.
To attend all mandatory training.
To undertake clinical competencies specific to the requirements of the role.
To monitor and maintain equipment within clinical area and use resources effectively.
Completion of accurate and timely statistical returns.
To undertake other duties from time to time as necessary which may be reasonably deemed to come with the scope of the post and are agreed with the Lead Practitioner.
To be aware of the responsibilities of all employees to maintain a safe and healthy environment for patients, visitors and staff.
All post holders must adhere to the code of conduct on confidentiality and be aware of and adhere to all EEC policies and procedures.
The post holder must at all times carry out his/her duties with regard to East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust Equal Opportunities Policy.
Communication
To communicate effectively with children/young people who have a range of physical and learning difficulties.
To communicate effectively with parents/carers.
To communicate effectively with other professionals responsible for the care of the child/young person, recognising the scope and limitations of the role.
To communicate effectively within the team across both Physio and OT disciplines.
To recognise how and when information may be shared within the bounds of confidentiality and the Data Protection Act.
Contribute to EEC internal communication strategies ensuring effective two-way communication and engagement within the organisation.
Contribute to EEC external communication strategies working with the Head of Communications to raise awareness and promote the reputation of EEC services.
To contribute to ensuring that EEC responsibilities to engage and consult with patients and the public are met in line with statutory requirements.
Clinical and Practice Governance
Observe and maintain strict confidentiality with regards to any patient/family/staff/records and information in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act.
Any data that is taken/shared as part of a phone call or transported, faxed or transferred electronically must be undertaken with regard to EEC Information Governance and Information Security policies.
The post holder must adhere to EEC risk assessment and risk management processes.
The post holder must adhere to infection control policies and procedures.
Undertake mandatory training and any other training relevant to the role as required by East of England Community Health and Care (EEC).
The post holder must participate in clinical and safeguarding audits as required.
Provide patients and their families /carers with information on standards they should expect from the team.
Participate in clinical supervision on a regular basis.
The post holder is required to participate in relevant emergency preparedness process for their team.
Person Specification
Qualifications & Training
* GCSEs or equivalent, including Maths and English
* Recognised qualification in administration/typing e.g. RSA III or Business Administration
* NVQ 3 or equivalent Childcare/teaching qualification/nursery nurse etc
Experience
* Previous experience of a wide range of administrative/office duties
* Experiencing working with the public either face to face or by telephone
* Previous experience of working as part of a team
* Experience of working / volunteering with children
* Experience of working with special needs/disability
* Previous experience in using in-house computer systems, e.g. SystmOne
* Experience of working with children/young people with additional needs/Special Education Needs and Disability
Knowledge & Skills
* Good communication and interpersonal skills
* Good organisation skills
* Ability to use own initiative and to work independently
* Ability to work flexibly as part of a team
* Thorough knowledge of Windows and Excel, with well-established computer skills
* Good presentation skills (personal and written)
* Ability to problem solve
* Commitment to gaining knowledge and skills
* Ability to prioritise workloads
* Evidence of being a good team worker
* Previous experience with using SystmOne
* Understanding of the personal and social implications of disability
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust (Cambridge)
£25,760 to £27,476 a year per annum, pro‑rata
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