East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust delivers expert healthcare in people’s homes, community hospitals and local settings across the East of England. Our nurses, therapists, clinicians, support teams and partners work together to provide coordinated care that supports independence, recovery and wellbeing. We believe people are best cared for close to home, in the communities where they live and belong. By combining professional expertise with strong local relationships, we help people stay well, feel supported and access the right care at the right time. Expert healthcare, close to home, trusted by our communities. Different ideas, experiences and backgrounds make us stronger and more creative and applications from all walks of life are welcomed. Our processes ensure that all applicants are treated fairly at every stage of the recruitment process. East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust is committed to creating a modern and inclusive work environment. We actively promote flexible working opportunities where possible to meet the needs and wishes of our workforce and maintain and improve their wellbeing. We also offer flexible working patterns and we would encourage you to discuss this with the recruiting manager before or during the application process if this would interest you. We welcome applications from people who share our values and can help us deliver outstanding care in our local community. Before applying for this vacancy, please make sure you’re familiar with ongoing GOV.uk sponsorship eligibility criteria which will impact the organisations ability to provide sponsorship, whether this is currently or in the future. Please note, our selection processes are in place to ensure we recruit candidates with the right values and skills. Please be advised that the use of AI in applications i monitored. We remain watchful of candidates who misuse these tools to generate an application that doesn’t accurately reflect their skills. Job overview Highly specialist Speech and Language Therapist - Schools Lead (Luton) Are you passionate about Speech and Language Therapy? Can you deliver highly specialist Speech and Language Therapy with confidence and expertise? Would you like to be part of a talented, skilled, and compassionate team of Speech and Language Therapists and Support Practitioners? Are you seeking a new challenge and motivated to make a real difference? We are recruiting for an enthusiastic Band 7 Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist — a first-class clinician with strong communication and interpersonal skills — to join our friendly and welcoming team. The post holder will take delegated responsibility for the coordination and clinical management of the mainstream school service within the Luton locality. They will independently manage a community caseload and provide supervision and guidance to SLT colleagues. The role will also involve setting priorities, leading service developments, and carrying out audits in collaboration with other school leads and senior management. Should we receive a high number of applications we reserve the right to close this vacancy at any point after 31.03.2026 Advert The post holder will be responsible for the management of a clinical caseload in mainstream schools. The role will involve working independently and managing complex cases. As a schools lead, the post holder will supervise and support more junior staff and contribute to service improvement and re-development. Working for our organisation Rated ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission, we are proud to provide high quality innovative services across most of the east of England that enable people to receive care closer to home and live healthier lives. There’s one reason why our services are outstanding – and that’s our amazing staff who, for the seventh year running, rated us incredibly highly in the national staff survey. If you share our passion for innovative and high-quality care delivery, then please submit your application and join us on our exciting journey as a leading-edge specialist community provider. All are welcome to apply and our promise to you is a culture which prioritises staff engagement and development. Detailed job description and main responsibilities 1. To work collaboratively and liaise with a wide range of professions across a variety of locations and agencies. 2. To identify priorities for caseload and workforce management across mainstream schools in Luton. 3. To identify gaps in local provision and report/escalate concerns to the Locality Lead as appropriate. 4. To independently manage a caseload of school age children who have speech, and language communication difficulties. 5. To undertake a range of assessments, both standardised and non-standardised, taking account of medical, social and educational factors, which combined with highly specialist theoretical knowledge will lead to differential diagnosis. 6. To plan, deliver and evaluate highly specialist intervention following professional guidelines and agreed service standards. 7. As part of that process, to plan appropriate long-term and short-term goals working towards discharge. 8. T o understand and have a sound working knowledge of the EHCP process and the SEND appeal and tribunals process. 9. To have a sound working knowledge of relevant procedures / statutory requirements including; Safeguarding Children, SEND procedures and other legal frameworks. 10. To assess, diagnose and make recommendations for EHCPs, based on evidence and outcome-based models. 11. To undertake speech and language therapy assessments and compile reports to support the process for EHCP appeals and tribunals. 12. To explore the SALT provision that is already in place and offer support around rationale for this provision, together with any additional tailored clinical input that might be agreed. 13. To make a differential diagnosis on the basis of evidence from assessment, and design appropriate treatment based on analysis of profile of need seeking advice as appropriate. 14. To provide training to enable parents and other professionals to support children’s language and communication needs, including colleagues and Local Authority staff, school teaching assistants, communicators, SENDCo’s, teachers and volunteers. 15. To have appropriate knowledge or an awareness of low tech AAC, for example picture exchange and high tech AAC. 16. To provide second opinions and shadowing opportunities for colleagues. 17. To make referrals onto specialist services as required, including Health, Education and / or Social Services. 18. Independently take students on placements for clinical teaching and supervision, including exam placement. 19. Undertake supervision and complete appraisals for SLTs and Support Practitioners. 20. To contribute to the support of newly and recently graduated SLT Staff. 21. To support and take part in the induction and training of new staff to the service. 22. Able to plan, organise and prioritise own workload, clinical and non-clinical. 23. To assume delegated tasks as requested by line manager/ locality lead, including participation in working groups, policy development groups 24. To contribute to interagency/multi-disciplinary team building and policy development. Equal Opportunities - We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome all applications irrespective of age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, race or religion. Additionally, people with disabilities that fall under the Disability Confident Scheme will be offered an interview providing they meet the minimum criteria for the post (outlined in the Person Specification). All sites are Smoke Free. If you need this application in an offline format, please let us know. Immigration Status – East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust is a diverse employer and welcomes all job applications. However, potential applicants should note that although the Trust is registered with the Home Office as a sponsor organisation for migrant workers, sponsorship can only be offered against eligible roles. If you are an applicant from outside the UK and do not already hold a self-gained right to work, we recommend you check the Home Office eligibility requirements before making an application. Please note: Although we are a registered sponsor organisation, we are unable to offer sponsorship for some job roles, and this will be identified through filtering questions at the start of any job application on the Trac recruitment system. Our safe recruitment pre-employment checks are undertaken before an appointment is confirmed and may include a DBS check. Where the role requires you to drive, we'll ask you to validate your driving licence online via the DVLA. Redeployment - Please note that in the first instance priority for this vacancy will be given to staff who are on the Trusts Redeployment Register. Closing and Interview Dates -This vacancy may close early if sufficient applicants are received. Data Protection - A privacy notice detailing how we will handle your data is attached to this advert as a document. Your application will be transferred to our recruitment management system (Trac) once the advert has closed and you will receive notification then detailing how Trac will handle your data. Our safe recruitment pre-employment checks are undertaken before an appointment is confirmed and may include a DBS check. Where the role requires you to drive, we'll ask you to validate your driving licence online via the DVLA. In submitting an application, you authorise East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust to confirm any previous NHS service details via the Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process should you be appointed. ALL CORRESPONDENCE will be via the e-mail address on your application form. If you have not been invited to interview within 2 weeks of the closing date, you unfortunately haven’t been successful on this occasion, but keep an eye on our vacancies as a job that’s just right for you may appear!