Find out about the current vacancies available at the Trust and take the next step in your career with us.
Speech & Language Therapy Assistant Practitioner
NHS AfC: Band 4
Main area: Speech and Language Therapy Assistant Practitioner
Grade: NHS AfC: Band 4
Contract: Permanent
Hours:
* Full time
* Part time
37.5 hours per week
Job ref: 345-COM6939374
Site: Hartlepool Town, Hartlepool
Salary: £26,530 - £29,114 per annum
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 03/04/2025 23:59
We are on a continuous journey of improvement and transformation; however, our main priority is, and always will be, providing safe and high-quality care to our patients every day; the kind of care we would want for ourselves and our loved ones. If you share our passion, then apply for this opportunity and help us make our patients’ experience the best it can possibly be.
With a budget of around £365m, three hospitals, and 5,500 staff, North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust provides hospital-based services to the population of Hartlepool, Stockton on Tees, and parts of East Durham and Sedgefield, as well as community, therapeutic, and screening services to a wider population across Durham and Teesside.
Job overview
Band 4: Speech and Language Therapy Assistant Practitioner
Based in Hartlepool / Stockton Localities
From April 1st, 2025, there will be a single Children & Young People’s Speech & Language Therapy Service across the Tees Valley covering local authority areas of: Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton.
This is an exciting new development that brings together speech and language therapy services in the local area to deliver support in a flexible, responsive, and equitable way.
We are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated individual who is interested in supporting children with a wide range of speech, language, or communication difficulties. This is a full-time, permanent post based in the Stockton and Hartlepool localities.
Main duties of the job
You will work as part of a team to deliver high-quality interventions under the supervision of qualified Speech and Language Therapists. You are likely to work across a range of settings, including schools, nurseries, clinics, and homes.
You will join a team of Speech and Language Therapists and Assistant Practitioners, supported by a Service Lead and an Administration Team. The service has a strong commitment to support and supervision, with excellent working relationships with multi-disciplinary teams and colleagues within the trust. We also work positively with partners in the area.
Working for our organisation
North Tees & Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust's main priority is, and always will be, to provide safe and high-quality care to our patients every day; the kind of care we would want for ourselves and our loved ones. We want our organisation to be the best place to work with the right staff, in the right roles, at the right time, to ensure we deliver exceptional patient care and experience.
We will support staff through providing an inclusive and supportive workplace with health and well-being initiatives, staff benefits, and opportunities for personal and professional development. Staff recognition is very important to us; as well as performance reviews and appraisals, we recognise staff through Star and Team of the month, colleague recognition – a note of thanks, Managers Awards, Shining Stars, and Service Awards.
We recruit for values and “Together we are North Tees & Hartlepool”.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Key responsibilities:
* Independently manage a caseload of individuals with communication difficulties with supervision from a Speech and Language Therapist.
* Implement therapeutic interventions in both group settings and one-to-one situations following an agreed plan.
* Guide parents/carers and other agencies involved with the care of the client group in their contribution to the therapy programmes including the programme content, with support from Speech and Language Therapists.
* Carry out specific observations, informal and screening assessments to contribute to speech and language therapy assessment.
* Ensure clients are fully involved in decisions relating to their care, whenever possible.
* Work independently and unsupervised in outreach locations (e.g., schools, homes, etc).
Person specification
Other
* Ability to travel different distances on a frequent basis in short timescales.
Qualifications
* 3 GCSEs including English to grade C or above or equivalent
* A recognised qualification in speech and language/NVQ3 or equivalent
Experience
* Experience of working as a speech and language therapy assistant or comparable role
* Experience of working alongside other professionals in health, education, or social care
* Experience of working independently
* Experience of working with clients with specific difficulties e.g., fluency disorders
* Experience in the use of Speech and Language Therapy specific software
Skills
* Able to work as a member of a team
* Able to work effectively in a range of different work environments
Knowledge
* Knowledge and understanding of strategies and techniques for facilitating clients’ communication skills
* Knowledge of current national and local strategies, clinical guidelines, policy drivers and issues including those relating to educational provision for children with speech, language and communication difficulties
* Aware of local and national policies relating to speech and language, e.g., child protection issues, vulnerable adults, etc.
**Please note - Once sufficient applications have been received this vacancy may close early**
Please check your email address on a regular basis as applicants invited to attend an interview will be notified via this method.
As part of our recruitment process, you will be required to undertake pre-employment screening:
Disclosure and Barring Scheme(previously Criminal Records Bureau). Where a post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 it may be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Scheme to check for any previous criminal convictions. Should you require a copy of the Trust's Disclosure and Barring Service Policy, please contact a member of the recruitment team on 01642 624023.
It is the policy of North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who are new to the Trust who require DBS clearance for the post they have been offered, are required to pay the cost for their DBS certificate. The method of payment for this is via salary deduction from your first month's pay on commencement with the Trust.
Please note the essential qualifications required for the post outlined within the Person Specification. You are required to hold and provide evidence of the necessary qualifications for the post at interview should you be shortlisted.
For any new employees commencing employment with North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, you will be subject to satisfactory completion of a 6-month probationary period. Please note that internal applications and individuals that are appointed to fixed-term appointments of less than 6 months duration are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or a bank member of staff).
If the hours advertised for the post are up to full time (37.5 hours per week), applications are still welcomed from individuals who may be seeking to work less than full-time hours and all requests will be considered in line with the post being appointed to for the successful applicant.
North Tees & Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust operates a No Smoking Policy.
If you experience any technical difficulties applying for this post please contact a member of our recruitment team on 01642 624023 quoting the vacancy reference.
The details in the Monitoring Information section of your application will be used for monitoring our recruitment process and will not be seen by the interview panel. The information you give will be treated in the strictest confidence. To meet its commitment to promoting equality of opportunity, the Trust’s policy is that individuals will be recruited, trained and promoted according to ability and job requirements only. As such we welcome your application irrespective of your gender, race, disability, colour, ethnic or national origin, nationality, and marital status, responsibility for dependants, religion, trade union activity, and age.
Disability
The Trust gives full and fair consideration to applications for employment received from disabled people. We are a “Positive about Disabled People” employer, and we hold the ‘two ticks’ Disability Symbol, which is a recognition given by Jobcentre Plus to employers who have agreed to meet five commitments regarding the recruitment, employment, retention, and career development of disabled people. If you have a disability, which makes it difficult for you to complete our application form, please do not hesitate to contact the recruitment team on 01642 624023.
As a supporter of the Armed Forces and an employer of Reservists, North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust are proud to be a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant, which is a promise by the nation to ensure that those who serve or who have served in the UK Armed Forces (and their families) are treated fairly.
We recognise that reservists and veterans bring a variety of transferable skills and qualities to our workplace, developed through their military careers. Our commitment to supporting the Armed Forces Community has been recognised through the Armed Forces Covenant as a Silver Employer.
What does this mean?
We proactively demonstrate our forces-friendly credentials within our recruitment and selection processes, by having a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for those indicated as part of the Armed Forces Community. We engage with our local and regional Career Transition Partnership representatives and are a member of Step Into Health. We employ veterans and reservists from differing branches of the Armed Forces and actively promote our positive policies for the Armed Forces Community, including our Special Leave policy. We advocate support for defence people issues, including facilitating easier access to Healthcare Services for our patients within the AF Community. We have supported employees through Reservist training, through additional leave for their training and ongoing support under our Special Leave policy.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
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