Job summary We have an exciting opportunity for a newly qualified or experienced band 5 therapist to join our well established Mainstream Therapies Team in Islington. The team recently won the Whittington Health AHP Awards Team of the Year, for its innovation, dedication, and supportive team environment. The service provides support for children with speech, language and communication difficulties in schools. Caseloads are manageable and therapists in their first year of working will be allocated additional time for both clinical and non clinical administrative duties. Some feedback from current staff : "I'd recommend this role to any newly qualified SLTs who are hoping to develop their clinical skills within the mainstream paediatric setting." This vacancy has been advertised in accordance with the new NHS pay rate which will take effect from autumn 2024. Please note if your employment starts before the 24/25 pay scales are implemented you will be paid under the 23/24 pay scales and any backpay will be adjusted accordingly. Further information can be found athttps://www.nhsemployers.org/articles/pay-scales-202425. Main duties of the job You will be able to access a Band 5 cross-borough support group and clinical supervision, and will be provided with opportunities to develop skills in delivering a range of interventions in primary or secondary schools as well as providing a universal service to schools. The Mainstream Therapies Team is a multi-disciplinary service and you will be working alongside both Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists. The post holder will be responsible for delivering a comprehensive service to children and young people attending mainstream schools, including assessment, diagnosis and intervention for individual children and young people as well as providing a support service to schools themselves. The post holder is an autonomous practitioner and is responsible for organising and managing their own caseload in up to 5 mainstream schools (primary and/or secondary), working from a central base. They will work with children and young people with a wide range of speech, language and communication needs including Developmental Language Disorders, Selective Mutism, Speech difficulties and children with language disorders in association with conditions such as Autistic Spectrum Condition, Down's Syndrome and ADHD. About us 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. Date posted 14 February 2025 Pay scheme Agenda for change Band Band 5 Salary £35,964 to £43,780 a year per annum inclusive of HCAS Contract Permanent Working pattern Full-time Reference number 220-WHT-2482-C Job locations Northern Health Centre 580 Holloway Road Islington N7 6LB Job description Job responsibilities 1. To demonstrate basic clinical expertise in the assessment, treatment and management of language and communication difficulties in school aged children providing appropriate intervention and evaluating outcomes 2. To demonstrate clinical effectiveness drawing on evidence based practice and outcome measures 3. To demonstrate highly developed auditory and perceptual skills in the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of patients/clients 4. To make basic differential diagnoses and clinical decisions based on evidence from assessment, seeking support and advice from a supervisor as appropriate 5. To develop knowledge and skills in a range of language and communication difficulties in school aged children with training, support and supervision from clinical supervisor as appropriate. 6. To develop clear care plans based on best practice 7. To provide advice to others regarding the management and care of children with language and communication difficulties 8. To communicate complex condition related information from assessment to clients, carers, families and members of the multi-disciplinary team/other professions, demonstrating empathy and ensuring that effective communication is achieved, particularly where barriers to understanding exist 9. To work closely with clients, carers and families in order to agree plans of management 10. To deal with initial complaints sensitively, avoiding escalation where possible 11. To form productive relationships with others who may be under stress and/or have challenging communication difficulties. 12. To employ excellent communication skills 13. To develop skills in motivating clients and /or carers to engage in the therapeutic process 14. To maintain sensitivity at all times to the emotional needs of clients and their carers in particular when imparting potentially distressing information regarding the nature of the clients difficulties and implications of the same 15. To develop the ability to manage children with challenging behaviours employing appropriate management strategies 16. To monitor and review the progress of clients against the targets set and agreed, seeking support from clinical supervisor as appropriate. 17. To demonstrate the ability to reflect on practice with peers/clinical supervisor based on research and evidence based practice. 18. To develop the ability to reflect on auditory, visual and kinaesthetic aspects of clients communication and to identify appropriate strategies to facilitate and enhance communicative effectiveness 19. To be aware of legal requirements relating to the provision of a specialist speech and language therapy service, seeking support and advice as appropriate. 20. To maintain up to date and accurate case notes and write reports that meet departmental standards and are in line with local trust policy, and RCSLT professional standards, with support as appropriate 21. To develop an awareness of current policies and practice in education 22. To manage and prioritise a defined caseload and workload independently 23. To contribute to multi-agency assessments, including the statutory educational assessment procedure, as required, seeking support and supervision as required 24. To negotiate with carers, clients and others around individual case management 25. To develop negotiation skills in the management of conflict across a range of situations, recognising potential breakdown and conflict when it occurs, seeking advice and support to resolve 26. To ensure that clients are referred to other services as appropriate, in consultation with manager or supervisor 27. To develop a working knowledge of the principles of Clinical Governance and their application to professional practice. This will include compliance with / adherence to service and team plans and policies, National and Local Guidelines and RCSLT Professional and Clinical guidelines. 28. To develop a working knowledge of relevant procedures including: Safeguarding Children, SEN procedures, Working with Vulnerable Adults and other legal frameworks. 29. To be accountable for own professional action, recognising professional boundaries and working within defined departmental and national protocols/policies and professional code of conduct, seeking advice as appropriate 30. To work independently accessing appraisal within an Individual Performance Framework at pre-determined intervals Job description Job responsibilities 1. To demonstrate basic clinical expertise in the assessment, treatment and management of language and communication difficulties in school aged children providing appropriate intervention and evaluating outcomes 2. To demonstrate clinical effectiveness drawing on evidence based practice and outcome measures 3. To demonstrate highly developed auditory and perceptual skills in the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of patients/clients 4. To make basic differential diagnoses and clinical decisions based on evidence from assessment, seeking support and advice from a supervisor as appropriate 5. To develop knowledge and skills in a range of language and communication difficulties in school aged children with training, support and supervision from clinical supervisor as appropriate. 6. To develop clear care plans based on best practice 7. To provide advice to others regarding the management and care of children with language and communication difficulties 8. To communicate complex condition related information from assessment to clients, carers, families and members of the multi-disciplinary team/other professions, demonstrating empathy and ensuring that effective communication is achieved, particularly where barriers to understanding exist 9. To work closely with clients, carers and families in order to agree plans of management 10. To deal with initial complaints sensitively, avoiding escalation where possible 11. To form productive relationships with others who may be under stress and/or have challenging communication difficulties. 12. To employ excellent communication skills 13. To develop skills in motivating clients and /or carers to engage in the therapeutic process 14. To maintain sensitivity at all times to the emotional needs of clients and their carers in particular when imparting potentially distressing information regarding the nature of the clients difficulties and implications of the same 15. To develop the ability to manage children with challenging behaviours employing appropriate management strategies 16. To monitor and review the progress of clients against the targets set and agreed, seeking support from clinical supervisor as appropriate. 17. To demonstrate the ability to reflect on practice with peers/clinical supervisor based on research and evidence based practice. 18. To develop the ability to reflect on auditory, visual and kinaesthetic aspects of clients communication and to identify appropriate strategies to facilitate and enhance communicative effectiveness 19. To be aware of legal requirements relating to the provision of a specialist speech and language therapy service, seeking support and advice as appropriate. 20. To maintain up to date and accurate case notes and write reports that meet departmental standards and are in line with local trust policy, and RCSLT professional standards, with support as appropriate 21. To develop an awareness of current policies and practice in education 22. To manage and prioritise a defined caseload and workload independently 23. To contribute to multi-agency assessments, including the statutory educational assessment procedure, as required, seeking support and supervision as required 24. To negotiate with carers, clients and others around individual case management 25. To develop negotiation skills in the management of conflict across a range of situations, recognising potential breakdown and conflict when it occurs, seeking advice and support to resolve 26. To ensure that clients are referred to other services as appropriate, in consultation with manager or supervisor 27. To develop a working knowledge of the principles of Clinical Governance and their application to professional practice. This will include compliance with / adherence to service and team plans and policies, National and Local Guidelines and RCSLT Professional and Clinical guidelines. 28. To develop a working knowledge of relevant procedures including: Safeguarding Children, SEN procedures, Working with Vulnerable Adults and other legal frameworks. 29. To be accountable for own professional action, recognising professional boundaries and working within defined departmental and national protocols/policies and professional code of conduct, seeking advice as appropriate 30. To work independently accessing appraisal within an Individual Performance Framework at pre-determined intervals Person Specification Qualifications Essential BSc. Speech Path or equivalent HPC licence to practise, and eligible for the full RCSLT register Successful completion of specialist short courses relevant to the field including Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), autistic spectrum condition (ASC) and education practice Desirable Basic Counselling Knowledge and experience Essential knowledge and experience of a specialist range of assessment tools and procedures to evaluate a wide range of language and communication needs in mainstream schools for both primary and secondary aged pupils. knowledge and experience of the key characteristics leading to a specialist differential diagnosis of a wide range of language and communication difficulties knowledge and experience Of a specialist range of therapeutic interventions relevant to primary and secondary age children with a wide range of language and communication needs demonstrating the evidence base for these approaches knowledge and experience The application of specialist knowledge of local cultural, linguistic & demographic factors to the management of a school aged caseload knowledge of multi-disciplinary team approaches knowledge and experience of working with children with a wide range of language and communication needs in mainstream schools Desirable knowledge and experience of delivering specialist training to a range of audiences Personal qualities Essential Excellent spoken and written communication skills Other Essential Completion of post qualification registration Person Specification Qualifications Essential BSc. Speech Path or equivalent HPC licence to practise, and eligible for the full RCSLT register Successful completion of specialist short courses relevant to the field including Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), autistic spectrum condition (ASC) and education practice Desirable Basic Counselling Knowledge and experience Essential knowledge and experience of a specialist range of assessment tools and procedures to evaluate a wide range of language and communication needs in mainstream schools for both primary and secondary aged pupils. knowledge and experience of the key characteristics leading to a specialist differential diagnosis of a wide range of language and communication difficulties knowledge and experience Of a specialist range of therapeutic interventions relevant to primary and secondary age children with a wide range of language and communication needs demonstrating the evidence base for these approaches knowledge and experience The application of specialist knowledge of local cultural, linguistic & demographic factors to the management of a school aged caseload knowledge of multi-disciplinary team approaches knowledge and experience of working with children with a wide range of language and communication needs in mainstream schools Desirable knowledge and experience of delivering specialist training to a range of audiences Personal qualities Essential Excellent spoken and written communication skills Other Essential Completion of post qualification registration 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. UK Registration Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window). Additional information 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. UK Registration Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window). Employer details Employer name Whittington Hospital NHS Trust Address Northern Health Centre 580 Holloway Road Islington N7 6LB Employer's website https://www.whittington.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)