Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our friendly and supportive team of around ten Speech and Language Therapists and Assistants within Chailey Clinical Services.
The role could be either Band 5 or Band 6, depending on experience and will primarily consist of managing a designated caseload of children and young people with complex neuro-disability aged 3 to 19 years, within Chailey Heritage School.
The postholder will support the communication, eating, drinking and oral sensori-motor needs of the children and young people, in conjunction with their class team, family and wider Multidisciplinary Team (MDT). The MDT based at Chailey includes occupational therapists, physiotherapists, dietitian, nurses, paediatricians, doctors, clinical scientists, dentists, rehabilitation engineers, school and social care staff and more.
As well as working in the school, you would also have opportunity to work within other settings on-site, including Chailey Heritage Residential facilities and clinics within Chailey Clinical Services .
We would consider this role as part time or flexible working, including term time only.
Please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss this exciting opportunity or to arrange a visit.
Main duties of the job
The postholder will:
a) provide specialist assessment, diagnosis and management of children and young people's communication and oral-motor difficulties for assigned caseload.
b) monitor and update children's and young people's dysphagia management programmes with support and supervision from more experienced colleagues.
c) plan, provide and evaluate interventions to address identified needs in conjunction with the multi-disciplinary team, which includes therapy assistants.
d) participate and contribute to the Speech and Language Therapy team at Chailey Clinical Services, including service development and team projects.
e) participate in or undertake audit and research as part of multi-professional team.
f) contribute to the teaching of staff, parents, carers, teachers, assistants, students and other agencies as a member of the multi-professional team.
About us
We are the main provider of NHS community services across East and West Sussex. Our 6,000 staff serve a population of million providing essential medical, nursing, and therapeutic care to adults and children.
Our Trust vision is to provide excellent care at the heart of the community, helping people plan, manage, adapt to changes in their health, supporting avoidable hospital admissions and reducing hospital stay times.
We have opportunities for everyone across our wide variety of services including medical, clinical, support and corporate services.
Why work for us?
1. Positive 2022 NHS Staff Survey results, scoring highly in compassionate culture & leadership, and staff wellbeing support
2. Variety of working environments across the community, in patients' homes, within our community hospitals and bases across the county
3. Supportive flexible working patterns such as: part time, flexi time, annualised hours, and flexi retirement options
4. Excellent training and development opportunities
5. Research opportunities
6. Cost-effective workplace nurseries in Crawley, Hove and Brighton
7. Thriving BAME, Disability and Wellbeing, LGBT+ and Religion and Belief staff networks
8. Level 3 accredited Disability Confident Leader, committed to creating inclusive workplaces
9. Veteran Aware Trust, achieving accreditation from Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA)
10. Located in stunning Sussex, with easy access to the South Downs and the coast
11. Access to a wide range of benefits and discounts for NHS staff
Job description
Job responsibilities
2. Communication and Working Relationships
The postholder will:
a) work closely with members of the Speech and Language Therapy team including the Team Lead, specialist speech and language therapists, and speech and language therapy assistants in order to deliver a quality service
b) form good working relationships and develop and maintain effective communication with children and young people on their caseload who all have significant limitations to communication
c) work with the wider professional multi-disciplinary team of healthcare professionals and education staff from our partner organisation Chailey Heritage Foundation to provide integrated child-centred education and healthcare
d) discuss childrens communication needs, eating and drinking difficulties and oral movement skills with the multi-disciplinary team, working with others to agree suitable targets and the means to achieve these
e) be able to effectively share complex information about childrens healthcare and communication needs with a range of different people; the postholder will also have to understand complex information about different childrens needs
f) provide teaching/ training for members of the multi-professional team including therapists, assistants, teachers, students, volunteers and others as required
g) manage conflict with support from senior clinicians as required.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
12. Recognised Speech and Language Therapy Qualification/MRCSL
13. HCPC Registration
Desirable
14. Membership of RCSLT
15. Postgraduate courses and/or other relevant qualifications Dysphagia post-graduate training, Makaton signing
Experience
Essential
16. A minimum of 2 years clinical experience in paediatrics, or other relevant work /life experience, or a second degree qualification.
17. Carrying out and interpreting assessments
18. Experience of Multi-disciplinary working
Desirable
19. An understanding and experience of the problems of children with neurodisabilities including oral-motor difficulties and augmentative communication underpinned by current evidence based practice
20. Experience of working in educational settings and advising teachers on planning programmes for children with special needs
21. Experience of participating in the training or teaching of students or other members of staff
22. Experience of contributing to the training of other speech and language therapists and members of a multi-professional team
23. Planning and organisation of programmes
Skills and knowledge
Essential
24. Ability to work as an effective team member
25. To demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively with children, families, staff and other professionals
26. Use of Information Technology and Word processing skills
27. Knowledge of safeguarding issues with children, young people and adults and The Chailey Children's Charter
Desirable
28. To organise and manage a caseload independently
29. Evidence of further learning in specialist areas
30. Demonstrates skills in dealing with complex issues around caseload management
31. Evidence of further training in specialist areas Dysphagia, Alternative and Augmentative Communication, Makaton signing, Talking Mats, Intensive Interaction, Social Use of Language, Hanen.
Other
Essential
32. Demonstrates developing negotiation skills and management of conflict
33. A willingness to accommodate change and be flexible