Whittington Health

Haringey Children's Speech and Language Therapy Service

Band 6 Specialist Speech and Language Therapist role

Fulltime permanent post: Complex Needs special schools (1.0wte)

Come and join our passionate and innovative speech and language therapy team in Haringey. We are looking for a new speech and language therapist to join us in the Haringey Children's speech and language therapy service in our Complex Needs team based in a secondary special school.

We are currently looking for a speech and language therapist to join us, learn new skills, gain new experiences and share their expertise with our local children, young people and school/setting staff. Within all the settings there is a strong focus on working with families and achieving the most beneficial outcomes.

Haringey Children's Speech and Language Therapy team are a well-established service with a good reputation for providing a quality service to our clients alongside a friendly team and workplace. The Service places a strong emphasis on personal and professional development, providing regular supervision and support.

Whittington Health offers:

• Excellent line management and peer support
• Strong commitment to staff development
• Full programme of induction
• An emphasis on team working
• Regular clinical supervision
• Family friendly policies
• A range of benefits including a season ticket loan scheme
• Strong commitment to staff emotional wellbeing.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be based within Haringey Speech and Language Therapy service. This full time post 37.5 hours per week is split

• 30 hours per week based in secondary aged Special School Riverside, for students (11-19 years) who have specific physical difficulties, learning difficulties and/or Autism. The school operate a total communication approach, and Speech and Language Therapy is delivered both individually and within the class environment. You will be part of the Complex Needs Team who provide therapy and nursing to children in Specialist Schools and support children and young people through the transition process.

• 7.5 hours per week based in Haringey Sixth form college (16-19 years) and secondary (11-18 years). The college is co-located within the mainstream college and work in close partnership at all levels. The Speech and Language Therapy is delivered both individually and within the class environment and works closely with the MDT

Key responsibilities are to carry a personal clinical caseload maintaining a high level of professional competence as well as advising/training carers and school staff on clinical issues. These may be related to effective communication strategies/good communication environments. In addition the post holder will demonstrate a good level of clinical expertise and participate in continuing professional development to maintain and further develop specialist knowledge and clinical practice.

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.

Job description

Job responsibilities

PATIENT/CLIENT CARE

1. To carry a personal clinical caseload maintaining a high level of professional competence and demonstrate developing clinical expertise in the areas of complex needs AAC and Autism.

2. To assess, differentially diagnose, plan and implement therapy for children with speech, language and/or communication difficulties.

3. To demonstrate specialist knowledge in these clinical areas of Complex Needs underpinned by current evidence based practice and outcome measures

4. To work effectively with clients, carers, and colleagues around individual case management providing advice, guidance and support as necessary and involving them in the planning and prioritisation of care wherever possible.

5. To reflect on clinical practice adequately identifying strengths & needs of clients, reviewing their response to therapy and providing evidence of sound clinical judgement.

6. To monitor and review the progress of children on caseload and facilitate the development or modification of packages of care / targets as appropriate using evaluation/outcome measurement tools.

7. To adapt practice to meet individual client/carers circumstances, taking into account cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

8. To produce accurate, & detailed reports, therapy programmes, advice and information as necessary in a timely manner.

9. To respond to the requirements of the 2014 Children and Families Act, by completing written advice for children who may have Special Educational Needs.

10. To support the effective transition of students between schools as appropriate.

11. To liaise and refer children to other Health, Education or Social Services professionals as necessary.

12. To undertake home visits, as necessary, in compliance with Home Visiting Safety Policy.

COMMUNICATION AND RELATIONSHIP SKILLS:

1. To be able to gather information that may be sensitive or complex and analyse it as part of a full assessment of a clients strengths and difficulties.

2.To work closely with clients and carers using empathy, tact, reassurance and active listening to complete assessments, discuss results, and agree treatment options.

3.To routinely be able to adapt communication mode during assessment and intervention to ensure there are no barriers to communication. This includes the use of sign, symbols or other alternative and augmentation strategies with communication disordered clients/carers, as well as the use of interpreters for clients and carers who do not have English as a first language.

4.To develop skills in motivating clients/carers to engage in the therapeutic process.

5. To negotiate and manage conflict effectively in a range of settings, with support and supervision from line manager.

6. To deal with initial complaints sensitively, avoiding escalation where possible

7.To form effective therapeutic relationships with clients and/or carers who may be under stress and/or having challenging behaviour.

8. To provide training to a variety of audiences on aspects of speech and language therapy.

KNOWLEDGE, TRAINING & EXPERIENCE:

To demonstrate developing specialist knowledge in AAC, complex needs and Autism, underpinned by current evidenced based practice, maintained through specialist courses and self-study.

To identify own training needs as part of the Professional Development Review in discussion with the Lead Therapist for The School and to attend training as agreed.

To keep up to date with current clinical developments through reading, attendance at courses, meetings, Clinical Excellence Networks (CENs) and RCSLT Hubs.

To develop and deliver specialist training (informal and formal) to education staff, parents/carers and other professionals.

To be aware of school routines, policies and procedures.

To maintain up to date professional registration with HPC and RCSLT at all times.

To participate in Peer Support Groups.

ANALYTICAL & JUDGEMENTAL SKILLS:

1. To be able to gather and analyse all information, including observation and formal assessment results, in order to identify the most appropriate intervention.

2. To make appropriate differential diagnoses and specialist clinical decisions on evidence from assessment of complex cases

3. To adapt intervention as necessary according to individual need, progress and ability.

4. To seek second opinions from more senior colleges and/or line manager in complex cases.

5. To demonstrate the ability to reflect on practice with peers/clinical supervisor

6. To develop, record and adapt individual care plans, based on assessment results and response to treatment.

7. To evaluate all training provided and amend according to feedback.

PLANNING AND ORGANISATIONAL SKILLS:

1. To manage and prioritise a defined caseload

2. To manage and prioritise own workload

3. To plan and organise groups and training, as required.

4. To plan and deliver training to parents/carers and education staff as necessary.

INFORMATION RESOURCES:

To keep up to date and accurate electronic client case notes, which comply with quality guidelines/policies.

To share information with others, observing data protection/information sharing guidelines.

To keep and send in accurate statistics within the required time limits.

Person Specification

Essential

Essential

• Diploma, Degree or MSC in Speech and Language Therapy

Essential

Essential

• Registered Member of the Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists

Essential

Essential

• Health Professions Council Registration to Practice

Essential

Essential

• Experience of working in school settings.

desirable

Desirable

• An ability to speak a non-European language - especially Turkish or a West African language.

Essential

Essential

• Evidence of successful completion of short courses and other CPD in clinical area

Essential

Essential

• Experience of working with children who have speech, language and communication difficulties, including using high and low tech AAC approaches and a total communication approach.

Essential

Essential

• Experience of working with children with physical difficulties and/or learning difficulties

Essential

Essential

• Experience of carrying out assessment and differential diagnosis including complex disorders

Essential

Essential

• Experience of prioritisation of therapy and own workload

Employer details

Employer name

Whittington Hospital NHS Trust

Address

Riverside school

White Hart Lane

London

N22 5QJ

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

220-WHT-2422