Are you a newly-qualified Children's Speech & Language Therapist (SLT)? Or are you an experienced SLT looking for a new challenge? Then look no further!

Join our welcoming team where you will work within our integrated service alongside physiotherapists and OTs. You will have autonomy for your work as you will look after your own caseload, but will have the ongoing support from your team in the form of buddying, and formal and informal meetings.

We offer fantastic support to experienced and newly qualified staff, you will receive regular 1:1s and peer and group clinical supervision. For our newly qualified staff we will support you through the Newly Qualified competency framework! Within this role you will also have lots of opportunities to develop as you will have access to different clinical specialities and we will work with you to support your personal development.

I joined Solent during Covid-19 as a newly qualified therapist and relocated for the job. My team were so supportive in helping me to develop my clinical skills, sign off my competencies and also in terms of supporting my wellbeing. I receive regular clinical supervision and my colleagues have expertise in a variety of different clinical areas which has been really helpful when I need some advice and in developing my clinical skills. I know if I need support (clinical or otherwise), someone will be there to help. Band 5 Children's SLT

This is such an exciting time to join our evolving team. Join us to shape our SLT service!

Main duties of the job

This exciting and diverse role will include:

• To provide a Speech & Language Therapy Service to children and young people on the caseload, some of whom may have additional needs.
• To work as an autonomous practitioner, in collaboration with health and education staff, children/young people and their parents/carers.
• To deliver integrated specialised packages of care to children with a broad range of speech, language and communication difficulties. Clinical supervision from other members of the team will be available to discuss cases and share ideas.
• To train other healthcare professionals and staff from other agencies who work with children with speech and language difficulties, initially with support from an experienced colleague.

About us

Make a difference with us

If you are looking for somewhere you can make a real difference and are passionate about keeping people safe, well and out of hospital, a career with us may be just what you're looking for. At Solent NHS Trust, we strive to make a difference to the health and wellbeing of our communities.

We are proud to be an organisation which is focused on our people and we welcome people who share our values to come and work with us.

To deliver great care that is safe, simple and easy to access

To be a caring, flexible and supportive place to work

To deliver the best value for money

Our shared values support the development of a strong working culture. They breathe life into our organisation -- guiding and inspiring all of our actions and decisions. They enable us to be better at what we do and create a great place for our staff to work, whilst ensuring we provide the highest quality of care to our patients.

In creating our values, we spent time listening to our employees and members. Based on what people told us, we created our HEART values to reflect the deep belief that we are caring organisation at the centre of our community: Honesty, Everyone counts, Accountable, Respectful, Teamwork.

We are an accredited Real Living Wage employer.

We encourage and support our staff to be vaccinated as this remains the best line of defence against Covid-19.

Job description Job responsibilities

*To be an autonomous practitioner, professionally and legally responsible for all aspects of your work including the assessment, diagnosis, therapeutic intervention, and discharge of children on a designated caseload.

*To ensure a high standard of clinical care for the children under your management, adhering to agreed departmental standards, national protocols/policies and the Professional Code of Conduct.

*To use clinical knowledge and experience to undertake the comprehensive assessment and differential diagnosis of children with the full range of speech, language and communication difficulties, requiring the ability to make sound clinical decisions

*To formulate, evaluate and review individual SLT management and treatment plans using clinical reasoning skills and knowledge of diagnosis and a wide range of treatment skills appropriate to preschool and school aged children, working at all times in partnership with parents, school staff, and if appropriate the children themselves

*To demonstrate highly developed auditory, perceptual and analytical skills required for the assessment and management of children with a range of communication impairments

*To become competent in the management of children with feeding and swallowing difficulties, in line with Communicating Quality 3 and the Trust's Dysphagia Policy

*To enable others (e.g. parents, class teachers, learning support assistants) to deliver effective therapy programmes by identifying barriers to understanding and using highly developed persuasion, negotiation and teaching skills to gain consent, cooperation and develop competence

*To ensure that all children are enabled to communicate to the best of their ability within developmental guidelines, including the introduction and successful use of alternative and augmentative systems of communication where appropriate e.g. Makaton, high/low tech communication aids etc

*To effectively manage own caseload of children, including responding to urgent requests/referrals, prioritising clinical work and balancing other patient related and professional activities in accordance with service standards and patient needs

*To provide advice to school staff and other agencies including the voluntary sector on the development of policies and practice to facilitate communication, aiming for inclusion, socialisation and the maximisation of education for all children with speech, language and communication difficulties

*To maintain accurate and comprehensive case notes and records which would stand up to legal scrutiny and provide a full account of the child's care

*To ensure that all those involved in a child's care i.e. school staff, other professionals, parents are kept fully informed of the service provided and the progress made through the provision of regular and timely reports and input to the LEA Annual Review process

*To support the LA in fulfilling their statutory duty to meet the needs of each child in accordance with their Education, Health and Care plans. To provide professional advice on contentious cases, writing witness statements and attending tribunals if required, with the support and guidance of senior staff.

*To manage conflict, challenging conversations and potentially stressful, upsetting or emotional situations in an empathetic manner, avoiding escalation where possible, complying with the Trust Complaints Procedure at all times.

*To be able to work in a variety of environments including clinics, schools, playgroups and children's homes which will involve the necessity for on-site risk assessment and compliance with lone working guidelines

*To form productive relationships with others who may be under stress and/or having difficulty in accepting a diagnosis

*To employ appropriate strategies to manage children who may present with unpredictable and/or challenging behaviour

*To demonstrate a working knowledge of legislation and guidelines pertaining to the field of paediatrics and SLT including SEN procedures, Child Protection

Communication

*To demonstrate the ability to communicate complex and sensitive information in an understandable form to parents/carers, children, and other staff including imparting unwelcome news, dealing appropriately with their grief. To refer on for more specialist assessment e.g. to Paediatricians, as appropriate

*To communicate effectively and work collaboratively with colleagues in health and education to ensure delivery of a co-ordinated multi-disciplinary service. This includes attending case conferences, annual reviews where appropriate.

*To demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills, including observation, listening and empathy skills.

*To manage conflict and potentially stressful, upsetting or emotional situations in an empathetic manner being able to communicate clearly and calmly

*To deal with initial complaints sensitively, avoiding escalation where possible, complying with the Trust Complaints Procedure at all times

Person Specification Qualifications Essential

• Recognised Speech and Language Therapy degree level qualification or equivalent
• Registered member Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists
• Registered member of Health and Care Professions Council

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

449-TEAM3-1201