Therapy Assistant

Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Community Physiotherapy & Occupational Therapy Team at Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust.

You will be a compassionate, accountable individual who treats all colleagues, patients and service users with respect and seeks to deliver excellence in their role. You will share the Trust values and be committed to equality, diversity and inclusion.

You will be a key member of the Special Schools teams, who provide care to children with coordination difficulties, autism and physical disabilities. The teams are experienced, supportive, compassionate and forward thinking, and you will gain a wealth of knowledge, skills and experience through working with them.

We have a number of vacancies for therapy assistants within our community team to work within our special schools situated across the city. We have full and part time positions and we will consider flexibility for term time only working in certain positions.Working hours of this role is 28 hours a week.

Main duties of the job

• To provide specific skilled support work for the activities of qualified therapists by assisting in the assessment and treatment of children with severe and complex learning and physical difficulties within Special Schools.
• To work under the indirect supervision of a qualified physiotherapist or occupational therapist.
• To order and maintain and utilise therapeutic equipment.
• To assist in the running of a variety of exercise and rehabilitation sessions.
• To undertake appropriate administrative, clerical and housekeeping duties.

About us

Sheffield Children's is one of three independent, specialist paediatric hospitals in the country, providing dedicated healthcare for children and young people across community, mental health and acute specialist settings.

We have three overarching aims that set the direction for the Trust in our vision "to create a healthier future for children and young people."

• Outstanding patient care
• Brilliant place to work
• Leader in children's health

Our commitment to rewarding colleagues is demonstrated through our brilliant reward and benefits offer including; generous annual leave entitlement and pension scheme and access to salary sacrifice schemes such as cycle to work and lease cars.

We are committed to supporting colleagues from different heritages and lifestyles while at work. This is supported through the offer we have in place for flexible working and the three equality network groups we have in place. Colleagues are encouraged to join these groups and request flexible working

Job responsibilities

CLINICAL

• To provide a service in the Special School team either independently or in conjunction with qualified therapists and therapy assistant practitioners.
• To assist a qualified therapist in the physical and functional assessment and treatment of children from nursery to secondary school age.
• Following instructions from a qualified member of staff to independently execute a treatment programme with a child or group of children using a variety of treatment techniques e.g. exercise and postural management and using a range of assistive technology equipment.
• To be responsible for decision making during treatment following agreed protocols or guidelines from qualified staff.
• To recognise when a child needs re-assessing and / or treatment programmes need changing and communicate with qualified staff accordingly.
• To posses a basic understanding of illness and disability, safety issues, treatment techniques and the ability to analyse the effectiveness of treatment / intervention and the skill to refer back to a qualified therapist.
• To acknowledge any limitations in competence when accepting assigned duties from qualified staff.
• To prepare for and assist qualified professionals in a variety of clinics e.g. wheelchair and orthotic clinics.
• To assist a qualified therapist in the sourcing, assessment and ordering of therapeutic equipment.
• To be responsible for the transport and issue of small pieces of therapy equipment using own car, and to be able to demonstrate proof of insurance for this purpose.
• To be involved in maintaining equipment including basic safety checks and arranging for modifications and repairs.
• To be responsible for receiving and passing on information within the multi-disciplinary team. This includes the handling of confidential and occasionally sensitive information.
• To communicate effectively with children and families. This includes significant explanation of tasks requiring persuasion and encouragement which is appropriate to the age and understanding of the child. It may also require overcoming barriers to communication e.g. children with alternative means of communication or very limited communication or families whose first language is not English.
• To communicate effectively with other members of the multi-disciplinary team to aid clinical decision making.

PROFESSIONAL

• To undertake risk assessments on a daily basis, for example; work space, equipment, patients and self, using judgement skills to make the necessary adjustments in line with health and safety regulations.
• To accurately document and report basic data related to clinical observation, patient activity and equipment supplied.
• To comply with the Heath and Safety at work regulations and all other health, safety and security standards in accordance with Trust policies.
• To respect confidential information obtained during the course of duties undertaken.
• To be responsible for and maintain own continuing professional development.
• To participate in the departmental appraisal scheme and maintain a personal development plan/portfolio.
• To attend and participate in the Trust mandatory training plus departmental in-service training.
• To adhere to departmental and Trust policies and procedures.
• To research new technologies available e.g. computer software.

ORGANISATIONAL

• To manage own workload and priorities as delegated by the qualified staff.
• Keep the work area tidy, clean the therapy equipment regularly and ensure that no damaged or faulty equipment is used.
• To contribute to the development, implementation and promotion of departmental and Trust policies and procedures.
• To ensure effective use of time, resources, and organisational skills to promote an organised and efficient working environment.
• To undertake appropriate administrative and housekeeping duties to promote good practice and efficient organisation of the department.

Inclusive Recruitment & Selection

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and accurate data capture is an important part of that to ensure we are supportive and representative. Our aim is to ensure that all applicants can see themselves in the available categories on our application form, but we recognise that some of our data capture fields are not inclusive. We have flagged this with our system provider to ask for change.

We offer encouragement and active support to applicants with additional needs, including those from ethnic minorities, with disabilities and members of the LGBTQ+ community. If you wish to adjust any aspect of the recruitment process or wish to find out more about our recruitment & selection processes, please get in touch with our Recruitment Manager: Catherine.Gilbert7@nhs.net

We are continually reviewing our recruitment & selection process to support the long-term aim of Sheffield Childrens being a champion of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion. If you have any ideas for improvement, please get in touch with Catherine Gilbert at Catherine.Gilbert7@nhs.net

Trust Values

The Trust is committed to providing great quality patient care and keep children, young people and families at the heart of what we do by following our CARE values:

• Compassion leading by kindness and showing empathy, understanding and respect
• Accountability striving to do the right thing and owning responsibility
• Respect value differences, tackling inequality and fostering a culture of inclusion
• Excellence delivering a high-quality standard of care

Person Specification Qualifications / Training

• English and Maths to Grade 4 or Grade C at GCSE
• Level III RQF in Care (Physiotherapy Component) or equivalent.
• Manual Handling training
• Resuscitation / Life saving skills

Experience

• Significant experience of working with children and young people that has involved some responsibility and use of initiative
• Experience of working with children with disabilities
• Experience of working in Special Education

Knowledge

• Understanding of the impact of disability on children and their families.
• Disability equipment

Skills and Attributes

• Good communicator skills including use of tact and persuasion
• Able to work well within a team
• Good organisational and planning skills
• Good I.T. skills e.g creation of word documents and inputting data into spreadsheets
• Use of digital media e.g video camera
• High level of interpersonal skills
• Physically able to perform the duties of the post which includes manual handling
• Ability to work independently with support
• Access to a car for commuting between sites around the city and delivering small pieces of therapy equipment. Evidence of car insurance appropriate for this activity.
• Counselling Skills
• Sign Language e.g. Makaton or BSL

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.

Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust

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