Children’s Occupational Therapy Assistant

Children’s Occupational Therapy AssistantAn exciting opportunity has arisen for a highly motivated and enthusiastic individual to join Gateshead NHS Foundation Trust Children's Occupational Therapy Service. If you are looking to further develop your skills in Occupational Therapy as a Therapy Assistant then this may be the post for you. The role would involve working with children with complex physical & sensory disabilities.There are opportunities for peer support, and participation in the Team In‑Service training, Clinical Supervision and participation in the local Appraisal system are well supported.Main duties of the jobYou will be delivering Occupational Therapy programmes throughout the Gateshead area in homes, schools, hospital and clinic environments. Working in the community enables you to gain experience of working with children from 0-19 years with varying levels of impairment and function, providing advice and intervention. Treatment modalities that you may participate in within this role includes specialist equipment clinics, sensory integration programmes, and group work . You will be required to lone work in this post. The ability to travel independently is essential, and a car driver with a full clean driving license is required.About usBased in the North East of England we provide a range of hospital and community health services from our leading facilities, including the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Blaydon urgent care centre and Bensham Hospital, all within Gateshead.Established in 2005, we were one of the first foundation trusts in the country and since then have consistently achieved the highest levels of care for patients.We now employ around 4,800 staff and currently provide 444 hospital beds across the Gateshead region.Our values should be the ‘golden thread’ which runs through everything we do - they are the core of who we are. Our five values can easily be remembered by the simple acronymICORE; Innovation, Care, Openness, Respect, Engagement.We have a number of staff networks including the BAME network, D-Ability network, LGBTQ+ Network and the Women’s Network, to challenge us and help us to constantly improve. Our armed forces network is one of our emerging networks.The health and wellbeing of our staff is one of our highest priorities, and we offer a range of support and initiatives as part of our ‘Balance’ programme balancegateshead.com to cater for our diverse workforce, so that your individual needs can be supported, allowing you a happy and healthy working experience with us.Job responsibilitiesMain Duties:Assisting qualified therapists in assessment and review appointmentsSupporting children and their families with strategies delegated by the occupational therapistSupporting children to undertake activities of daily livingAssisting with group sessions.Refer to job description and personal specification.Person SpecificationSkillsHealthcare knowledgeExcellent communication skills. The ability to converse at ease and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the posGood organisational skills.Therapy assistant experienceExperience2 years demonstrable, recent and relevant experience of working with children and young people.Clean valid UK driving licence / car driverExperience of working as a member of a team.QualificationsGood general education - to GCSE level or equivalent, including English and Maths at Grade 5Life‑Saving / Pool Rescue skills Participation in an appropriate inservice training programme.Disclosure and Barring Service CheckThis 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.Children's Occupational Therapy Team Lead #J-18808-Ljbffr