Speech and Language Therapist

We are looking for an enthusiastic Speech and Language Therapist to join our team working within mainstream and generic special schools within Warwickshire. Current need is within the north/Rugby areas of the county. This vacancy is currently linked to the special school speech and language therapy team although we are looking to support including a rotation into the mainstream schools team for a period of time to give the post-holder a breath of clinical experience.

This is an exciting opportunity for a committed individual to join the children’s Speech and Language Therapy team working in Warwickshire. As a department we have a great reputation for both the support we offer staff and for the high-quality services we deliver. This includes national recognition for a number of initiatives. South Warwickshire University Foundation Trust has also been awarded an ‘outstanding’ rating by CQC.

You will be part of a supportive team and benefit from a mentorship programme, clinical supervision and on-going CPD opportunities. We are a large team, so there is always a great depth of expertise to support staff development.

To provide Speech & Language Therapy, including assessment, treatment and management, for a caseload of school age children within a designated geographical area/school.

Come and join a Trust rated Outstanding by the CQC. South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust have been rated as outstanding following our latest inspection by the CQC and we are recruiting new staff to come and help us improve even further.

We provide services across Warwickshire and beyond ranging from Hospitals in Warwick, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Royal Leamington Spa and Shipston-on Stour to Community Services across the county. We are a progressive, expanding organisation with great ambition around improving quality, integrating pathways and delivering high levels of productivity.

Our values can be summed up in one sentence. We are ‘Trusted to provide safe, effective and compassionate care’. Throughout the recruitment process you will be asked to think about how you demonstrate these values and how they impact on your work. It doesn’t matter what role you do, whether it is patient facing or not, we are all working in the same way with our values at the core.

Clinical Responsibilities

To exercise responsibility for a designated caseload of children.

**To use highly developed interpersonal skills to**:
Facilitate communication so that the needs of the child and family are central to the clinical process.

Play a pivotal role in ensuring effective joint working for children with communication difficulties and their families.

To prioritise own caseload and manage own workload effectively and efficiently.

To assess and analyse children’s speech, language and communication using specialist knowledge to select appropriate formal and informal assessments including standardised psychometric tests.

To formulate a diagnosis based upon assessment and case history information and information from family and other professionals.

To evaluate and make decisions about therapy options taking into account the child’s educational attainments, learning style and curriculum requirements.

To formulate a detailed individual management plan based upon relevant research and best practice.

To agree options in collaboration with all those involved in order to implement the individual management plan, which may include any combination of the following:
Therapeutic intervention with children individually or in groups (in school or clinic).

Programmes jointly planned and implemented with teaching staff.

Supporting others to implement programmes according to individual needs.

Providing advice on curriculum differentiation.

Providing advice on specific strategies to employ in the classroom and / or at home.

Advising referral to other professionals where indicated.

To provide demonstration / training on how to maximise communication opportunities for the individual.

To manage children’s behaviour and motivate them to achieve positive therapy outcomes including those who have severe/complex difficulties or who may be challenging.

To recognise potential conflict or breakdown in the above process and use negotiation and problem solving skills to reach agreement.

To communicate complex and specialist information to others by way of written reports and face-to-face discussions, adapting own communication style and content to the needs of the situation.

To form productive relationships with families, recognising the need for and ensuring sensitivity and care where:
There may be emotional stress.

Difficult or potentially distressing news to be given.

There are potential barriers to communication.

To contribute Assessment advice for and reviews of a child’s Education, Health & Care Plan under the provisions of the Children & Families Act and SEN Code of Practice (2014).

To attend Annual Reviews and termly reviews as required.