Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Are you passionate about working with Children and Young people in the mainstream setting? Do you have experience of working with Children and Young People with cognative neurodisabilities and/or Children and Young People who are neurodiverse? If so then this is the job for you.

An exciting oportunity has arisen to work as a Specialist Speech and Language Therapist as part of the Gateshead Children's Speech and Language Therapy Community Team ,with children in mainstream settings who have additional needs. We aim to ensure that developing children's speech, language, and communication needs is the golden thread that runs through all areas of their learning. We are looking to expand our mainstream schools team and this is an ideal oportunity for someone who is passionate about working in this field alongside their primary partners.
- To provide a specialist service (including assessment, diagnosis and implementation of specialist SLT strategies) for children (0-19) attending a mainstream setting who have cognitive neurological difficulties and/or are neurodiverse, and who have associated speech, language and communication needs (SLCNs).
- To liaise with and advise parents, School and Nursery staff and other Agencies/Professionals involved with children on the mainstream special needs caseload.
- To work with Educational staff and parents/guardians to integrate Speech and Language Therapy targets into all areas of a child’s learning.

Gateshead CSLT Service is part of the Community Business Unit for Gateshead NHS Foundation Trust. We are a small, innovative team who strive to provide an excellent service to the children and young people of Gateshead whilst supporting engagement with the service and being responsive to the changing needs of the population. The Community CSLT Team work alongside the Special Needs CSLT Team to provide assessment and therapy across the disciplines of Speech and Language Therapy.

We actively encourage and support continued professional development. Our aim is to provide therapists with a wealth of opportunities to develop their skills across a broad range SLCNs in order to secure skills to enable career progression. This is reinforced by the values based appraisal system across Gateshead NHS Foundation Trust.
- To provide a specialist service (including assessment, diagnosis and implementation of specialist SLT strategies) for children (0-19) attending a mainstream setting who have cognitive neurological difficulties and/or are neurodiverse, and who have associated speech, language and communication needs (SLCNs).
- To liaise with and advise parents, School and Nursery staff and other Agencies/Professionals involved with children on the mainstream special needs caseload.
- To work with Educational staff and parents/guardians to integrate Speech and Language Therapy targets into all areas of a child’s learning.
- To participate in research and audit in specialist area as required
- To work as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
- To analyse and evaluate personal clinical performance in a reflective manner to ensure continued personal and professional development and the maintenance of an up to date knowledge base.
- To provide appropriate clinical supervision and in-service training for speech and language therapy colleagues, assistants and students.
- To work with Trust policies and procedures that ensure patient safety at all times
- To work as a specialist practitioner within a multi-disciplinary team of an integrated workforce that is based in the community to meet the health needs of children in Gateshead
- Act as a clinical resource for members of the extended multidisciplinary team in their area of expertise.
- To act as a resource ensuring trained staff maintain their agreed level of competency within their scope of practice.
- To work in close collaboration with educational staff to provide an integrated approach to each patient’s specific difficulties.
- To provide excellence in clinical care and working to achieve the highest level of patient safety.
- To continuously develop the service and constantly strive to improve.
- To contribute towards service evaluation and demonstration of efficacy and efficiency.