Speech and Language Therapist

To provide Speech & Language Therapy, including assessment, treatment and management, for a caseload of school age and/or pre-school children within a designated geographical area/school., 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.
To liaise with other professionals and teams in a consultative capacity in relation to management of individual children and attend and contribute to meetings involving parents and other professionals (e.g. case conferences, Annual Review of Statement, etc.
To undertake workshop sessions for parents (including evening sessions) as required.
When sufficiently developed within the Band 5 post, to supervise and support SLTAs in undertaking programmes for individual children on caseload.
To work with other members of the team and members of other teams to achieve seamless, co-ordinated service provision.
To support the lead SLT in the development and provision of training / teaching packages for LA staff.
To work collaboratively with a range of multi-disciplinary and multi-agency professionals to provide high quality SLT services for children with speech, language and communication difficulties.
To act as named therapist for designated schools, providing an information and advisory service both in relation to individual children and more generally in relation to communication issues related to children with special needs.
To liaise with SLT colleagues holding specialist caseloads.
To request advice / support and second opinions from more experienced / specialist colleagues when required.
To contribute to the team's development and provision of training packages for parents, teachers and teaching assistants.
To collaborate with LA support service teachers in the provision of training / teaching packages, as required.
To promote the role of SLTs to visitors, students and volunteers.
After 2 years in post, post qualification, to assist in the support of students from other professional groups as appropriate by providing discussion and observation experience.
To provide observation sessions for prospective SLT students.
To contribute to the development evaluation and monitoring of the team's operational policies including caseload prioritising decisions.
To utilise theory, evidence based literature and research to support evidence based practice.
To provide statistical information on own caseload, including activity and clinical effectiveness measures.
To participate in audit activities in the team and participate in audit in the wider speech and language therapy service, and within multi-disciplinary teams.
To participate in research in SLT team, SLT department or multidisciplinary teams, if required.
Professional
To maintain clinical and non-clinical standards and work within the policy frameworks laid down (e.g. N.H.S., Trust, Royal College of Speech and Language Therapist's, Health Professionals Council) through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes.
To demonstrate ability to reflect on own practice, identify strengths and development needs and achieve goals set for personal and professional development.
To participate in the development of innovative clinical practice through member ship of "working teams".
To keep abreast of national and local Education policies in order to contribute to team service development planning.
To disseminate newly acquired information to other team members.
To undertake specialised relevant training and extend postgraduate experience and knowledge in order to maintain and develop the skills and knowledge required of SLT working with school age children.
To be accountable for own professional action and recognise own professional boundaries, seeking advice as appropriate.
To participate in clinical supervision in line with Department and Trust policy.
To deal with initial complaints sensitively, avoiding escalation where possible.
To be flexible to the demands of environments including unpredictable work patterns, deadlines and frequent interruptions.
To be aware of and adhere to multi-disciplinary / multi-agency strategic planning and policy.
To contribute to SLT Department strategic planning and implement department policies, strategy and guidelines.
To advise managers on any aspects of service organisation that needs addressing.
To maintain highest standards of clinical records including up to date and accurate case notes, electronic data entry, recording and report writing in line with professional and Trust guidelines.
To monitor stock levels in own service area and request new equipment as appropriate.
To be responsible for the security, care and transporting of equipment ensuring standards of infection control and safety are maintained - including equipment loaned to clients.
To organise suitable accommodation in clinics / schools.
To organise and transport the assessment and treatment equipment required to work in locations. These may be unwieldy / heavy / bulky.
To work within a wide range of locations requiring careful calculation of driving time according to traffic and weather conditions in planning efficient work schedules.
To work within a wide range of environments with differing demands and expectation requiring the ability to modify personal and social approaches as required by environment.
To maintain the intense concentration required despite distractions., Sometimes we get a lot of applications for our roles. On those occasions we might close the job early. If you don't want to miss out we recommend submitting your application as early as possible.
The Trust use an Applicant Management System called TRAC which helps us manage the recruitment process. All communications regarding your application will come via TRAC (even if you applied via NHS Jobs).
Please check your TRAC account regularly and ensure your email is set up to accept messages so they don't go into your junk/spam folder.
We aim to shortlist all vacancies within 2 days of the vacancy closing, we will get back to all candidates ASAP.
Please ensure all sections of the application form are completed fully. Please particularly ensure that you provide full details of all referees including business email address, telephone contact details and postal address.
South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust is an equal opportunities employer who is committed to Equality and Diversity and does not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the grounds of any protected characteristic as defined by the Equality Act 2010.
All South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust sites are smoke free. We feel it's a great way to help our patients, visitors and staff stay healthy.
The Trust is part of a 'Foundation Group' through a strategic alliance with Wye Valley NHS Trust, George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust and Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. This partnership is great for the sustainability of all four organisations and allows us to share learning and maximise opportunities to ensure the delivery of high quality health and care services for our local populations.

South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust is one of the top performing organisations within the NHS. Our staff think this is a great place to work and we hope you will agree. We have recently been rated as 'Outstanding' by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following our most recent inspection.
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 whole county. This includes our Community Teams in North Warwickshire.
We are a progressive, expanding organisation with great ambition around improving quality, integrating pathways and delivering high levels of productivity. Over 6000 people work for the Trust and many of them have been here a long time. People find they don't need to go elsewhere to find a fulfilling career in healthcare.
The first thing you will notice about us is how we take our values seriously. We believe that our values underpin everything we do. If you are interested in a role with us you need to make sure our values match your own.
Our values can be summed up in one sentence. We are 'Trusted to provide inclusive, 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.
Probationary Period
All new staff to the Trust will be subject to a standard 6 month probationary period, the details of which will duly follow in your contract of employment.
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust is committed to creating and sustaining a positive and inclusive working environment for all our employees. Our aim is to ensure that employees are equally valued and respected and that our organisation is representative of all members of society. We define diversity as valuing everyone as an individual - we value our employees, job applicants, students, patients and visitors as people. This is reflected within our values of being Inclusive, Safe, Effective, Compassionate and Trusted.
Agile and Flexible Working
All our staff will have a work base. However the Trust operates as an Agile Working Team therefore staff may be working from home on a regular basis as required by the service. However, occasionally travel around Warwickshire and into your base will be required so access to your own transport would be helpful.
The Trust also welcome staff to work flexibly and we would welcome the conversation at interview regarding flexible working.
Staff Benefits
The Trust offer a wide range of additional benefits to staff. Anyone who joins us on a substantive basis can assess things such as the Lease Car Scheme, Electronics Scheme, Discounted Leisure and Travel, Cycle to work scheme amongst many others available.
Car Parking
The Trust have recently completed the construction of a multi-storey car park at our Warwick Hospital site which has allowed us to reduce waiting times for car parking passes.
To keep up to date on our latest recruitment activity follow us on twitter @swftrecruit or look us up on Facebook (Recruitment - South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust).

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.