Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust

(Graduating) Speech & Language Therapist

The closing date is 18 May 2025

Job summary

The Children's Speech and Language Therapy service has vacancy at Band 5 for a therapist seeking their first post, or an opportunity to extend their experience and skills further at this level. We can offer a full or part time position (a minimum of 0.6 WTE) based from our team hubs in Chichester and covering the areas to the south and west of West Sussex.

Our current vacancy offers the opportunity to gain a broad range of experience in Early Years Community Clinics and Mainstream Schools.

This is an ideal post to help you transition from student to therapist and develop a wide range of therapeutic skills to carry forward into your career.During your preceptorship year, clinical time will be reduced to allow a regular session for B5 development activities. Well-structured supervision arrangements enable you to draw upon the wealth of experience within the wider team.

For more details of this post, please see the accompanying documentation:

  • job description and person specification
  • "Day in the life"
  • Additional information

If you would like an informal chat with one of our clinical leads or the operational team lead, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Main duties of the job

Our Speech and Language Therapy service is jointly funded by Health and Education and has a service specification that is broadly divided into Early Years and Schools. We use a universal, targeted and specialist approach focused on enabling the best possible communication between parents, carers and setting staff and the children and young people in their care.

You will work as part of a supportive and friendly team to:

Assess children's speech language and communication needs (SLCN) and the functional impact of these

Advise families and settings on how they can help reduce this impact and facilitate communication skills

Provide individual or group therapy, demonstrating to parents/carers and setting staff how they can use strategies and techniques

Train parents/carers and setting staff so that they are empowered to identify and manage their child's communication needs.

Write Reports and Intervention Plans, sharing information and setting targets with parents/carers and setting staff

Measure the success of your actions and report your outcomes

Maintain your clinical and professional development to be the best therapist you can be and progress in your career

Be part of clinical networks to ensure practice is evidence based and current.

About us

We are the main provider of NHS community services across East and West Sussex. Our 6,000 staff serve a population of 1.3 million providing essential medical, nursing, and therapeutic care to adults and children.

Our Trust vision is to provide excellent care at the heart of the community, helping people plan, manage, adapt to changes in their health, supporting avoidable hospital admissions and reducing hospital stay times.

We have opportunities for everyone across our wide variety of services including medical, clinical, support and corporate services.

Why work for us?

  • Positive 2022 NHS Staff Survey results, scoring highly in compassionate culture & leadership, and staff wellbeing support
  • Variety of working environments across the community, in patients' homes, within our community hospitals and bases across the county
  • Supportive flexible working patterns such as: part time, flexi time, annualised hours, and flexi retirement options
  • Excellent training and development opportunities
  • Research opportunities
  • Cost-effective workplace nurseries in Crawley, Hove and Brighton
  • Thriving BAME, Disability and Wellbeing, LGBT+ and Religion and Belief staff networks
  • Level 3 accredited Disability Confident Leader, committed to creating inclusive workplaces
  • Veteran Aware Trust, achieving accreditation from Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA)
  • Located in stunning Sussex, with easy access to the South Downs and the coast

Access to a wide range of benefits and discounts for NHS staff

Details

Date posted

07 May 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 5

Salary

£29,970 to £36,483 a year per annum (pro rata)

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Part-time, Annualised hours

Reference number

150-CP1550-PC-A

Job locations

Bicentennial Building

Southern Gate

Chichester

PO19 8EZ


Job description

Job responsibilities

To assess and provide therapeutic input to children and young people with communication and/or eating and drinking difficulties.

To manage a caseload independently and to manage service priorities and client needs.

To assist in the organisation of caseloads within the scope of the post with support from other speech and language therapists and/or relevant Clinical Lead, advising SLT Operational Team Lead of shortfalls and difficulties as they arise.

Manage clinical risk within own caseload, and generate strategies for caseload management.

Adapt practice to meet the individual circumstances, having regard to cultural and linguistic differences. Ensure that the child/young person and parent/ carers are involved in planning and decision making relevant to therapy intervention.

To provide accurate and timely statistics as required by Speech and Language Therapy and Sussex Community Foundation Trust

To provide all clinical practice in line with HCPC Standards of Proficiency and RCSLT clinical guidelines, ratified local policies and with due regard to evidence based practice.

Any other duties in line with the band and scope of the post

Please see attached job description and person specification for more details.

Job description

Job responsibilities

To assess and provide therapeutic input to children and young people with communication and/or eating and drinking difficulties.

To manage a caseload independently and to manage service priorities and client needs.

To assist in the organisation of caseloads within the scope of the post with support from other speech and language therapists and/or relevant Clinical Lead, advising SLT Operational Team Lead of shortfalls and difficulties as they arise.

Manage clinical risk within own caseload, and generate strategies for caseload management.

Adapt practice to meet the individual circumstances, having regard to cultural and linguistic differences. Ensure that the child/young person and parent/ carers are involved in planning and decision making relevant to therapy intervention.

To provide accurate and timely statistics as required by Speech and Language Therapy and Sussex Community Foundation Trust

To provide all clinical practice in line with HCPC Standards of Proficiency and RCSLT clinical guidelines, ratified local policies and with due regard to evidence based practice.

Any other duties in line with the band and scope of the post

Please see attached job description and person specification for more details.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Recognised Speech and Language Therapy Degree
  • HCPC registration applied for

Desirable

  • RCSLT membership

Experience

Essential

  • Ability to communicate well with people with communication difficulties
  • Relevant experience at undergraduate/post graduate level.
  • Experience of using assessment tools relevant to client group

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

  • Knowledge of a range of appropriate therapeutic interventions relevant to children with speech/language and communication difficulties
  • Experience of evaluating research material to identify efficacy of therapeutic methods
  • Demonstrates good analytical and reflection skills.
  • Good presentation skills, both written and verbal.
  • Good organisational skills

Other requirements

Essential

  • Car owner/driver or suitable alternative
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Recognised Speech and Language Therapy Degree
  • HCPC registration applied for

Desirable

  • RCSLT membership

Experience

Essential

  • Ability to communicate well with people with communication difficulties
  • Relevant experience at undergraduate/post graduate level.
  • Experience of using assessment tools relevant to client group

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

  • Knowledge of a range of appropriate therapeutic interventions relevant to children with speech/language and communication difficulties
  • Experience of evaluating research material to identify efficacy of therapeutic methods
  • Demonstrates good analytical and reflection skills.
  • Good presentation skills, both written and verbal.
  • Good organisational skills

Other requirements

Essential

  • Car owner/driver or suitable alternative

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Additional information

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Bicentennial Building

Southern Gate

Chichester

PO19 8EZ


Employer's website

https://www.sussexcommunity.nhs.uk/work-with-us/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Bicentennial Building

Southern Gate

Chichester

PO19 8EZ


Employer's website

https://www.sussexcommunity.nhs.uk/work-with-us/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Operational Team Lead

Rebecca Stainton-Ellis

rebecca.stainton-ellis@nhs.net

01273696011

Details

Date posted

07 May 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 5

Salary

£29,970 to £36,483 a year per annum (pro rata)

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Part-time, Annualised hours

Reference number

150-CP1550-PC-A

Job locations

Bicentennial Building

Southern Gate

Chichester

PO19 8EZ


Supporting documents

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