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University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

Children’s Community Therapy Technical Instructor

The closing date is 16 February 2026

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Job summary

To undertake skilled support work implementing therapy programmes for infants, children and teenagers with Neurodevelopmental conditions, under the guidance of Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists.

To assist Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists in assessing children and implementing treatment.

To work unsupervised in the community in educational establishments in patients homes and the Children's Community Therapy Service basis liaising with parents and carers, teaching staff and other professionals.

***Preference will be given to internal Trust staff, as well as 'Priority' and 'At Risk' status including NHS At Risk staff throughout Devon who are able to display recent relevant experience as dictated by the Person Specification.***

Main duties of the job

  • Under the guidance of therapists to deliver effective holistic care for babies, children and teenagers with neurological, developmental and neuro-muscular movement disorders, including those with severe physical and learning impairments or disabilities and challenging behaviour.
  • To assist therapists to carry out assessments and contribute to the planning and delivery of appropriate treatment interventions, and evaluation of the child's progress towards therapy goals.
  • With support from the prescribing therapist, instruct and guide children and their families in a range of therapy treatments and interventions.
  • To treat children in a range of settings. This will include the Child Development Centre, special and mainstream schools, nurseries or home visits when clinically indicated. This will necessitate travel from venue to venue and lone working situations.
  • To work closely with partner agencies to ensure Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy treatment is fully integrated into a child's holistic programme.
  • To participate in safeguarding supervision and to be aware of and adhere to child protection procedures.

About us

We are a people business - where every member of staff matters and can make a difference. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Joining University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust means becoming part of a team of dedicated staff, who are committed to leading the way through innovation, clinical excellence and great customer care. The Trust has great opportunities for career development in a highly progressive working environment. We offer all of this in a vibrant, modern city with a historic reputation for adventure. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COMMUNICATION WILL BE ELECTRONIC, PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT REGULARLY. If you have any issues with applying online and need additional support including reasonable adjustments with the application process please contact the recruitment manager for this post who will put you in touch with the recruitment team. We recognise that work life balance is important for our colleagues and so we invite requests from applicants around less than full time/flexible working for our advertised roles. Please contact the recruiting manager to discuss this prior to your application submission. We commit to giving this full consideration in each case. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for our roles, as diversity strengthens our teams. It is sometimes necessary to close vacancies before the closing date. If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.

Details

Date posted

02 February 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£24,937 to £26,598 a year £24,937 - £26,598 Per Annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

216-LH-DA7696528

Job locations

Child Development Centre

Beacon Park Road

Plymouth

PL2 2PQ


Job description

Job responsibilities

Under the guidance of therapists to deliver effective holistic care for babies, children and teenagers with neurological, developmental and neuro-muscular movement disorders, including those with severe physical and learning impairments or disabilities and challenging behaviour.

To assist therapists to carry out assessments and contribute to the planning and delivery of appropriate treatment interventions, and evaluation of the childs progress towards therapy goals.

With support from the prescribing therapist, instruct and guide children and their families in a range of therapy treatments and interventions including the use of specialist seating and therapy equipment and the use and application of orthoses.

To set a high personal standard of work, to be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of own work, including the management of patients in your care.

To be responsible for maintaining accurate and comprehensive patient treatment records in line with local/Trust policy. To communicate appropriately with other disciplines.

To treat children in a range of settings. This will include the Child Development Centre, special and mainstream schools, nurseries or home visits when clinically indicated. This will necessitate travel from venue to venue and lone working situations. Lone worker policy must be followed.

To advise and support parents/carers and other professionals in meeting the needs of children on your caseload.

To work closely with partner agencies to ensure Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy treatment is fully integrated into a childs holistic programme.

To participate in safeguarding supervision and to be aware of and adhere to child protection procedures.

To prioritise and manage workload to ensure effective time management.

For further detail please see the attached JD & PS

Job description

Job responsibilities

Under the guidance of therapists to deliver effective holistic care for babies, children and teenagers with neurological, developmental and neuro-muscular movement disorders, including those with severe physical and learning impairments or disabilities and challenging behaviour.

To assist therapists to carry out assessments and contribute to the planning and delivery of appropriate treatment interventions, and evaluation of the childs progress towards therapy goals.

With support from the prescribing therapist, instruct and guide children and their families in a range of therapy treatments and interventions including the use of specialist seating and therapy equipment and the use and application of orthoses.

To set a high personal standard of work, to be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of own work, including the management of patients in your care.

To be responsible for maintaining accurate and comprehensive patient treatment records in line with local/Trust policy. To communicate appropriately with other disciplines.

To treat children in a range of settings. This will include the Child Development Centre, special and mainstream schools, nurseries or home visits when clinically indicated. This will necessitate travel from venue to venue and lone working situations. Lone worker policy must be followed.

To advise and support parents/carers and other professionals in meeting the needs of children on your caseload.

To work closely with partner agencies to ensure Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy treatment is fully integrated into a childs holistic programme.

To participate in safeguarding supervision and to be aware of and adhere to child protection procedures.

To prioritise and manage workload to ensure effective time management.

For further detail please see the attached JD & PS

Person Specification

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

  • Proven theoretical knowledge and demonstrable practical experience of child development.
  • Demonstrable experienced at working with children in multi-professional teams.

Desirable

  • Demonstrable experience of working with children with additional needs.
  • Demonstrable experience of engaging and motivating children and families in interventions.

Qualifications

Essential

  • Educated to GCSE Level 4-9 (A-C) including English and Maths.
  • Training undertaken or intention to train to NVQ 3 or equivalent in relevant rehabilitation and/or child development modules.

Desirable

  • Qualification in Information Technology to include Microsoft Word.
  • Health and safety and manual handling legislation/practical training.

Aptitude & Abilities

Essential

  • Demonstrate good written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to build working relationships with peers and multi agency professionals
  • Skilled in use of play/ engagement activities
  • Good organisational skills
Person Specification

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

  • Proven theoretical knowledge and demonstrable practical experience of child development.
  • Demonstrable experienced at working with children in multi-professional teams.

Desirable

  • Demonstrable experience of working with children with additional needs.
  • Demonstrable experience of engaging and motivating children and families in interventions.

Qualifications

Essential

  • Educated to GCSE Level 4-9 (A-C) including English and Maths.
  • Training undertaken or intention to train to NVQ 3 or equivalent in relevant rehabilitation and/or child development modules.

Desirable

  • Qualification in Information Technology to include Microsoft Word.
  • Health and safety and manual handling legislation/practical training.

Aptitude & Abilities

Essential

  • Demonstrate good written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to build working relationships with peers and multi agency professionals
  • Skilled in use of play/ engagement activities
  • Good organisational skills

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).

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).

Employer details

Employer name

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

Address

Child Development Centre

Beacon Park Road

Plymouth

PL2 2PQ


Employer's website

https://www.plymouthhospitals.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

Address

Child Development Centre

Beacon Park Road

Plymouth

PL2 2PQ


Employer's website

https://www.plymouthhospitals.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Community Paediatric Lead Physiotherapist

Laura Scawn

laura.scawn@nhs.net

01752439419

Details

Date posted

02 February 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£24,937 to £26,598 a year £24,937 - £26,598 Per Annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

216-LH-DA7696528

Job locations

Child Development Centre

Beacon Park Road

Plymouth

PL2 2PQ


Supporting documents

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