Speech and Language Therapist (Band 6) Maternity Cover

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job Profile comprising Job Description and Person Specification

Job Description

Job TitleSpeech and Language Therapist

GradeBand 6

SectionSpecial Educational Needs

DirectorateChildren Services

Responsible to following managerBand 7 Speech and Language therapist and / St Georges MDA team

Responsible for following staffNA

Working for the Richmond & Wandsworth Better Service Partnership

This role is employed under the Richmond & Wandsworth Better Service Partnership. The overall purpose of Richmond & Wandsworth is to provide the highest quality of service at the lowest attainable cost.

Staff are expected to deliver high quality and responsive services wherever they are based, as well as having the ability to adapt to sometimes differing processes and expectations.

Richmond & Wandsworth Better Service Partnership aims to be at the forefront of innovation in local government and the organisation will invest in the development of its staff and ensure the opportunities for progression that only a large organisation can provide.

Job Purpose

To work collaboratively within a multi-agency advisory team under the direction of the Head of Service and Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist to provide support to education settings to best meet the communication needs of children and young people with Autism (ASC) and Social Communication Disorder (SCD). The therapist will be required to deliver high quality training to professionals and families. To deliver programmes of intervention and group work/support for children at home and in school/ EY setting. To work collaboratively and provide advice and support to multi therapy assistants.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

To demonstrate clinical expertise in assessment, treatment and management of Speech, Language and Communication difficulties particularly those on the Autistic Spectrum in preschool and school aged clients.

To provide appropriate intervention and evaluate outcomes

To seek support for more complex cases from management and highly specialist therapist and members of the multi-disciplinary team.

To plan, run and evaluate client/parent groups in accordance with clinical need

To set SMART targets that are in accordance with clinical need

Support Headteachers/ EY Managers to evaluate and develop whole setting provision to meet the needs of pupils with ASD/ SCD focusing specifically on supporting good communication

Provide specialist advice and support to practitioners in schools and early years settings in the development of good ASD practice across the setting

To deliver specialist training to schools/ settings, parents and carers and multi-agency professionals on a range of topics including PECS, Attention Autism, Social Thinking

Promoting and supporting a graduated response towards meeting the needs of children/ young people with ASC/ SCD through upskilling settings to enable them to meet the needs.

To have the knowledge and skills to support settings in providing a communication friendly environment

Providing individual social development support and advice where this is required.

Provide supervision and support to multi therapy assistants modelling / delivering programmes to parents/carers and settings

Take a multi-agency approach to assessment and direct input for children and their families at times of high need or change e.g. where a placement is at risk or at times of transition

Working as part of a multi-disciplinary team to advise, support and in some cases deliver a programme of evidence-based direct intervention including 1:1 and group work/support for children at home and school where it is identified that direct work is required.

To communicate and liaise with the schools and community speech and language team to ensure there are no gaps or overlap in support provided to children, families and settings.

To lead training sessions for parents/ carers and attend drop in sessions to provide individualised advice and support around communication needs

To contribute towards a Quality Assurance programme to ensure that services are rigorously evaluated in terms of quality and outcomes and that they continuously improve and are provided in response to childrens and young peoples needs

Communicate effectively with other services including but not limited to: Schools and Community Psychology Service, Early Help, CAMHS, Early Years hub, Special Needs Assessment Service, Early Years services, schools, further education settings

To keep appropriate and up to date records of the progress of children / young people using a range of IT systems (e.g. Mosaic and EHITS).

Contributing to EHCNA statutory processes where appropriate in line with the 2014 Children Act and 2015 SEND Code of Practice (including where necessary providing written contributions, attendance at EHCP Annual Reviews)

Contributing towards the MDA process where this has been agreed by the Head of Service.

To operate in a way which safeguards children and is fully compliant with Working Together to Safeguard Children and the London Child Protection procedures

To be accountable for own professional action and recognise own professional boundaries, seeking advice as appropriate, working within defined departmental and national protocols/policies and professional code of conduct

To undertake training including child protection training and constructively take part in meetings, supervision, seminars and other events designed to improve communication and assist with the effective development of the post and post holder

To share information and liaise with all teams within the Childrens Services division in a professional manner as appropriate to ensure schools and settings take a consistent approach in working with children

Generic Duties and Responsibilities

To contribute to the continuous improvement of the services of the Boroughs of Wandsworth and Richmond.

To comply with relevant Codes of Practice, including the Code of Conduct and policies concerning data protection and health and safety.

To adhere to security controls and requirements as mandated by the BSP policies, procedures and local risk assessments to maintain confidentiality, integrity, availability and legal compliance of information and systems

To promote equality, diversity, and inclusion, maintaining an awareness of the equality and diversity protocol/policy and working to create and maintain a safe, supportive and welcoming environment where all people are treated with dignity and their identity and culture are valued and respected.

To understand both Councils duties and responsibilities for safeguarding children, young people and adults as they apply to the role within the council.

The BSP will keep its structures under continual review and as a result the post holder should expect to carry out any other reasonable duties within the overall function, commensurate with the level of the post.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Strong understanding of autism and neurodiverse-affirming practices.
• Ability to deliver training to professionals and families.
• Proficiency in planning and implementing interventions for children and young people across various settings.
• Effective communication skills for engaging with families, children, and multi-disciplinary teams.
• Competence in supervising and advising therapy assistants.
• Organizational skills to manage responsibilities across two teams.

Desirable

• Able to establish effective partnerships with other organisations and agencies
• To demonstrate good negotiation skills across a range of issues
• Knowledge of principles of effective working with families and application to practice.
• Experience of operational caseload management for children with an ASC.

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree in Speech and Language Therapy
• Registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
• Familiarity with delivering clinical assessments and interventions.

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.

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

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils

Address

Town Hall Room 238

Wandsworth High Street

London

SW18 2PU

Employer's website

https://recruitment.richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)