Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Job summary

This role has a starting salary of £40,761 per annum, based on 36 hours per week across 42 weeks a year (equivalent to a Band 6 NHS post) pro-rata to £43,996. Part-time hours will also be considered.

Are you an enthusiastic qualified Speech and Language Therapist with two years experience who would like to develop your skills in Autism? If this is you, we can offer an exciting opportunity to join our skilled, supportive, and solution-focused team.

Rewards and Benefits

• We pay your RCSLT membership and HCPC fees
• Flexible and hybrid working
• Comprehensive clinical supervision programme including regular 1:1 meetings with your line manager, a buddy, an extensive in-house training programme and formal external training opportunities, access to clinical effectiveness groups, case study groups, specialist focus groups (like Placement Educator, or Leadership skills), termly whole-team study days, and support to join and attend CEN's relating to practice
• Opportunities to develop management skills by taking on line management of Assistants or experienced Band 5 Therapists and taking students. Training and support is provided
• Generous local government salary-related pension and the option to join the car lease scheme
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme to support health and wellbeing
• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping
• Up to 5 days of carers leave per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave

Main duties of the job

The North East Surrey team is looking for a Lead Therapist to join the team at Linden Bridge School in Worcester Park, for children with complex social communication needs. You will work as part of a small team, including Therapists and Assistants, with support from a Team Lead with highly specialist skills, and will have the opportunity to develop line management and leadership skills. This post will be combined with your other clinical interests, including mainstream or dysphagia work.

Your main duties in the role of Speech and Language Therapist will include:

• Clinical decision making in conjunction with school staff around the level of support needed to achieve the best possible outcome for the children and young people on your defined caseload.
• Working with speech and language therapy Assistants, setting targets for the children and young people they are supporting, and monitoring the delivery and outcomes of their work.
• Assessment, advice and intervention for children with a range of speech, language and communication needs within your caseload. For children and young people on your caseload who are considered to have complex needs and where a joint multidisciplinary approach is essential to achieving the best outcome for these children and young people, you will be supported by your clinical team leader.
• Supporting junior members of the team, line managing others and taking on students. Contributing to and delivering training for schools and others in the team.

About us

The Speech and Language Therapy Service is part of Surrey County Council's local offer to support the special educational needs and disabilities of children and young people within mainstream schools and specialist provision.

This Service is part of the Inclusion & Additional Needs Team in Surrey's Children, Families and Lifelong Learning Directorate, and as such works collaboratively with other teams such as Educational Psychology, Specialist Teachers and SEN teams. The Surrey SLT service is a large team of both qualified Therapists and non-qualified Therapy Assistants.

We have excellent supervision and CPD models plus a rolling in-house training programme; we are committed to continuous learning and development. We are a forward thinking service and were involved with the RCSLT and Reading University around the dysphagia competences linked to student placements.

We aim to deliver the right support at the right time, through assessment and intervention; equipping families and professionals with the skills and resources to work together to support children with SLCN. We offer universal, targeted and specialist support for children, families, and the school workforce; working with children and young people with EHCPs and those at SEN support following Surrey's Graduated Response. We also have a specialist dysphagia service and specialist deaf service.