We are looking for an experienced Speech and Language Therapist to lead the Early Language Support for Every Child (ELSEC) programme in Islington.

Following a successful pilot in Barnet, the programme is now expanding to Islington and Enfield. ELSEC is a pilot project, funded by NHS England and the Department for Education, aiming to test the impact of early identification and support for children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) in Early Years and Primary settings.

You'll bring specialist SLT expertise to guide the implementation of ELSEC, a Department for Education-funded pilot running until March 2026 (with the possibility of extended funding). The programme supports mainstream schools in identifying and supporting children with SLCN. Working closely with the Clinical Coordinator, you'll oversee the delivery of universal and targeted support by a team of Speech and Language Therapy Assistants (SLTAs), aiming to build long-term confidence and capacity within schools.

The post holder will work in Islington within the Mainstream Schools SLT team. Islington is an inner London borough which is vibrant and diverse. We are renowned for being a friendly team committed to innovation and enabling a supportive and inclusive environment

To learn more about the programme, please visit the Department for Education website: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/earlier-support-for-speech-and-language-for-20000-children, The post holder will be responsible for developing and maintaining a high-quality, evidence-based service that is child-centred and collaborative, involving schools, families, and other partner agencies. A key part of the role involves supporting innovation in practice - trialling new approaches to improve the early identification of SLCN and increasing access to school-based support for children who need it.

Additionally, the post holder will provide supervision, support and training to two SLTA's, ensuring their work is aligned with the programme's aims and delivered to a high standard.

Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work.