Specialist Speech and Language Therapy Assistant

The School-Aged Speech and Language Therapy Service is part of Surrey County Council's support for children with Additional Needs and Disabilities, working collaboratively in the Early Intervention and Prevention Service in Surrey's Children, Families and Learning Directorate, with other teams including Educational Psychology, and specialist teachers. We aim to deliver the right support at the right time, through assessment and intervention, and by equipping families and professionals with the skills and resources to work together to help and support children with SLCN. We offer universal, targeted and specialist support for children, families, and the school workforce, and work with children and young people with EHCPs (Education, Health & Care Plans) and those at SEN (Special Education Needs) support. The post will include a mixture of mainstream and specialist schools and centres. As well as working with children and young people under the direction of a Speech and Language Therapist, you will also spend a significant amount of time working autonomously within schools. As a Specialist Assistant you will take a lead role in the development and support of new or less experienced assistants in the team. You will be joining a supportive network of Speech and Language Therapy Assistants who meet regularly for learning and peer support. Your main duties in the role of Specialist Speech and Language Therapy Assistant will include:

• Working individually with a child/ young person within a school/college to deliver therapy, review progress and suggest new targets in liaison with the link therapist
• Giving feedback to parents on their child's progress
• Modelling strategies to school staff
• Problem solving with the class team around meeting children's needs
• Working with small groups, setting and reviewing group session plans
• Offering shadowing opportunities and peer support to less experienced SLTAs
• Leading Assistant meetings
• Taking part in, and leading on, project work relating to therapy assistants to develop the assistant team
  
  Experience of working with children and young people under the guidance of a Speech and Language Therapy team for at least 4 years
• Experience of working as an SLT Assistant in mainstream schools/colleges and specialist schools/specialist centres
• Evidence of working independently and flexibly
• Evidence of using a range of communication approaches used in Speech and Language Therapy in mainstream schools
• Strong IT skills
• Evidence of supporting others
An enhanced DBS 'Disclosure and Barring Service' check for regulated activity (formerly known as CRB) and the Children's and Adults' Barred List checks will be required for this role. Surrey has both urban and rural areas and staff will be expected to have a valid driving licence to drive in the UK, access to a vehicle and be willing to travel across a wide geographical area. Reasonable adjustments where needed will be made for successful applicants who have a disability or long term health condition to enable them to fulfil the requirements of the job. To apply, we request that you submit a CV and answer the following 2 questions:
• Have you worked as a Speech and Language Therapy Assistant in mainstream schools and colleges? Please give details.
• Have you been working under the guidance of a Speech and Language Therapy team for at least five years? Please tell us more about this experience.
  
  The East and West Surrey Schools SLT Teams are looking for full-time Specialist Speech and Language Therapy Assistants to join us and enhance our offer in mainstream schools, as part of the Experts at Hand programme ( ).
These posts have an actual starting salary of £32,111 per annum for 36 hours per week across 42 weeks of the year, pro-rata to £34,660. The role is term time, plus an additional 15 days per year. The role involves working in our mainstream schools, supporting children to meet their communication potential, empowering school staff to confidently support communication needs, and taking part in service development work. We have two positions available, one based in West Surrey with an office base in Weybridge (until March 2027) and one based in East Surrey, with an office base in Reigate. Our Offer to You
• Flexible working around core school hours with mobile and agile working solutions
• Comprehensive clinical supervision programme including a buddy, 1:1 meetings with line manager, extensive in house training programme and formal external training opportunities, access to clinical effectiveness groups, case study groups and an Assistants group, termly study days, encouragement to join and attend CEN's relating to practice
• A mixed and varied caseload across settings and age groups
• Termly themed study days for the whole SALT team
• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
• Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year
• Paternity, adoption and dependants leave
• A generous local government salary related pension
• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
• A chance to make a real difference to the lives of our residents