Speech & Language Therapist

The post holder will be responsible for the independent management of a clinical caseload of children in community clinics and mainstream schools in the Cambridgeshire area. The client group is children who have a range of difficulties in understanding and/or using speech and language. S/he will work independently with access to more senior colleagues as needed. A typical day involves:

• Speak to families about their child's needs
• Organising your time to independently manage a busy caseload
• Planning sessions
• Seeing children for assessment and therapy in schools, clinic and early years settings
• Note-writing
• Accessing supervision and support
• Reflecting on clinical practice, To independently manage a caseload of pre-school and school age children who have speech, language and communication difficulties.
To undertake a range of assessments, both standardised and non-standardised, taking account of medical, social and educational factors, in order to make a differential diagnosis To plan, deliver and evaluate intervention following professional guidelines and agreed service standards As part of that process, to be able to plan appropriate long term and short-term goals working towards discharge To undertake administrative duties connected with the caseload including maintenance of case notes and provision of written reports, following service standards To ensure that all work is carried out in close collaboration with all those involved in childrens care so that the approach to intervention and support is co-ordinated and comprehensive To identify when there is a need for a second opinion, referring to senior colleagues or SLT specialists as appropriate To make onward referral as appropriate To identify any variations to service delivery or demands and inform the Locality Co-ordinator and Area & Clinical Lead of the likely impact on the service Policy & service development To contribute towards policy, clinical governance and service development through discussion and involvement in projects as appropriate To be familiar with local and national standards and to work in line with these To ensure that parents/carers are aware of the standards they should expect from the speech and language therapy service Communication To ensure effective communication of complex condition-related information to parents/carers regarding the assessment process, assessment findings and planned intervention, including engagement of parents/carers in intervention To ensure children are involved in goal setting and decision making around their own care as appropriate to their age, developmental level and language skills To ensure parents/carers are involved in decision making around their childs care including discharge from the service To liaise effectively and work in partnership with other professionals (particularly teachers and teaching assistants), including the development of shared goals for intervention To write reports on children, in line with service standards, including contributions to statutory assessment To offer advice to others concerning support for individual children To actively contribute to case conferences/ review meetings for children on the caseload To recognise how and when information may be shared within the bounds of confidentiality and the Data Protection Act To attend SLT team meetings, actively contributing as appropriate Contribute to the Trusts internal communication strategies ensuring effective two-way communication and engagement within the organisation Contribute to the Trusts external communication strategies working with the Head of Communications to raise awareness and promote the reputation of Trusts services. Patient and Public Engagement To contribute to ensuring that the Trusts responsibilities to engage and consult with patients and the public are met in line with statutory requirements Training To participate in training other professionals/ parents as appropriate To identify training needs in the multi-disciplinary team needed to support the care of children on the caseload To attend all Trust mandatory training People Management To supervise SLT assistants/ teaching assistants/volunteers as appropriate To mentor newly qualified SLTs providing support and contributing to induction with guidance from more senior colleagues To offer observation sessions for SLT students as agreed with the supervising therapist Maintaining own professional development and requirement to take part in appraisal and KSF process Research & Development Activity To maintain and update skills and knowledge in relevant areas To develop and monitor own clinical expertise in specialist area through planned CPD To participate in service audit and projects as agreed with the Service Lead To actively reflect on practice with peers and more senior colleagues to promote professional development and evidence-based decision making To be advised on developments in current practice by more senior colleagues Clinical and Practice Governance Observe and maintain strict confidentiality with regards to any patient/family/staff/records and information in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act. Any data that is taken/shared as part of a phone call or transported, faxed or transferred electronically must be undertaken with regard to the Trust Information Governance and Information Security policies. The post holder must adhere to the Trust risk assessment and risk management processes The post holder must adhere to infection control policies and procedures It is a condition of your employment that you are currently registered with HCPC and it is your responsibility to maintain your professional registration. Undertake mandatory training and any other training relevant to the role as required by East of England Community Health & Care NHS Trust. The post holder must participate in clinical and other audits as required Provide patients and their families /carers with information on standards they should expect from the team. Participate in clinical supervision on a regular basis. The post holder is required to participate in relevant emergency preparedness process for their team.

We're looking for a motivated Speech & Language Therapist to join our outstanding, dynamic and supportive service. We value our staff and are committed to improving the lives of the children we work with. Whether you're newly qualified or building early experience, this is your chance to grow your skills while making an impact every day. You'll work with a varied caseload, building relationships with children and families. You'll use evidence-based approaches, but also bring empathy, curiosity and creativity to every session. You won't be doing this alone; colleagues will check in, cheer you on and share their expertise. We're committed to your development, offering regular supervision, protected CPD time and opportunities to explore specialisms. To succeed you will be curious, flexible and have a passion for delivering needs-led, evidence-based speech and language therapy. The ability to work in a team and have a flexible approach to patient and service needs is essential.,
• Degree or equivalent in Speech and Language Therapy
• Registered Member of RCSLT
• Registered Member of HCPC, Experience working in community clinics (at undergraduate/post graduate level), Knowledge about developmental speech and language disorders
• Excellent communication skills including the ability to convey sensitive or distressing information to parents/carers
• Good problem solving skills, Appreciates the significance of safeguarding and interprets this accurately for all individual children and young people/vulnerable adults whatever their life circumstances.
  
  Rated 'Outstanding' by the Care Quality Commission, we are proud to provide high quality innovative services across most of the east of England that enable people to receive care closer to home and live healthier lives.
There's one reason why our services are outstanding - and that's our amazing staff who, for the seventh year running, rated us incredibly highly in the national staff survey. If you share our passion for innovative and high-quality care delivery, then please submit your application and join us on our exciting journey as a leading-edge specialist community provider. All are welcome to apply and our promise to you is a culture which prioritises staff engagement and development.