Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Job overview

This is a fixed term contract until October 2025

We would be happy to consider flexible or part time working.

If you are a first-class clinician with strong communication and interpersonal skills and enjoy working flexibly within various teams, we would love to hear from you.

With a strong ethos of clinical support and supervision, our dynamic team provides evidence-based advice, training and interventions to CYP, their families and education staff.

The Paediatric Speech and Language Therapy Service is a 0-19 service which assesses, supports, and provides therapy to children with speech, language, communication and feeding difficulties. We aim to provide services at a universal, targeted and specialist levels.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be responsible for the management of a specialist clinical caseload of children who have speech sound difficulties. S/he will work independently with access to more senior colleagues as needed, be responsible for supervision of more junior colleagues and a first point of contact for the schools they are working in for the service.

This post is suitable for a therapist with experience in the specialism or as a developing specialist post.

Working for our organisation

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health and social care organisation dedicated to providing high-quality care with compassion to improve the health and wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting and empowering them to lead a fulfilling life.

Our clinical teams deliver many NHS services, not only via inpatient and primary care settings, but also within the community. These services include children's, adult and older people's mental health, forensic and specialist mental health, learning disabilities, primary care and liaison psychiatry, substance misuse, social care, research and development.

To achieve our goal, we look to recruit high-calibre candidates who share our vision and values. As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all sectors of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including people with long term conditions and members of our ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ communities.

Please be advised we reserve the right to close adverts earlier than the closing date should we receive sufficient applications.

Regrettably, we cannot offer sponsorship for all our job roles. If you apply for a role that we cannot offer sponsorship for, unfortunately, your application form will be rejected from the process.

For further information on CPFT, please visit our website at www.cpft.nhs.uk

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

1. Manages own time and prioritises workload.
2. Manages caseload within departmental standards
3. Plans and delivers multi-agency training in consultation with lead therapist
4. Identifies appropriate assessment, intervention and management of children with complex speech, language and communication needs
5. Identifies needs of a specialist caseload
6. Modifies clinical intervention based on outcomes and assessment findings
7. Applies a range of communication strategies to support the child’s communication needs
8. Communicates complex condition specific information to carers, teachers, teaching assistants and other professionals.
9. Can be a member of multi-agency care teams
10. Provides training and support to others regarding the appropriate management and care of children

Person specification

Education / Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent in Speech and Language Therapy
• Registered Member of RCSLT
• Registered Member of HPC Evidence of successful completion of short specialist courses

Experience

• Experience working in community clinics and schools
• Relevant experience post registration
• Experience and evidence of working with children who have speech needs

Knowledge & Skills

• Well-established knowledge about developmental speech and language disorders
• Knowledge of assessment procedures relevant to the client groups
• Knowledge of a range of therapeutic interventions appropriate to the client groups
• Highly developed auditory perceptual skills and the ability to transcribe speech phonetically
• Excellent communication skills including the ability to convey sensitive or distressing information to parents/carers

Personal Qualities

• Good organisational skills including administrative ability
• Awareness of child protection issue

Other

• Ability to travel on a regular basis

Here at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) we are dedicated to providing high quality care with compassion. We deliver many of the NHS services that are provided outside of hospital and in the community such as physical, mental health and specialist services.

We are a health and social care organisation, offering a wide range of services, including:

• Integrated physical and mental health services for adults and older people;
• Specialist mental health and learning disability services;
• Children and young people’s mental health services;
• Children’s community services in Peterborough;
• Social care;
• Ground-breaking research

We strongly encourage applications from all sections of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including disabled people and members of our ethnic minorities and LGBTQ+ communities. For further information about our positive equality, diversity and Inclusion work, please visit https://www.cpft.nhs.uk/equalityanddiversity.

CPFT is looking to build upon its pool of temporary workers with Temporary Staffing Services (TSS). You will be asked at interview if you would be willing to register with TSS. This is an excellent opportunity for those looking to take on additional hours that are flexible around your personal circumstances.

Please be advised that in line with the WHO Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List, 2020 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust currently are unable to accept applications from overseas candidates whose country of residence is classed as a ‘Red List’ country.

Applicants who require entry into the UK will be required to provide a valid police certificate from the relevant authority from each country (except the UK) where the applicant has been present for 12 months or more, 10 years before the date of visa application, while aged 18 or over.

If you are successful at interview you will be subject to pre-employment checks, including a DBS (if appropriate), references and Occupational Health. To ensure a smooth process please bring all identity documents to your interview. A list of required identity documents will be attached to your interview invitation.

All communications will be sent to you via TRAC Systems. By applying for this post you are agreeing to CPFT transferring the information contained in this application to TRAC. If you are made an offer, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.