Speech and Language Therapy Assistant

Job overview

Ealing Community Partners: NHS, Ealing Council, voluntary and specialist providers working together to deliver health and social care for the people of Ealing

We have one full time and one part time position available as a Speech and Language Therapy Assistant within the Mainstream Schools Team. This post involves supporting a large team of therapists with administration tasks and resource-making as well as carrying out clinical work under therapist supervision.

Ealing Speech & Language Therapy Department offers a wide range of opportunities for continuing professional development, and is committed to providing excellent levels of support and supervision. You will work as part of the Ealing Services for Children with Additional Needs.

The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.

Main duties of the job

Ealing SLT Team works across Primary, Secondary and Special schools as well as Community Clinics and Children's Centres, providing a range of services to children aged 0-16 years and their families. The post holder will be involved in:

• General administration duties, e.g. filing, sending out appointment letters, answering phone calls, scanning and arranging training
• Making materials to be used in therapy
• Working with individual children and small groups of children under the supervision and guidance of a Speech and Language Therapist
• Supporting Teaching Assistants in schools to run clinical groups, under the supervision of a Speech and Language Therapist
• Supporting and being involved in summer groups

Training will be provided, but the post holders are required to have excellent communication skills, proven administration and IT skills and to be effective team workers. The post holder should also have an interest in and experience of working with children and young people.

The role involves a combination of on site visits to schools, admin time at the main base as well as some time spent working from home after school visits.

Interview date: TBC

Working for our organisation

Keeping children and young people's education, health and well-being at the centre of decision making to achieve the best possible outcomes.

Ealing Speech & Language Therapy Department feel strongly that Continual Professional Development is central to the delivery of the service and the development of the staff who work within it. The department offers a wide range of opportunities for CPD and is committed to providing excellent levels of support and supervision such as; shadowing opportunities, peer support groups, supervision sessions, journal clubs, specialism groups and whole department training days.

We are fortunate to work in Ealing, one of the most ethnically diverse boroughs in the UK, and we are striving to ensure our team reflects the communities we serve. We seek to ensure we are allies with our LGBTQ+ colleagues and families as well our neurodivergent colleagues and families.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Administrative:

• To assist and support SLTs in day to day admin tasks as requested which may include:
• Uploading reports/letters/programmes/assessments to System 1
• Support with discharge process on system 1 and archiving
• When required to type reports. minutes of meetings etc
• To collect and input statistical information as required
• To manage the administration associated with the following under the guidance of the Service Leads:
• Training for schools programme
• Buy-in School Service
• General Mainstream Information to be sent to Education settings and parents when appropriate and followed up via e-mail/post/phone call
• Other Admin needs associated with new or developing parts of the service
• To cover the duties of absent assistants as directed by Team Leaders
• To monitor stock levels of equipment, stocking up small storerooms as required and ensure documentation is maintained.
• To order equipment via eProcurement

Clinical:

• To prepare equipment for individual speech and language programmes as directed by the SLT
• To carry out routine work with clients in the following levels of input under the guidance and supervision of the School SLT:
• Universal (eg, Whole Class, Training of Others, coffee mornings)
• Targeted (Groups*/Training) *eg, running groups of 3/4 children with language difficulties and advising and monitoring staff regarding how to carry out programmes
• Specialist (1:1)
• To assist in the delivery of therapy sessions and recording of progress, with regular monitoring and progamme adjustment provided by the SLT. To follow/ carry out treatment plans for patients as prescribed by the therapist, observe general behaviour, ability and response of the patients and to document the information, reporting back to the appropriate therapist or manager of the team.
• Ensure patient documentation meets the standards set by the professional body in conjunction with Ealing Hospital NHS Trust standards of note keeping.

• To be responsible for own CPD, by attending:
• any in-service training days
• team meetings
• care-group or other clinical meetings as arranged.
• Ensure up to date knowledge of Information Governance
• To attend mandatory training sessions
• Continual Personal Development Programmes as agreed with Team Leaders
• To support SLTs in the placements of SLT Students in the following ways:
• Induction training for students
• Co-running groups/whole class/training sessions with students
• Feeding back to SLT re: students’ work when co-working with them

Person specification

Qualifications

• A Level standard or equivalent

Knowledge & Experience

• Computer literate with experience of Word, Excel, PowerPoint
• Experience of carrying out administrative tasks effectively and efficiently
• Experience with young children and families

• Experience of using health data system, e.g. System 1

Skills, Abilities and Attributes

• Strong organisational ability
• Ability to prioritise
• Ability to use initiative
• Creative and neat in preparing therapy materials
• Excellent communication skills including presenting information to different audiences (children, parents, school staff)
• Good telephone manner
• Understanding and calm in potentially difficult situations
• Ability to adapt to working in a number of different locations with a number of different therapists
• Good writing skills
• An interest in the work of the Speech and Language Therapy department
• Strong Computer skills
• Strong Time Management skills
• Good observational skills
• Strong team working ability

CNWL (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust) has almost 8,000 staff providing integrated healthcare to a third of London's population, Milton Keynes and areas beyond. We involve service users, carers, the public, staff and partner organisations in the way that we are run.

We’re proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME and people with disabilities to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.

We are recognised locally, nationally and internationally for providing high quality, innovative healthcare. We aim to employ only the best people, and our experts are frequently called upon to contribute to national health strategy and policy, and many models of our care have been adapted for use in other countries.

We offer a generous relocation package (subject to eligibility assessment) and flexible working options, including bank assignments for most roles. For more information on these and other benefits of working for us, see our Benefits, Reward and Wellbeing page

Become part of our team. We care for you as much as you care for others.

CNWL NHS Foundation Trust are committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices to protect children and vulnerable adults.

Due to the high response levels we receive for some vacancies, we may expire any of them prior to the advertised closing date and advise you to submit your application as soon as possible.

Our Agenda for Change employment contracts are subject to a contractual 13 week probationary period.

If you are offered a job, information will be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.