Speech and Language Therapy Assistant

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

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 position available as a Speech and Language Therapy Assistant within the Early Years 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 and being involved in Easter and Summer holiday 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 Clinics, Children's Centres and admin time at the main base.

Interview date: TBC

About us

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.

Ealing Speech and Language Therapy department is a friendly team. We are committed to providing care and services which are inclusive and treat everyone with respect. We have a committed equality, diversity and inclusion group who are working to ensure we are an actively anti-racist team. 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.

Job 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 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.

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 Early Years SLT:
• Universal (eg, , 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 interventions at clinic (1:1, paired and small groups)
• To assist in the delivery of therapy sessions and recording of progress, with regular monitoring and programme 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.

Professional Development

• To be responsible for own CPD, by attending:
• any in-service training days
• 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 of using health data system, e.g. System 1
• Experience with working in services for young children and families

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
• An interest in the work of the Speech and Language Therapy department
• Good observational skills
• Strong team working ability

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

Early Years SLT Service Clinical Service Lead

£28,622 to £30,225 a yearper annum pro rata inc HCAS