Speech & Language Therapist

Permanent, Part Time (0.6 FTE)

As a College, we believe that young adults should be respected and have their individual choices, needs, and aspirations reflected in the educational opportunities made available to them. We encourage independence in all our learners and support them to achieve their full potential through a high-quality curriculum to develop skills in living, work, community, and communication. These skills are planned to reflect the individual learners' Educational and Health Care Plan target outcomes.

The therapy department at South Thames College Group embraces a neurodiversity affirming, strength-based approach, rather than an impairment-based and medical model approach. This means that we accept, validate, and learn from a student’s developmental differences and aim to provide support and accommodations that affirm their neurodivergent identity, rather than thinking that the individual needs to be fixed or cured of their neurotype.

As our Speech and Language Therapist, you will play a vital role in supporting learners to access the curriculum of their choice. You will be supporting students and the teaching teams to manage their communication, social, and behavioural strengths and needs in a range of different environmental settings.

You will carry out holistic Speech and Language Therapy assessments and person-centred interventions that will support learners to access and develop their functional skills across the curriculum. You will understand the impact of communication difficulties on a person’s function and behaviour and support learners' teaching teams to transfer skills developed at the college to the learners’ home environment and community/work settings.

We’d like our Speech and Language Therapist to hold a degree or equivalent qualification in Speech and Language Therapy and be registered with the Health Professions Council. We’d like you to have experience of assessing learners with Learning Disabilities and Autism, both formally and informally, and have experience of devising and implementing evidence-based intervention for learners with different communication profiles.

You’ll be comfortable with writing reports and support plans/communication guidelines for a range of audiences and needs and have some knowledge of AAC and communication/learning strategies for this client group. Membership of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists is desirable, as is an awareness of the principles of Positive Behaviour Support.

The post is primarily based at Merton College; however, you may be required to travel to and work from other STCG sites.

The successful candidate will be eligible for any increase in salary as a consequence of the annual cost of living review that is implemented in the new academic year.

Closing date for the return of an online application form is 4th September 2024.

The benefits package includes generous annual leave of 37 plus up to 8 additional days over Christmas/New Year, as well as an additional 5 days Wellbeing leave to enhance employees’ physical and mental health. This leave is all in addition to Bank Holiday entitlement. There is an excellent pension scheme that receives a significant financial contribution from the employer (Teachers Pensions or Local Government Pension Scheme), subsidised sports facilities, professional development and training, plus a salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme.

South Thames Colleges Group is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults.

As outlined in the Public Sector Equality Duty of the Equality Act 2010, we are committed to equality of opportunity for all staff and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, and marriage and civil partnerships.

As part of our due diligence checks on prospective employees, successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced DBS check, satisfactory references, an online search, and proof of eligibility to work in the UK.

The South Thames Colleges Group is made up of Carshalton College, Kingston College, Merton College, and South Thames College, which merged on 1 August 2017. South Thames Colleges Group is one of London’s largest providers of post-16 education and training and is an ongoing and significant contributor to its local communities. We aim to put students’ success at the heart of everything we do.

We are looking for hard-working and collaborative people who can join our team and help challenge our students to progress and achieve.