Job Description

The Children's Speech and Language Therapy service has vacancy at Band 5 for a therapist seeking their first post, or an opportunity to extend their experience and skills further at this level. We can offer a 4 day 30 hours per week part time position (although there might be flexibility to make this full time or a minimum of 22.5 hours per week) based from our team hubs in Chichester and covering the areas to the south and west of West Sussex.



Our current vacancy offers the opportunity to gain a broad range of experience in Early Years Community Clinics and Mainstream Schools.



This is an ideal post to help you transition from student to therapist and develop a wide range of therapeutic skills to carry forward into your career. During your preceptorship year, clinical time will be reduced to allow a regular session for B5 development activities.

Please note:

Due to recent changes in UK immigration and visa rules, this role may not be eligible for Skilled Worker visa sponsorship. Applicants who do not currently have the right to work in the UK may not be considered. Candidates requiring sponsorship should review the eligibility criteria on the gov.uk website before applying to assess their eligibility for a Certificate of Sponsorship for this role.

Skilled Worker visa:

going rates for eligible occupation codes - GOV.UK

Health and Care Worker visa:

If you'll need to meet different salary requirements - GOV.UK



Our Speech and Language Therapy service is jointly funded by Health and Education and has a service specification that is broadly divided into Early Years and Schools. We use a universal, targeted and specialist approach focused on enabling the best possible communication between parents, carers and setting staff and the children and young people in their care.

You will work as part of a supportive and friendly team to:

Assess children's speech language and communication needs (SLCN) and the functional impact of these



Advise families and settings on how they can help reduce this impact and facilitate communication skills



Provide individual or group therapy, demonstrating to parents/carers and setting staff how they can use strategies and techniques



Train parents/carers and setting staff so that they are empowered to identify and manage their child's communication needs.



Write Reports and Intervention Plans, sharing information and setting targets with parents/carers and setting staff



Measure the success of your actions and report your outcomes



Maintain your clinical and professional development to be the best therapist you can be and progress in your career



Be part of clinical networks to ensure practice is evidence based and current.



We are the main provider of NHS community services across East and West Sussex, with 6,000 staff serving 1.3 million people. We deliver essential care to adults and children, helping them manage their health, avoid hospital admissions, and reduce hospital stays.



Our Trust vision is to provide excellent care at the heart of the community. We offer opportunities across medical, clinical, support, and corporate services.



Why work for us?

Positive 2023 NHS Staff Survey results, highlighting compassionate leadership and wellbeing Varied environments: community hospitals, patients' homes, and bases across Sussex Flexible working options: part-time, flexi-time, annualised hours, and flexi-retirement Excellent training, development, and research opportunities Cost-effective workplace nurseries in Crawley, Hove, and Brighton Active EMBRACE, Disability & Wellbeing, LGBTQIA+, and Religion & Belief networks Level 3 Disability Confident Leader and Veteran Aware Trust Beautiful Sussex location near the South Downs and coast

Our values -- Compassionate Care, Working Together, Achieving Ambitions, Delivering Excellence --guide everything we do.



We embrace diversity and encourage applications from all backgrounds, particularly from ethnically diverse, disabled, and LGBTQIA+ individuals. We aim to create an inclusive environment and support reasonable adjustments during recruitment.



This post may close early if sufficient applications are received.



To assess and provide therapeutic input to children and young people with communication and/or eating and drinking difficulties.



To manage a caseload independently and to manage service priorities and client needs.



To assist in the organisation of caseloads within the scope of the post with support from other speech and language therapists and/or relevant Clinical Lead, advising SLT Operational Team Lead of shortfalls and difficulties as they arise.



Manage clinical risk within own caseload, and generate strategies for caseload management.



Adapt practice to meet the individual circumstances, having regard to cultural and linguistic differences. Ensure that the child/young person and parent/ carers are involved in planning and decision making relevant to therapy intervention.



To provide accurate and timely statistics as required by Speech and Language Therapy and Sussex Community Foundation Trust



To provide all clinical practice in line with HCPC Standards of Proficiency and RCSLT clinical guidelines, ratified local policies and with due regard to evidence based practice.



Any other duties in line with the band and scope of the post



Please see attached job description and person specification for more details.