Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Band 6
Job summary
Central Children's Speech and Language Therapy (Central CSaLT) in the north of West Sussex is looking for a Band 6 therapist to work in Dysphagia and Pre school Complex needs. ; Therapists work face to face in clinics, nurseries and family homes, we offer agile working with some remote sessions as well.
Our Clinical Leads are dedicated, innovative and highly motivated therapists who will be pleased to welcome you. If you are an enthusiastic, flexible and highly motivated Speech and Language Therapist with specialist skills in dysphagia and pre school complex needsthen we would love you to join our friendly and supportive team.
We are looking for an SLT with paediatric dysphagia competencies to undertake a brand new role. We have 0.6 sessions (3 days) working in our community dysphagia team supporting 0 - 19 year olds and 0.4 sessions (2 days) working in the pre school complex needs team.
The postholder would have support from the Strategic Lead for Paediatric Dysphagia alongside the wider dysphagia team andwill have the opportunity to further develop their clinical skills at a specialist level.
Main duties of the job
You will work as part of a supportive and friendly team to:
Assess children's speech language and communication and dysphagia needs (SLCDN) and the functional impact of these
Advise families and settings on how they can help reduce this impact and facilitate communication and eating and drinking 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 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.
About us
We are the main provider of NHS community services across East and West Sussex. Our 6,000 staff serve a population of 1.3 million providing essential medical, nursing, and therapeutic care to adults and children.
Our Trust vision is to provide excellent care at the heart of the community, helping people plan, manage, adapt to changes in their health, supporting avoidable hospital admissions and reducing hospital stay times.
We have opportunities for everyone across our wide variety of services including medical, clinical, support and corporate services.
Why work for us?

• Positive 2022 NHS Staff Survey results, scoring highly in compassionate culture & leadership, and staff wellbeing support
• Variety of working environments across the community, in patients' homes, within our community hospitals and bases across the county
• Supportive flexible working patterns such as: part time, flexi time, annualised hours, and flexi retirement options
• Excellent training and development opportunities
• Research opportunities
• Cost-effective workplace nurseries in Crawley, Hove and Brighton
• Thriving BAME, Disability and Wellbeing, LGBT+ and Religion and Belief staff networks
• Level 3 accredited Disability Confident Leader, committed to creating inclusive workplaces
• Veteran Aware Trust, achieving accreditation from Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA)
• Located in stunning Sussex, with easy access to the South Downs and the coast
• Access to a wide range of benefits and discounts for NHS staff

Job description
Job responsibilities
The 4 localities are managed by clinical service managers (SLTs) and each clinical team is led by a SLT clinical specialist. All staff have regular supervision sessions everyone is part of a clinical supervision group which meets every couple of months, and has 1:1 supervision with their line manager every 6-7 weeks. In addition to this, there are team meetings with a clinical element 6 times a year, clinical forums and a journal club.
The service has an electronic patient record system and benefits from excellent administrative support. The teams have access to a well-stocked resource bases as well as IT hardware and software to enable flexible and agile working.
As a large team (over 100 SALTs plus SALTAs and administrative staff) across 4 localities we have many opportunities for career development and it is often worth asking about the likely availability of additional sessions across the C-SALT team.
Central Locality covers large towns, Crawley (where Gatwick is situated), Horsham and Haywards Heath as well as remote rural villages in the Sussex countryside. We are within easy reach of London, Brighton and Gatwick with excellent transport facilities and varied lifestyle options. There are 48 of us in the team, including Admin staff and the Speech and Language Therapy Assistants.
Sussex Community Foundation Trust is genuinely committed to staff development - with access to training funds, frequent inhouse training and an open and forward-looking Quality Improvement team. We have Professional Lead posts for both Adult and Childrens SLT Services and work closely with our AHP colleagues on training and development. The Professional Leads sit outside the Operational Management of the teams, and can provide additional advice or supervision on professional matters, Governance and Standards
We strive to make new staff feel welcomed and included from their first day, you will have a comprehensive induction package, and a designated buddy to help you settle in, as well as a supervisor.
Relocation costs can be funded if successful candidate meets eligibility criteria.
As a therapist with two or three years experience you will be keen to work further develop your skills in your chosen specialist areas. You will work as part of a well supported team and be able to contribute your well developed skills to the efficient and safe running of your part of theservice. You will be able to support students, Speech and Language Therapy Assistants and NQTs/Band 5s and demonstrate resilience and early Leadership skills. You will actively seek opportunities to further your knowledge and skills.
You will;

• Assess children 's SLCN; advise families and settings; provide therapy individual and or group; direct/indirect; remote/face to face; train others; write reports and intervention plans; use outcome measures; contribute to data collection.
• Work as part of the dysphagia service clinical team to assess, diagnose, plan, deliver and implement appropriate support to meet the identified clinical needs of the child within all their contexts.
• Work collaboratively with and provide training, mentoring, and coaching to parents, carers, education colleagues as well as other professionals, ensuring a well-co-ordinated and effective dysphagia provision for the children and their families.
• Work alongside the wider dysphagia team to evaluate and measure outcomes ensuring best practice and positive experiences for service users and their families.
• Contribute to in-service training within the department and supported to deliver training to the wider multidisciplinary professional team.
• Work alongside highly specialist therapists across other disciplines with the opportunity to participate in service development to support implementation and delivery of an effective needs led service.
• Use SystmOne electronic notes
• Attend and contribute to Team and Locality Meetings
• Access, and provide, supervision
• Attend training and disseminate information
• Maintain a CPD log

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• Recognised degree in Speech and Language
• HCPC Registration
• Courses at a Specialist Dysphagia Practitioner level with babies and small children

Desirable

• RCSLT membership

Experience
Essential

• Experience of independently managing a clinical caseload
• Working in partnership with parents, teachers and other carers/support workers
• Experience of working within a relevant specialist area and developing specialist packages of care.
• Experience of working with dysphagia cases in children aged 1yr and up
• Inter-agency planning, consultation and working
• Experience of a range of caseload management and prioritisation systems

Desirable

• Working with dysphagia cases in under 1s

Knowledge and Skills
Essential

• Excellent interpersonal skills/oral & written communication
• Competent IT skills
• Well established knowledge of assessment tools relevant to client group
• Well established knowledge of a range of therapeutic interventions relevant to client group.
• Good negotiation, problem-solving and organisational skills
• Excellent analytical and reflection skills

Other
Essential

• Car owner/driver or suitable alternative

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.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details
Employer name
Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Crawley Hospital
West green Drive
Crawley
RH11 7DH
Employer's website
https://www.sussexcommunity.nhs.uk/work-with-us/ (Opens in a new tab)