Job summary
- Main area
- Children's Speech and Language Therapy
- Grade
- Band 5
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 22.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 150-DJ2547-PC-A
- Employer
- Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- unit 5 the quadrant
- Town
- Lancing
- Salary
- £32,073 - £39,043 per annum pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 23/04/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Children's Speech and Language Therapist
Band 5
Job overview
The Children’s Speech and Language Therapy service has vacancy for a Band 5 therapist, the successful applicant will be part of our Special Schools team.
You will work with children within Special schools and will assess children, put together therapy plans, advise and train others as well as carrying out therapy yourself.
You will have a comprehensive induction period and be supported by friendly and experienced colleagues across the teams. Specifically, you will have regular supervision from a clinical lead. You will also have easy access to a buddy for those questions you feel you can't keep asking.
This is an ideal post to help you transition from NQT to therapist or to further develop a wide range of therapeutic skills to carry forward into your career. Well-structured supervision arrangements enable you to draw upon the wealth of experience within the wider team.
During your preceptorship year, clinical time will be reduced to allow a regular session for NQT 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
Main duties of the job
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 sechools 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.
Working for our organisation
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.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To assess and provide therapeutic input to children and young people with communication difficulties within special schools.
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 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
SCFT is committed to developing staff professionally - with access to training funds, frequent inhouse training and to staff Wellbeing with a range of resources and courses available within the Trust.
We also have equipment budgets which enable the service to continually improve resources for assessment and therapy.
As a large team (over 100 SALTs plus SALTAs and administrative staff across the Trust) 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 in West Sussex. If you think might be interested in working with us, why not get in touch?
Please see attached job description and person specification for more details.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Recognised Speech and Language Therapy Degree
- HCPC registration applied for
Desirable criteria
- RCSLT membership
Experience
Essential criteria
- Ability to communicate well with people with communication difficulties
- Relevant experience at undergraduate/post graduate level.
- Experience of using assessment tools relevant to client group
Skills and Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Knowledge of a range of appropriate therapeutic interventions relevant to children with speech/language and communication difficulties
- Experience of evaluating research material to identify efficacy of therapeutic methods
- Demonstrates good analytical and reflection skills.
- Good presentation skills, both written and verbal.
- Good organisational skills
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Application numbers
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Linda Tullett
- Job title
- Operational team lead
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01273265953
- Additional information
For more details of these posts, please see the accompanying documentation:
- job description and person specification
If you would like an informal chat with one of our clinical leads or team lead please contact us
Linda Tullett
01273265953
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