Detailed job description and main responsibilities

We are looking for a Speech and Language Therapy Assistant to work 22.5 hours over three days each week (Wednesday to Friday) based at Oxford Grove Family Hub. 

There will be an expectation to travel to other Family Hubs and Health Centres as well as nursery and education settings for outreach support.

The main responsibilities within this role include:

Patient care

• To deliver evidence based interventions to develop the children’s workforce to meet the needs of children who have transient communication and speech difficulties in order to ‘close the gap’.
• To implement appropriate strategies to facilitate and enhance communicative effectiveness devised by the supervising Speech and Language Therapist, alone and without direct supervision. These can be written and/or verbal.
• To implement individualised packages as directed by Speech and Language Therapist, ensuring efficient and effective quality care.
• To use own knowledge and initiative in the consideration of client’s needs and capabilities, and adjust programme levels accordingly within a range. 
• To adapt practice to meet the individual child and family circumstances, including due regard for cultural and linguistic differences.
• To develop skills in motivating children and/or carers to engage with services and/or in the assessment and intervention process.
• To overcome barriers to communication when working with children, young people and their families with the knowledge that some individuals will have significant difficulties with speech, language and communication; some will also have hearing impairments, autism and/or behavioural needs.
• To work in tandem with the Speech and Language Therapist to liaise with parents, relatives, carers and other professionals to provide a model of care which best addresses the clients’ needs.
• To observe assessment with the designated Speech and Language Therapist for discussion/ suggestion of ideas for further intervention.
• To work collaboratively with the Early Years workforce, around encouraging a shared philosophy regarding communication development and resolving any areas of conflict, generating possible solutions.
• To support the team to provide advice and training to others regarding communication development and/or the management and support of children with transient communication and speech difficulties. For example, Elklan and WellComm. 
• To counsel and give advice regarding the impact of the communication delays.
• To deliver evidence based interventions e.g. Parent and Child Interaction groups as directed by Speech and Language Therapist.
• To demonstrate empathy with carers and families, and colleagues, ensuring that effective communication is achieved particularly where barriers to understanding exist.
• To maintain up to date and accurate case notes in line with the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists’ (RCSLT) Professional Standards and local Foundation Trust policies and procedures.

Human resources

• To take part in opportunities for shadowing, mentoring and clinical supervision as well as contributing to support groups, peer audit.
• To contribute to the education/understanding of EYCLDS professional and non-professional staff groups in respect of the role by assisting the delivery of service training programmes.
• To explain the role of the service to visitors, students and volunteers.

Financial and physical resources

• To monitor equipment asset levels in own service area and request new resources as appropriate.
• To be responsible for the security, care and maintenance of equipment ensuring standards of infection control and safety are maintained – including equipment loaned to clients.
• To understand and implement procedures in relation to security of your working environment.

Information resources

• To share information with others, observing data protection guidelines.
• To gather activity data accurately and regularly ensuing the provision of such information promptly within local Foundation Trust guidelines.
• To comply with the maintenance of the Electronic Patient Record (EPR) in line with GDPR/Trust policies in relation to storage, retrieval and disposal of patient records and other confidential information.

Additional responsibilities

Planning and organisational tasks

• To manage and prioritise own workload in consultation with the Speech and Language Therapist.
• To work within defined service and national protocols/ policies and professional code of conduct.

 Policy/ service development and implementation

• To assume delegated tasks as requested by line manager, including participating in working groups.
• To be aware of and adhere to service and team plans and policies.
• To contribute to information gathering for the task of audits.

 Research and development

• To collect and provide research data as required as directed by Speech and Language Therapist.