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Job summary

Main area
Speech and Language Therapy
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 7
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Part time - 22.25 hours per week (N/A)
Job ref
334-CLI-7449273
Employer
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
National Autism Unit
Town
Beckenham
Salary
£53,751 - £60,651 per annum inclusive of HCAs pro rata
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
01/10/2025 23:59

Employer heading

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust logo

Speech and Language Therapist

NHS AfC: Band 7

 

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We deliver specialist services in the London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Wandsworth and Richmond.

We are committed to provide a high quality and specialist care to our service users and we are recognised for our care and treatment we provide. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’.

We launched our five-year strategy, Aiming High; Changing Lives  in 2021 together with Our Care Improvement System as our quality management system methodology  to make a positive impact on patient care, outcomes and staff experience. By joining SLaM, all staff will get the opportunity to be part of this exciting improvement journey supported with learning and development to harness everyone’s potential as change makers.

The trust recognises the unique and valuable contribution that people with lived experience of mental illness can bring to a role. We therefore welcome applications from people with lived experience and consider them as an asset to the Trust. 

Our Values

We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values and our promise to be caring, kind, polite, prompt, honest, listen and do what I say I’m going to do is at the heart of everything we do. When you join us, you’ll be part of something special.

As a Trust we are happy to talk flexible working.

Job overview

This Band 7 role is ideal for experienced Speech and Language Therapists with a strong background in autism and neurodevelopmental conditions. You will bring advanced clinical skills and a commitment to person-centred care, working both independently and collaboratively within a well-established multi-disciplinary team.

Based at the National Autism Unit, a specialist 15-bed inpatient service for autistic men with complex mental health needs, you will deliver a wide range of assessments and interventions. Your work will include direct clinical input, consultation, and training, all within a psychologically safe and inclusive environment that values reflective practice and diversity.

You will benefit from regular CPD, weekly Education and Research meetings, and opportunities to contribute to service development, research, and staff support initiatives. The role offers autonomy, variety, and the chance to shape best practice across the neurodevelopmental pathway.

If you are passionate about improving communication outcomes for autistic individuals and want to work in a setting that supports innovation, learning, and professional growth, we welcome your application.

Main duties of the job

  • To provide specialist interventions including specialist assessment, treatment, planning, implementation and monitoring of outcomes.
  • To contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment.
  • To provide clinical supervision and consultation as appropriate.
  • To promote service evaluation, audit and research.
  • To work as an autonomous professional within registration body guidelines and codes of conduct, and guided by the policies and procedures of the service, taking responsibility for own work including treatment and discharge decisions with support of clinical supervisor
  • To offer training as required.
  • To be active in the provision of staff support within their area, including but not limited to Critical Incident Staff Support and Reflect-Support-Resolve. To participate, as a recipient, in staff support work when appropriate.

Working for our organisation

The National Autism Unit is a 15 bedded specialist inpatient unit, for men with autism and additional mental health and/or behaviours that challenge, who cannot be safely supported in the community.

Speech and Language Therapy is valued within this setting, and this post is an expansion of previous Speech and Language Therapy resource on the unit.

The National Autism Unit is accredited with the National Autistic Society and aims to not only offer best practice, but also to innovate to ensure the needs of autistic individuals with additional difficulties can be met.

The team consists of a range of professionals including Nursing, Psychological Practitioners, Occupational Therapists, Psychiatrists, Social Workers. The team is friendly and supportive and works closely together to ensure the best outcomes of the individuals we work with. 

The National Autism Unit is part of the wider neurodevelopmental pathway, which hosts other Speech and Language Therapists, with opportunities to engage in learning and development, including through our weekly Education and Research meeting. 

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

KR 1      Clinical and Client Care

·       To provide specialist assessments, formulations and interventions for individuals and their support network where the identified client has specifically Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

·       To provide culturally appropriate interventions with carers or families of referred clients when required.

·       To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans.

·       To provide reports, including relevant formulation, opinion and interventions, in order to inform referrers and, where appropriate, service users and their families.

·       To select and deliver evidence-based specialist interventions, drawing from a spectrum of ideas and models, monitoring outcome and modifying and adapting interventions as necessary, based on the highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, couple, family or group.

·       To promote support for carers (or families as appropriate) of referred clients.

  

KR 2      Contributing to team or service clinical functioning

·       To contribute to the effective working of the National Autism Unit.

·       To contribute to the team or service’s delivery of accessible and acceptable services to diverse local communities.

·       To be proactive in challenging discrimination and support the development of culturally competent services.

·       To liaise with referrers, GPs and other professionals concerned with clients in order to develop and review care plans.

·       To liaise with the service/s MDT and other professionals.

 KR 3      Policy and service development

·       To implement policies and procedures in own area of work, and to propose improvements or beneficial changes.

·       To contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities.

·       To contribute to service development through undertaking and participating in appropriate projects.

 KR 4      Care or management of resources

·       To take care of, and use carefully, the Trust’s equipment and physical resources.

·       To ensure that the post-holder has sufficient resources by estimating future needs and requesting or ordering supplies as needed.

·       To ensure the cleanliness and safe functioning and use of equipment that will be used by clients or other persons.

·       To monitor and advise clients on the safe use of materials and processes.

·       To ensure adequate confidential and safe storage for artefacts produced during the therapy process in line with professional guidelines.

·       To be responsible for obtaining, storing and maintaining all materials and equipment for the provision of therapy in work setting within budgetary constraints.

 KR 5      Management and supervision

·       To be responsible for the allocation and/or clinical supervision of the work of a paid assistant if required, under supervision from a more senior therapist.

·       To supervise trainees within own area of specialism after completion of the relevant Supervision Training.

 KR 6      Teaching and Training

·       To provide specialist training to other professions as appropriate.

·       To disseminate research/service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles.

 KR 7      Record-keeping and Information Governance

·       To ensure that all information generated by own work is recorded as required by Trust policies and local procedures.

·       To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry.

 KR 8      Research and development

·       To undertake regular complex service evaluation, audits or research relevant to service needs.

 KR 9      Maintaining professional standards and continuing professional development

·       To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a more senior professional according to discipline, professional body and Trust guidelines.

·       To maintain own Continuing Professional Development in line with professional body and Trust Personal Development Plan requirements and professional Standards for Continuing Professional Development. 

·       To maintain an up-to-date knowledge of current developments in professional and clinical practice and of relevant legislation and policies.

·       To comply with professional body Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics/Standards of Proficiency.

 

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • • Entry-level qualification in Speech and Language Therapy and demonstrable practice in this field (professional Doctorate, or combination of MSc plus supervised practice/additional training) that has been accepted for the purposes of professional registration.

Experience

Essential criteria
  • • Experience of assessment and treatment of clients with a range of needs of a complex nature
  • • Experience of working with individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions.
  • • Experience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities including experience of working within a multicultural framework. This may have been gained through work, research, volunteering and / or lived experience.
  • • Experience of multi-disciplinary working.

Knowledge

Essential criteria
  • • Knowledge of factors affecting acceptability and accessibility of mental health care.
  • • Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health issues, child and adult protection, and equalities.
  • • To select and administer specialist therapeutic assessments, interpreting and integrating complex data that require analysis, interpretation and comparison, drawn from several sources.

Skills

Essential criteria
  • • To communicate skilfully and sensitively complex and sensitive information with clients, carers and colleagues overcoming barriers to communication including sensory, and emotional difficulties, cultural differences and hostility to or rejection of information.
  • • Skills in providing teaching and training to other professional groups

Abilities

Essential criteria
  • • Ability to manage emotionally stressful situations such as working with victims of abuse or trauma, or with people who engage in severe self-harming or aggressive behaviour.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

London Healthy workplaceCapital Nurse, LondonNo smoking policyLondon Living Wage is a voluntary commitment made by employers, who can become accredited with the Living Wage FoundationImproving working livesMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Stonewall Silver 2022Disability confident employerStonewall equality policy. Equality and justice for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people.Armed Forces Covenant Bronze AwardHappy to Talk Flexible WorkingArmed Forces Covenant

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.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Dr Sophie Doswell
Job title
Consultant Clinical Psychologist
Email address
[email protected]
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