Job summary
- Main area
- Lead Occupational Therapist Inpatient Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 7
- Contract
- 12 months (Fixed Term)
- Hours
- Part time - 22.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 333-G-CA-1689
- Employer
- Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Collingham Child and Family Centre
- Town
- London
- Salary
- £58,133 - £65,261 p.a inc hcas pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 16/04/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Lead Occupational Therapist Inpatient CAMHS
NHS AfC: Band 7
CNWL (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust) has almost 8,000 staff providing integrated healthcare to a third of London's population, Milton Keynes and areas beyond. We involve service users, carers, the public, staff and partner organisations in the way that we are run.
Our catchment area spans diverse communities, with over 100 first languages spoken. It contains areas of great affluence as well as areas of much deprivation. We are committed to providing services that meet the needs of the people who use them, and we actively encourage involvement from local people who can help make a difference. We’re proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME and people with disabilities to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.
We are recognised locally, nationally and internationally for providing high quality, innovative healthcare. We aim to employ only the best people, and our experts are frequently called upon to contribute to national health strategy and policy, and many models of our care have been adapted for use in other countries.
We offer a generous relocation package (subject to eligibility assessment) and flexible working options, including bank assignments for most roles. For more information on these and other benefits of working for us, see our Benefits, Reward and Wellbeing page
Become part of our team. We care for you as much as you care for others.
CNWL NHS Foundation Trust are committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices to protect children and vulnerable adults.
Job overview
- To participate in the planning, development and evaluation of highly specialist
- Occupational Therapy services within Collingham Child and Family Centre and the wider CAMHs Service Line.
- To manage own workload and a defined clinical caseload of children with complex
emotional, behavioural and psychological difficulties, using evidence based and recovery
principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate treatment. - To lead, develop and manage the occupational therapy provision for children with highly
complex needs, using occupation focussed, evidence based and patient centred
principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions. - To lead the development and implementation of a recovery approach to care within the
service. - To provide clinical and managerial leadership for junior staff, through supervision and
appraisal within the CAMHs Service Line Occupational Therapy staff. - To contribute to the maintenance and development of the Trust Occupational Therapy
Service. - To offer occupational therapy/professional expert advice to Multi Disciplinary Team
(MDT) colleagues as required. - To ensure that practice placement opportunities are offered to occupational therapy
students. - To regularly supervise occupational therapy students on practice placement.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will provide specialist, evidence-based and culturally responsive occupational therapy assessments and interventions for children and young people as part of a multidisciplinary team. This includes undertaking comprehensive assessments of motor, sensory and functional needs using validated tools, applying advanced clinical reasoning to inform diagnosis, care planning and goal setting. Interventions will be delivered both individually and in groups. The role also involves monitoring outcomes, managing risk, contributing to Care Programme Approach processes, and supporting children’s access to education, physical health care and community resources, while promoting social inclusion and positive developmental outcomes. The post holder will work collaboratively with families, carers and partner agencies, providing consultation, training and guidance where appropriate. They will contribute to holistic care planning, including Education, Health and Care Plans, and ensure effective transitions between inpatient and community settings.
The post holder will demonstrate strong leadership skills by supporting the coordination and delivery of occupational therapy and multidisciplinary services within the unit. This includes supervising and supporting junior staff and students and leading on audits, service development and quality improvement initiatives.
Working for our organisation
Collingham Child and Family Centre provides a specialist seven-day inpatient service for children under 13 experiencing mental health difficulties that cannot be safely managed in the community. The service is dedicated to supporting recovery through evidence-based, multidisciplinary interventions within a family-centred and solution-focused framework. Families and carers are actively involved in all aspects of assessment and treatment, recognising their essential role in a child’s progress. A holistic approach underpins all care, addressing each child’s emotional, social, physical, and developmental needs while fostering their individual strengths and potential for change. The Centre also benefits from an on-site school, provided by Chelsea and Westminster Hospital School, ensuring continuity of education and supporting future learning needs. Collingham aims to provide a positive, therapeutic environment that promotes growth, resilience, and meaningful engagement within the wider community.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Clinical
To provide specialist, culturally appropriate, evidence based occupational therapy
assessments as part of a comprehensive multi professional assessment for children in order to establish and meet their occupational needs.
To provide comprehensive occupational therapy assessment of a child or young person’s motor, process and sensory development. To inform the
provision of advice and on-going intervention related to an individual’s therapy needs.
To select and use validated, evidence based standardised assessment tools (CAMHs/mental health & paediatric Occupational Therapy assessment tools)
To use expert clinical reasoning skills, to analyse and interpret complex assessment findings from both standardised and non-standardised assessments and a range of sources e.g. medical reports, Social Services and Education reports in order to assist with establishing an accurate diagnosis and prognosis as well as ascertain progress
potential and formulate uni-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary rehabilitation goals. This includes being able to analyse and interpret complex clinical and social information from a range of sources e.g. medical reports, social services and education reports, and integrate it appropriately into Occupational Therapy assessment, therapy plans
and Education Health Care Plan outcomes, where necessary.
To apply specialist clinical knowledge and skills to carry out evidence based occupational therapy both individually and in groups, which are underpinned by relevant theoretical approaches and in line with the Trust’s OT Research and development Strategy; to lead and supervise staff in this practice as required.
To lead, plan, implement and manage highly specialist individual and/or group interventions collaboratively, for children to enable them to achieve valued goals and satisfactory occupational performance outcome.
To support children and colleagues to ensure that care plans are developed in partnership with the individual and that they reflect ‘personal recovery’ goals. These should be strengths-based and oriented towards reinforcing a positive identity and developing valued and age-appropriate roles.
Leadership and Management
To provide a robust framework for the support and guidance to junior members of staff, especially in the absence of seniors, on a day-to-day basis and co-ordinate the day-to-day activities of junior staff, support staff and OT students as appropriate.
To manage the effective use of physical resources and supplies,
To participate in the delivery of CAMHS and Eating Disorders Service Line initiatives.
Service Delivery and Development
To ensure that all assessments and interventions comply with the identified package of care for the individual care clusters.
To safeguard the health, safety and welfare of the young person at all times.
To encourage and support MDT colleagues to practice within a personal recovery framework which supports social inclusion and self-management.
To contribute as a member of the multi-disciplinary team, to the delivery of operational service/team objectives.
To offer occupational therapy/professional advice to other MDT service colleagues as indicated.
To participate in the operational planning and implementation of policy and service development.
To contribute to the writing of local protocols with regard to specialist Occupational Therapy knowledge.
To review and implement existing policies impacting on CAMHS Occupational Therapy specific working practice.
To actively encourage user involvement and principles of co-production in service development.
Person specification
Essential & Desirable
Essential criteria
- 1. Degree/Diploma in Occupational Therapy. 2. Health& Care Professionals Council (HCPC) registered Occupational Therapist. 3. Evidence of an active interest in further professional development with CAMHS, Paediatric &/or Mental health specific workshops and short courses
- 1. Post qualification experience of working with children or young people with emotional and behavioural issues. 2. Experience in using a range of standardised OT assessments. 3. Experience of effective partnership working, with external providers, in promoting socially inclusive opportunities for children and young peoples. 4. Experience in managing resources e.g. financial, stock, equipment etc.
- 1. Specialist knowledge and application of OT assessments and interventions and outcome measures, relevant to client group. 2. Knowledge of safeguarding procedures. 3. Skills in producing timely, accurate and informative reports and notes. 4. Excellent communication skills i.e. written, verbal, listening and proficient use of up to date systems of communication i.e. IT systems, e-mail, fax, telephone etc.
- The post holder must have the ability to understand and implement National Policies, Equal Opportunities and the Code of Ethics at level appropriate to the job.
Desirable criteria
- 1. Post graduate training in Sensory Integration. 2. Practice Placement Educator’s Course.
- 1. Experience working within a CAMHS setting.
- 1. R&D experience at post graduate level. 2. Delivery of formal presentations and teaching sessions. 3. Experience in working with Information Systems 4. Experience in monitoring untrained staff and students
- Membership with the Royal College of Occupational Therapy (RCOT) and specialist sections.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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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
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Dr Bishop
- Job title
- Therapy Lead
- Email address
- [email protected]
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