Job overview

The Specialist Speech and Language Therapist will be based within the Westmorland and Furness footprint and will work integrated in the 0-19 service including Health Visitors and Child Development Practitioners. The post holder will support the service offer to families, and the promotion health, wellbeing and development of children. The post holder will develop training, interventions and pathways in order to promote evidence-based assessments and interventions which considers The Home Learning Environment to narrow the ‘word gap’ and promote school readiness.

Main duties of the job

To support Speech and Language Services to children in the Westmorland and Furness footprint of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust

·        The role will include working closely with both the 0-19 service and multi -agency partners to contribute to the development of family hub innovations, to support a system approach to group developments. Evidence based practice will be promoted across the system

·        The post holder will have extensive knowledge of SLCN in children between the ages of 0-19 and will share specialist knowledge around SLCN with colleagues and partners; the post holder will develop and deliver training to the service and partner agencies

·        The Speech and Language Therapist will promote best practice interventions to support early language development via the delivery of training and supervision to the Westmorland and Furness Healthy Child team.  The Westmorland and Furness 0-19 Healthy Child team will receive training in enhanced speech and language interventions and the Early Language Identification Measure assessments and interventions. The sharing of best practice and training will be extended to wider partners within the Westmorland and Furness footprint

·        A key role of the post holder will be to promote an integrated approach within the Westmorland and Furness footprint through the collaborative development of a School Readiness Pathway and the development of interventions and group activities which are tailored to needs. 

Working for our organisation

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust (HDFT) cares for the population in Harrogate and the local area, as well as across North Yorkshire, Leeds and parts of the North East. 

At HDFT we provide outstanding care to both our patients and our staff and we value Kindness, Integrity, Teamwork and Equality. If you’re looking for an interesting and rewarding career in the NHS, where you can make a real difference to patients’ lives, HDFT could be the place for you! 

We offer colleagues:

• A supportive culture so colleagues can bring their whole selves to work.
• Staff Recognition - as well as regular appraisals, we recognise achievements with our Making a Difference & Team of the Month Awards, along with annual Colleague Recognition Awards.
• Employee Support and wellbeing – we offer a wide range of staff benefits including an Employee Assistance Programme, counselling service and a fast-track Physiotherapy service. 

Please note:

• Due to high levels of interest, posts may close early if we reach a sufficient number of applications
• Visa sponsorship is only available for certain roles. Please ensure the role you are interested in meets the criteria for a visa before submitting your application. 
• Please also be aware that the Trust does not offer relocation packages for Agenda for Change roles.