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Job summary

Main area
Occupational Therapy
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 5
Contract
Permanent
Hours
  • Full time
  • Flexible working
37.5 hours per week (Mon – Fri 8.30-4.30)
Job ref
179-8151533-I
Employer
West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
St Helens House
Town
Ipswich
Salary
£32,073 - £39,043 per annum pro rata
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
18/08/2026 12:00

Employer heading

West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust logo

Paediatric Occupational Therapist

NHS AfC: Band 5

Job overview

Are you looking for an Occupational Therapy role working with children & families?

We are recruiting to a full time post in our Community Paediatric OT Service. The post holder will be based at the Child Development Centre in Ipswich , and cover community patches across a wider geographical area; much of the post holders working week will be spent working in the community.

We work with children from birth to 19 years  providing assessment, intervention and advice to promote inclusion and optimise the functional participation of children and young people in daily activities to enable them to achieve what they want, need and have the potential to do. We support and empower them and their families, and educate other professionals and agencies working with them.

As a member of the OT team the post holder will manage a caseload across nurseries, special and mainstream schools, the child’s home and clinics, working with children who have a range of disabilities and conditions. This will include an  initial focus on developing the skills   to  support children and young people  whose sensory difficulties have a significant impact on occupation and function. 

The successful candidate will join  our large and supportive  Occupational Therapy team using a person centred, occupation based approach,  committed to delivering high quality intervention.   

Ability to travel independently around a wide geographical area essential for this role.

 

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be based with other OTs in our busy and friendly office, and work with a multi-disciplinary team and other therapy services to deliver OT pathways and packages of care.

The post holder will:

  • Undertake Occupational Therapy assessments of children, and prioritise, plan and develop a programme of OT intervention using a client centred approach in accordance with our clinical pathways, and with supervision and support from an experienced therapist.
  • Set clear functional goals in consultation with parents/ teachers,
  • Empower parents and carers in understanding the nature of their child’s disability or dysfunction, the impact it has on behaviour and function and the activities and strategies they can use in the daily routines at home to develop their child’s play and functional abilities.

The successful applicant must have an OT degree and be eligible for registration with the HCPC. The post is subject to a DBS check.

Frequent Travel  across a rural area is essential  for this role so you must either hold a full, current driving licence and have access to personal transport or meet the mobility requirements of the role through other reasonable and suitable means. Public transport is limited in some rural areas. 

Working for our organisation

#BeKnown at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. By us. By our patients. By our community

We are a busy, friendly, rural NHS Trust providing high-quality care and compassion to more than a quarter of a million people across west Suffolk. We care for, treat and support people in hospital, at home and in various community settings.

The West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds provides acute and secondary care services (emergency department, maternity and neonatal services, day surgery unit, eye treatment centre, Macmillan unit and children's ward). It has 500+ beds and is a partner teaching hospital of the University of Cambridge.

Adult and paediatric community services, provided in collaboration with West Suffolk Alliance partners, include a range of nursing, therapy, specialist, and ongoing temporary care and rehabilitation, some at our Newmarket Community Hospital.

We do our utmost to achieve outstanding clinical outcomes for patients and our values of fairness, inclusivity, respect, safety and team work guide how we work and behave as a team.

With nearly 5,000 staff, from all over the world, we strive to make our organisation a great place to work. Whatever your role or ambition, we want to help you be the best you can be.

We promote a diverse and inclusive community where everyones voice counts and you can #BeKnown for whoever you are.

 

Join us. What will you #BeKnown for?c

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached job description and person specification for further details around the main responsibilities of the job role. 

Person specification

Personal Qualities

Essential criteria
  • Ability to handle children and equipment, frequently exerting moderate physical effort for long periods
  • Ability to cope with frequent exposure to distressing or emotional circumstances
  • Flexible approach to working hours and duties
  • Ability to travel to all rural locations to carry out post

Education & Qualification

Essential criteria
  • Degree or equivalent diploma in Occupational Therapy
  • HCPC Registration
  • Evidence of CPD
Desirable criteria
  • Membership of RCOT

Skills & Abilities

Essential criteria
  • Clinical experience including individual and group work
  • Assessment, planning, implementing, and evaluating treatment, complying with professional and service standards
  • Ability to work autonomously and set own priorities
  • Teamwork and effective communication/ negotiation skills
  • Ability to build effective working relationships with multi professional teams, children, and carers
  • Able to carry out moderate to intense physical effort through concurrent activities
  • Ability to analyse clinical, professional, and ethical issues and reflect and critically appraise own performance.
  • Ability to organise and respond efficiently to information.
  • Ability to cope working in emotional environments with parents/carers
Desirable criteria
  • Experience of supervisory role in clinical supervision

Experience & Knowledge

Essential criteria
  • Demonstration of clinical assessment and intervention knowledge
  • Knowledge, training, and experience of a range of treatment techniques and approaches
  • Experience within the NHS, education or social care system either as a therapist, student or other role.
Desirable criteria
  • Previous Band 5 OT or OT student experience within the NHS
  • Experience and working knowledge of children
  • Knowledge /experience of the impact of a child’s disability on occupational performance and the child’s family / carers

Employer certification / accreditation badges

NHS Pastoral Care Quality AwardDisability confident employerArmed 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.

Application numbers

Please note that this advert may close early if we receive a high number of applications.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Jane Dolan
Job title
Team Lead Paediatric Occupational Therapy
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
01284 741714
Additional information

Mobile: 07583 102747

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