Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist - Early Years

To provide specialist assessment and therapy for children under 5 with speech, language and communication needs. This will include multi-agency working and working closely with families and early years settings to build confidence and skills to enable children's needs to be identified and supported early at the right time and in the right place.

The role will involve leading on improvement projects and contributing to the development of the service we offer to children and families in Newham.

Theremay be opportunity to work one day a week within the autism diagnostic service (dependent on interest and experience).

Working within the Early Years Service you will hold a caseload of children under 5 who present with a variety of speech language and communication needs. This includes children with social communication differences, developmental language disorder, stammering and speech disorders.

The post-holder will manage their own caseload and will support more junior staff through supervision, competency development and annual appraisal. Part of the role will involve training education staff and other partner agencies within Newham. The role will involve managing shared team caseloads and jointly planning and allocating work equitably across the team. There will be opportunity tolead service improvement work along with audit and pathway development. The post holder will on occasion deputise for the Early Years 8a Clinical Lead.

The successful applicant will have relevant experience of working with children and families, especially where a diagnosis of autism has been given, in providing support within early years settings including writing EHC needs assessment reports and participating in annual reviews. Previous experience of autism diagnostic work is desirable but not essential.

Based at the child development centre, in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham, close to the Olympic Park in the heart of London's East End (with excellent transport links with the rest of London and Essex). The children's speech and language therapy service has a strong multi-agency work ethic with other services both within the trust and with partneragencies, and offers services across a wide range of care groups in the borough.

Education/ Qualification

Experience

Essential: - Relevant clinical experience; - Relevant specialist experience post qualification; - In-depth experience within specialist area

Knowledge and Skills