Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Senior Therapy Assistant

The closing date is 29 September 2025

Job summary

Our Acute Medicine Therapy team helps to assess and provide therapy and rehabilitation treatments to a wide variety of patients across our two main hospitals - the Northern General and the Royal Hallamshire. They work with patients on our wards with many different and often complex conditions, to help them recover from ill-health, and regain their strength, movement, and independence, so that they can return home as soon as possible.

Main duties of the job

As a Senior Therapy Assistant, you'll support senior members of the team to assess and care for patients, deliver therapy sessions, strength exercises and treatments, and help to assist and move patients. Following a period of training, you will take on your own caseload of patients under the supervision of qualified therapists, contributing more to care, treatment, and discharge planning. You'll also work with community services and other partners to ensure patients have the care, equipment and support they need to return home as soon as possible. You'll be a key member of the multidisciplinary team (MDT), attending handovers, supporting students and new starters, and carrying out a range of admin tasks to help keep the team running smoothly.

We provide excellent in-service training to support staff develop clinical and leadership skills. There's also the chance to get involved in service improvement, new innovations and much more.

We're proud to be a friendly, caring, and supportive team, who help each other to manage caseloads, deliver the best for our patients, and enjoy catching up over a social lunch, and the odd bake-off.

This is a highly rewarding role and will suit someone who wants to make a difference to others and is interested in therapy care.

About us

Further career development opportunities such as Band 4 Assistant Practitioners and Physiotherapy and Occupational therapy apprenticeships are offered. Whilst they are emerging roles within Acute Therapy Services, experienced gained in this role along with the appropriate qualifications are a great foundation to make the next step when an opening becomes available.

The team works seven days a week, and you'll be expected to help support weekend and bank holiday cover if required with a day off the following week.

You will be working for an organisation which values and respects all of its staff and the community it serves. The Trust is a leader in the NHS and research sectors and provides excellent benefits for its staff. This includes commitments to professional development but also many policies to support employees in balancing their personal and professional lives.

Details

Date posted

19 September 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£24,937 to £26,598 a year pa/pro rata for part time staff

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

190-0875-DIR

Job locations

Northern General Hospital

Herries Road

Sheffield

S5 7AU


Job description

Job responsibilities

Please view the attached Job Description and Person Specification documents for full details regarding this post.

When completing your application please ensure that you clearly demonstrate how you meet the role criteria.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please view the attached Job Description and Person Specification documents for full details regarding this post.

When completing your application please ensure that you clearly demonstrate how you meet the role criteria.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • GCSE Grade C /4 or equivalent in English or equivalent experience.
  • Technical qualifications to level 3 e.g. QCF3, BTEC, A Level in relevant health/healthcare subject OR Evidence of continuous development through formal and/or informal training in health/healthcare equivalent to Level 3

Desirable

  • GCSE Grade C/4 or equivalent in Maths
  • Health & Safety
  • Risk Assessment
  • First Aid
  • City & Guilds 7307 (teaching) or equivalent qualification/experience

Further Training

Essential

  • Experience of working with therapists as part of patient centred care

Desirable

  • Current knowledge & skills in therapy practice relevant to speciality

Experience

Essential

  • Relevant experience as an Occupational Therapy and/or Physiotherapy Assistant including successful completion of associated competencies Or Experience as a Clinical Support Worker/Health Care Assistant including successful completion of associated competencies

Desirable

  • Working in elderly/ rehabilitation/ medicine/ surgery/orthopaedic/ neurology specialities.

Special Skills/Aptitudes

Essential

  • Excellent interpersonal and team working skills
  • Able to communicate clearly both verbally and in writing
  • Able to maintain confidentiality
  • Ability to act on own initiative, organise work and manage multiple tasks
  • Calm approach to changing work situations
  • Ability to maintain accurate written records & statistics
  • Teaching ability
  • Able to motivate patients

Desirable

  • Comprehensive understanding of occupational therapy and physiotherapy in line with the role
  • IT literate
  • Competency in therapy practice

Other Factors

Essential

  • Flexible and reliable approach to working practices
  • Positive attitude to patient care and teamwork
  • Ability to demonstrate commitment to the Senior Therapy Assistant role
  • Willing to work flexibly as service requires including evening/weekend
  • Willing to adhere to STHFT PROUD values
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • GCSE Grade C /4 or equivalent in English or equivalent experience.
  • Technical qualifications to level 3 e.g. QCF3, BTEC, A Level in relevant health/healthcare subject OR Evidence of continuous development through formal and/or informal training in health/healthcare equivalent to Level 3

Desirable

  • GCSE Grade C/4 or equivalent in Maths
  • Health & Safety
  • Risk Assessment
  • First Aid
  • City & Guilds 7307 (teaching) or equivalent qualification/experience

Further Training

Essential

  • Experience of working with therapists as part of patient centred care

Desirable

  • Current knowledge & skills in therapy practice relevant to speciality

Experience

Essential

  • Relevant experience as an Occupational Therapy and/or Physiotherapy Assistant including successful completion of associated competencies Or Experience as a Clinical Support Worker/Health Care Assistant including successful completion of associated competencies

Desirable

  • Working in elderly/ rehabilitation/ medicine/ surgery/orthopaedic/ neurology specialities.

Special Skills/Aptitudes

Essential

  • Excellent interpersonal and team working skills
  • Able to communicate clearly both verbally and in writing
  • Able to maintain confidentiality
  • Ability to act on own initiative, organise work and manage multiple tasks
  • Calm approach to changing work situations
  • Ability to maintain accurate written records & statistics
  • Teaching ability
  • Able to motivate patients

Desirable

  • Comprehensive understanding of occupational therapy and physiotherapy in line with the role
  • IT literate
  • Competency in therapy practice

Other Factors

Essential

  • Flexible and reliable approach to working practices
  • Positive attitude to patient care and teamwork
  • Ability to demonstrate commitment to the Senior Therapy Assistant role
  • Willing to work flexibly as service requires including evening/weekend
  • Willing to adhere to STHFT PROUD values

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Additional information

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Northern General Hospital

Herries Road

Sheffield

S5 7AU


Employer's website

https://www.sth.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Northern General Hospital

Herries Road

Sheffield

S5 7AU


Employer's website

https://www.sth.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Lead Therapist

Heather Rylance

Heather.Rylance@nhs.net

01142714332

Details

Date posted

19 September 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£24,937 to £26,598 a year pa/pro rata for part time staff

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

190-0875-DIR

Job locations

Northern General Hospital

Herries Road

Sheffield

S5 7AU


Supporting documents

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