Job summary
We are looking for an experienced, dynamic and highly motivated Occupational Therapist with experience of working with babies and young children with a range of complex needs and disabilities and who is committed to family centred practice and multidisciplinary working.
The post holder will be based within the Early Years Development Team (EYDT). The EYDT provides an integrated approach to the assessment, treatment, management and transition of babies and children under 5 with physical disabilities, neurological disorders or developmental delay. The EYDT provides Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Speech and Language Therapy and Dietetic assessment and intervention.
There is a strong focus on family centred practice, using an interdisciplinary approach to develop intervention programs that are meaningful to the child and family. The clinicians work in the child's natural environments, carrying out the assessments and interventions in the settings where the difficulties are observed. The team have strong links with colleagues in other teams and across Health, Education and Social Care.
We will offer you excellent training opportunities with a strong emphasis on individual performance appraisal, supervision and joint working, both within the team and across the wider Occupational Therapy service.
We are a friendly service which promotes equal opportunities and access for all.
Main duties of the job
- To be responsible for an allocated caseload of pre-school children with complex needs, providing high quality Occupational Therapy and effective case management.
- To monitor, evaluate and review interventions within an MDT framework, taking a lead professional case management role as indicated.
- To provide support and training for parents and other professionals
- To liaise with educational colleagues in order to undertake joint planning of targets and deliver staff training
- To supervise a Band 6 Occupational Therapist and support other colleagues and trainees as required.
- To have excellent communication skills and the ability to empathise in order to support and counsel parents to accept the implications of their child's additional needs. To communicate complex information effectively, taking into account the barriers to communication presented by the diverse caseload.
- To be skilled in working in and liaising with a multi-disciplinary and multi-agency team. An advanced level of expertise in the field of complex needs will reassure and instil confidence in clients, carers and other professionals.
- To be actively involved in planning, monitoring and implementing clinical service policies and patient care pathways and will participate in service development projects, keeping up-to-date with developments in paediatrics, undertaking audit to evaluate practice and participating in research projects as required.
About us
Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work.
Job description
Job responsibilities
To manage a caseload of pre-school children with complex needs.
To set treatment goals with children and/or their parents/carers that are child-centred and agreed by the child and/or their parents/carers.
To set and maintain very high standards of clinical practice, which is evidence-based where possible, using standardised assessment and outcome measures where appropriate.
To advise and teach parents/carers of children with physical disabilities on appropriate on-going Occupational Therapy management programmes.
To use comprehensive knowledge of other multidisciplinary roles and external agencies to ensure effective referral management and achieve best care for the child.
To have the ability, knowledge and skills required for moving and handling children at home, in nursery/school and in other community environments.
To devise and manage a specialised treatment plan individual to a childs presenting condition, through:
- Use of the PEO model
- Use of evidence-based approaches, eg CIMT
- Soft and thermoplastic splint provision and fabrication
- Education around sensory strategies
- Addressing relevant psychosocial issues
- The use of standardised and non-standardised assessments and clinical observations for a designated early years caseload in the clinic and the community.
- Equipment provision at home and at school, such as specialist seating, bath seats and others
- Individual and group interventions, in collaboration with the child, parent/carer, education settings and other health professionals.
To identify and assist junior staff, multi-disciplinary therapy assistants/technical instructors and other professionals in the management of complex cases.
See Job Description for full details
Job description
Job responsibilities
To manage a caseload of pre-school children with complex needs.
To set treatment goals with children and/or their parents/carers that are child-centred and agreed by the child and/or their parents/carers.
To set and maintain very high standards of clinical practice, which is evidence-based where possible, using standardised assessment and outcome measures where appropriate.
To advise and teach parents/carers of children with physical disabilities on appropriate on-going Occupational Therapy management programmes.
To use comprehensive knowledge of other multidisciplinary roles and external agencies to ensure effective referral management and achieve best care for the child.
To have the ability, knowledge and skills required for moving and handling children at home, in nursery/school and in other community environments.
To devise and manage a specialised treatment plan individual to a childs presenting condition, through:
- Use of the PEO model
- Use of evidence-based approaches, eg CIMT
- Soft and thermoplastic splint provision and fabrication
- Education around sensory strategies
- Addressing relevant psychosocial issues
- The use of standardised and non-standardised assessments and clinical observations for a designated early years caseload in the clinic and the community.
- Equipment provision at home and at school, such as specialist seating, bath seats and others
- Individual and group interventions, in collaboration with the child, parent/carer, education settings and other health professionals.
To identify and assist junior staff, multi-disciplinary therapy assistants/technical instructors and other professionals in the management of complex cases.
See Job Description for full details
Person Specification
Education/Qualifications
Essential
- Diploma or Degree in Occupational Therapy
- HCPC Registration
- Evidence of CPD/attendance at recent post graduate courses/training e.g Specialist Seating, Standardized Assessment, Administration, CIMT/bimanual therapy, splinting, OPC
Desirable
- Involvement in a relevant COT special clinical interest group e.g. RCOT-CYPF
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Specialist clinical skills e.g. splinting, sensory intervention, coaching
- Ability to communicate and present information, orally and in writing, in a clear and accessible manner and in line with local and national standards and policies
- Able to work collaboratively within a multi-disciplinary and multi-agency team, showing an ability to work autonomously, prioritising and organising own workload
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Extensive clinical experience working with babies and pre-school children with complex needs in the community
- Of a specialist range of assessment tools and procedures appropriate for babies and young children with complex needs
- Of a specialist range of therapeutic goal-based interventions relevant to babies and pre-school children with a wide range of needs including cerebral palsy, ex-prematurity and Down Syndrome, demonstrating the evidence base for these approaches
- Writing reports, including complex statutory assessment / EHCP advice
- Knowledge of specialist equipment provision and splinting
Desirable
- Supporting junior staff, students and assistants and providing clinical supervision to less experienced OTs
- Contributing to professional development and clinical education of people from non-health agencies eg teaching staff
- Experience of teaching others and presenting to a wide range of audiences
Personal Qualities
Essential
- Flexible
- Reflective practitioner
Person Specification
Education/Qualifications
Essential
- Diploma or Degree in Occupational Therapy
- HCPC Registration
- Evidence of CPD/attendance at recent post graduate courses/training e.g Specialist Seating, Standardized Assessment, Administration, CIMT/bimanual therapy, splinting, OPC
Desirable
- Involvement in a relevant COT special clinical interest group e.g. RCOT-CYPF
Skills and Abilities
Essential
- Specialist clinical skills e.g. splinting, sensory intervention, coaching
- Ability to communicate and present information, orally and in writing, in a clear and accessible manner and in line with local and national standards and policies
- Able to work collaboratively within a multi-disciplinary and multi-agency team, showing an ability to work autonomously, prioritising and organising own workload
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Extensive clinical experience working with babies and pre-school children with complex needs in the community
- Of a specialist range of assessment tools and procedures appropriate for babies and young children with complex needs
- Of a specialist range of therapeutic goal-based interventions relevant to babies and pre-school children with a wide range of needs including cerebral palsy, ex-prematurity and Down Syndrome, demonstrating the evidence base for these approaches
- Writing reports, including complex statutory assessment / EHCP advice
- Knowledge of specialist equipment provision and splinting
Desirable
- Supporting junior staff, students and assistants and providing clinical supervision to less experienced OTs
- Contributing to professional development and clinical education of people from non-health agencies eg teaching staff
- Experience of teaching others and presenting to a wide range of audiences
Personal Qualities
Essential
- Flexible
- Reflective practitioner
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.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
