Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist and Therapy Lead inWallington inWallington PUBLISHED 19 DEC 2023

1.

JOB SUMMARY:

• To take the lead role in the overseeing and delivery of occupational therapy support for pupils in one or more of the boroughs specialist provisions for pupils with a specific clinical need
• To contribute to multi-agency meetings and Annual Reviews, including tribunals as and when required
• To be responsible for the managerial and clinical supervision of a group of occupational therapists on the team
• To lead on service development in own specialist area and support the team to transition and develop a tiered Universal, Targeted and Specialist model of therapies delivery in the local area.
• Support the Head of Therapies and Principal SaLT/OT with service development and lead on specific projects for the wider therapies team.

1. 
   PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:
   

Duties to include:

• Developing strong working relationships with Head Teachers and SENDCos and staff in assigned educational establishments.
• Deal with any problems promptly which may arise in order to maintain good working relationships, and propose solutions to these

• Coordinate the work of the occupational therapy team within the assigned establishment/s including establishing appropriate therapy packages, deciding length of input and discharge arrangements.
• To lead on training of teachers and Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) to enable them to deliver carry-over work and to raise the profile of occupational needs in the context of wider training when appropriate.
• Maintain effective and proactive working with partner agencies to enable transition and support for specific pupils.
• To support the wider team to transition and develop a tiered Universal, Targeted and Specialist model of therapies delivery in the local area.
• Work with stakeholders and the team to achieve national and local targets/ outcomes.
• Take responsibility for the embedding of legislative change and key developments relating to improved outcomes for pupils with SEND.
• Participate in the evaluation of the effectiveness of intervention and models of service delivery, maintaining up-to-date knowledge of relevant clinical practice and research within the area of specialism and making recommendations on procedural improvements to enhance team performance.
• To be accountable for the achieving of clearly specified and measurable progress for pupils within these establishments and to provide outcome data
• Work with Cognus Speech and Language Therapists and the wider Cognus teams to provide a joint working approach.
• Provide managerial and clinical supervision for a group of Occupational Therapists / Occupational Therapy Assistants (OTAs) / Specialist Teachers / students within the team
• Oversee a group of therapists within allocated hubs including clinical governance.
• To complete clinical audits to review and monitor quality of practice of supervisees and wider team as required.
• Contribute to multi-agency meetings and Annual Reviews, including tribunals as and when required.

• Participate in department in-service training. To pursue an active programme of continuing professional development including feedback on any courses or conferences attended
• To meet regularly with the Therapy Leads and take ownership of service development and improvement
• To meet regularly with clinical and managerial supervisors for CPD, performance management and clinical and service development.
• To support the Head of Therapies in managing the Therapies budget and maximising outcomes from public money, modelling this stewardship to the wider team in financial decision-making
• To support Therapies traded income targets and, where possible, proactively seeking traded opportunities to support income generation and sustainability of the service. The specific traded projects will be agreed and delivered with oversight by your line manager.

Maintain own case load to include:

• Maintain full, accurate and timely records including case notes and reports, and ensure that these are delivered within agreed service standards.
• Preparation and delivery of individual therapy programmes based on initial assessment and current evidence based practice
• Evaluation and recording of pupil progress and maintaining of records to the requirements of Cognus Limited
• To facilitate appropriate management of caseload including negotiating appropriate therapy packages, length of input and discharge arrangements
• The post holder may also be required to work flexibly in local schools and colleges across the 4 to 25 age range, delivering complex service activities and managing caseloads to ensure intended outcomes are delivered within agreed service standards.

Highly

Specialist Paediatric Occupational Therapist and Therapy Lead (Band 7)

Salary:

£53,224.27 - £58,.24

(

FTE) per annum

We are seeking an enthusiastic highly specialist occupational therapist to join our friendly and supportive team in a leadership capacity. This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a dynamic team providing leadership and supervision to an allocated team of therapists within the service. This role will include own specialist caseload and supporting the team to deliver innovative and evidence based therapy interventions and an embedded model of therapy in order to best support the pupils needs.

Sherwood Park School is an all age foundation special school:

Sherwood Park Campus in Wallington, provides for pupils whose primary needs are profound and multiple learning disabilities and severe learning disabilities.

Sherwood Park School prides itself on its individualised, trans-disciplinary approach to learning; with the child/ young person and their family at the heart of our practice. We are dedicated to using strengths based, relationship focused, person-centred practices to support the learning and growth of our pupils. We aim to create a school culture and learning environment that facilitates the active engagement and participation of our learners, using motivating and meaningful activities that support the development of regulation, communication, social skills, cognitive abilities and life skills in preparation for adulthood.

• The ideal candidate will have:
• To take the lead role in the overseeing and delivery of occupational therapy support for pupils in one or more of the boroughs specialist provisions for pupils with a specific clinical need
• To contribute to multi-agency meetings and Annual Reviews, including tribunals as and when required
• To be responsible for the managerial and clinical supervision of a group of occupational therapists on the team
• To lead on service development in own specialist area and support the team to transition and develop a tiered Universal, Targeted and Specialist model of therapies delivery in the local area.
• Support the Head of Therapies and Principal SaLT/OT with service development and lead on specific projects for the wider therapies team.

Cognus Therapies is a thriving multidisciplinary team of Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, and Therapy Assistants who support children and young people in schools, colleges, bases and specialist settings within the London Borough of Sutton and surrounding boroughs.We work with children and young people with a variety of special educational needs, e.g. Autism, Hearing Impairment, Down Syndrome, Developmental Language Disorder, PMLD, MLD, Dyslexia and many more and encourage all our therapists to gain experience and expertise across a range of specialisms.