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Job summary
A secondment / fixed term opportunity has arisen for a Highly Specialist Speech & Language Therapist within the Early Language Support for Every Child project in Portsmouth City. Portsmouth is one of 9 NHSE & DfE funded Pathfinder sites across England implementing the ELSEC pilot programme.
You will be a source of specialist knowledge and provide a highly specialist Speech and Language Therapy Service to children and families accessing the ELSEC programme.
You will provide a lead role across the Service & Trust for a clinical pathway, working with Locality Leads and other Clinical Pathway Leads, providing clinical leadership, driving forward service development, maintaining standards and ensuring the provision of up-to-date evidence based care.
You will support and develop skills in others (within the NHS Speech and Language Therapy Service; speech and language therapy assistants, multiagency staff working in Portsmouth City, volunteers, students, collaborators) for developing early language and communication skills in children living in Portsmouth City.
You will understand and interpret the evidence base for intervention with families across universal, targeted and specialist areas.
You will work in collaboration with the Clinical and Operational Lead for the ELSEC programme, to devise, implement and analyse outcome measures to monitor the impact of the ELSEC project.
Main duties of the job
Be professionally responsible and accountable as an autonomous practitioner for all aspects of your own work including the independent management of children with speech, language and communication needs.
Demonstrate a clear understanding of speech and language therapy service role within the wider context of a child's education and other needs, as well as exercising professional judgement to manage risk appropriately in response to complex and unpredictable events.
Ensure a high standard of clinical care for the children under your management, adhering to agreed departmental standards, national protocols/policies and the Professional Code of Conduct and support less experienced staff to do likewise.
Use highly specialist clinical knowledge and experience to undertake the comprehensive assessment and differential diagnosis of children with at times complex developmental difficulties, requiring the ability to make highly specialist clinical decisions. Use highly developed analytical and interpretive skills to deal with a range of individual presentations and complex situations using information from multiple sources.
About us
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides joined-up mental and physical healthcare for around two million people across our communities. With over 13,000 staff working in the community and local hospitals, we deliver care at every stage of life, helping people live their best and healthiest lives.
Our mental health services include community-based support and early intervention in psychosis (EIP) for both adults and young people, alongside a network of specialist inpatient wards covering forensic, learning disability, eating disorder and older person's care.
We deliver extensive physical health services too, from urgent community response teams helping frail and older patients remain safely at home, to hospitals at home teams providing acute-level care in familiar surroundings. Our neurological services offer rehabilitation and treatment for conditions including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Motor Neurone Disease, Head Injury, Cerebral Palsy and Stroke. Across Hampshire, our community hospitals provide inpatient rehabilitation as a step down from acute care, and our dedicated teams also staff Treetops Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Portsmouth, offering expert, compassionate support.
Everything we do is underpinned by our CARE values of compassion, accountability, respect and excellence
Details
- Date posted: 13 July 2026
- Pay scheme: Agenda for change
- Band: Band 7
- Salary: £49,387 to £56,515 a year Please note for part time hours the salary will be pro rata
- Contract: Fixed term
- Duration: 6 months
- Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time
- Reference number: 348-CFS-11427
- Job locations: Portsmouth Civic Offices, Guildhall Square, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO1 2GJ, United Kingdom
Job responsibilities
Further information about the Trust and this role can be found on the Job Description and Person Specification document attached. It is important to us that we ensure our recruitment processes are accessible and inclusive to everyone - if as a potential candidate you are concerned a person specification may prevent or restrict your application for employment as a result of unintentional barriers on the grounds of your sex, race, age, sexual orientation, religion/belief or disability please initially contact the Trust's Recruitment team - detailed in the advert. The Trust will seek to resolve this issue wherever possible.
We are happy to talk Flexible Working - all requests for flexible working options can be discussed as part of the interview process.
Person specification
Experience
Essential
- Experience in paediatric therapy and working independently with children from clinical pathway
- Experience of working with a broad range of paediatric clinical impairments and disorders using a range of assessment methods as appropriate.
- Experience assessing and working with children and their families.
- Experience of clinical supervision of students and others- auditing own and others' clinical practice, in order to act on the findings.
- Experience of developing and delivering training.
Desirable
- Experience of advising / providing second opinions.
- Experience of developing case management skills in less experienced staff.
Qualifications
Essential
- Recognised Speech and Language Therapy degree level qualification or equivalent.
- Registered member of the Health and Care Professions Council.
- Registered Member of Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists/Licence to Practice.
- Evidence of maintenance of CPD in area of specialism.
Desirable
- Membership of relevant Special Interest Groups.
- To operate at the levels of Enhanced Practitioner indicated within this person specification.
- To demonstrate study at Masters level or equivalent experience which is equivalent. This should encompass the capabilities of an Enhanced Clinical Practitioner role and may include advanced training or qualifications relevant to the specialism.
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for ELSEC Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist with Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in Southampton, South East, England. It is listed as a Band 7 Speech and Language Therapist role. The advertised salary is £49,387 to £56,515 a year. The contract type is Fixed-Term. The application deadline is 26 Jul 2026.
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