Specialist Speech & Language Therapist Rehab

Job summary

The Childrens Trust supports children and young people with brain injury and neurodisability to live the best life possible. From our national specialist centre in Tadworth, Surrey, and through our community services, we provide specialist rehabilitation, education, therapy, care and family support.

Our services include:

• Specialist rehabilitation for children with acquired brain injury
• A non-maintained special school, supported by residential provision for children with complex education, health, therapy and care needs
• Community-based clinical support for children and young people with acquired brain injury
• Online information and resources for families, including our Bumps Happen hub and publications.

Our Tadworth site provides a child and family-focused environment, including residential accommodation, therapy facilities, outdoor space and specialist equipment. We work closely with the NHS, local authorities and other partners to help children transition between hospital, home, school and community life.

The Childrens Trust is also the only paediatric centre with a national specialised commissioning contract through NHS England to provide brain injury rehabilitation for children with severe brain injury. Alongside this nationally commissioned work, our services are supported through local health, care and education funding, as well as voluntary fundraising.

Main duties of the job

The role of the Specialist Speech and Language Therapist is to provide a high quality, evidence-based speech, and language therapy across the organisation, which promotes the participation, function and safe care of children and young people accessing The Childrens Trust.

Your aim is to deliver child and family focused, goal led interventions supporting those with speech, language, communication, and feeding / swallowing needs, including children and young people with a tracheostomy.

You will also be embedded in our Multidisciplinary Team, delivering training across our services, both within the Trust and beyond.

About us

About Us

The Childrens Trust is the UKs leading charity for children with acquired brain injury, providing expert rehabilitation, education, therapy, and care at our national specialist centre in Tadworth, and to children and their families across the UK, via our Brain Injury Community Service.

Boasting a beautiful 24-acre site in Surrey, we are located just outside of London, close to the M25 (accessible via Junction 8, A217 to Tadworth) and easily accessible via National Rail, by way of: Clapham Junction, Sutton, and Epsom.

Staff Benefits

The work we do is highly rewarding, and in addition to an attractive salary, we offer a valuable range of benefits, including our staff flexible benefits platform, on-site nursery, free eye tests, enhanced Maternity and Paternity Pay, time out days for those experiencing menopause symptoms and time off for gender reassignment.

We also offer additional annual leave days for those with long service, with entitlements ranging from 35 to 41 days (including bank holidays) depending on your length of service.

Other benefits include free on-site parking; a staff shuttle service from Epsom and Sutton train stations to Tadworth Court, Car Scheme (subject to eligibility), subsidised cafeteria, on-site staff accommodation (subject to availability), the ability to retain your NHS pension (where applicable), or the opportunity to join an alternative scheme, and the opportunity to develop your career in a supportive environment.

Details

• Date posted: 04 September 2026
• Pay scheme: Other
• Salary: £44,485 to £52,521 a year Dependent upon experience inclusive of London weighting
• Contract: Permanent
• Working pattern: Full-time, Flexible working
• Reference number: B0474-26-0056
• Job locations: The Childrens Trust, Tadworth Court, Tadworth, Surrey, KT20 5RU, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

Clinical Responsibilities

• Provide high quality, evidence based and equitable speech and language therapy interventions for children and young people attending The Childrens Trust in partnership with other members of the multidisciplinary team.
• Devise suitable, individual, plans that fit within the childs daily routine, whether to be carried out by parents or members of the Multidisciplinary team; these should be monitored, evaluated, and adjusted appropriately according to the needs of the child.
• Facilitate involvement of family and carers in the rehabilitation process, including day-to-day therapy sessions, and the handing over of practical skills and care.
• Be an autonomous practitioner with responsibility for assessment, treatment and planning for an allocated caseload of children/young people.
• Be a key point of support and advice for the speech and language therapy team and Multidisciplinary team.
• Work closely with all members of the Multidisciplinary team, as well as the child and family, to provide a fully integrated approach to the overall management of the child. This will include any home/school visits, professional child related meetings and / or appointments, as required.
• Liaise with all appropriate medical staff, whether employed by The Children's Trust, visiting consultants or at off-site clinics, and attend clinics with the child as required.
• Contribute to the assessment and discussion of new referrals to The Children's Trust, carrying out off site referral assessments around the United Kingdom, as required.
• Identify, assess, and refer appropriate children / young people requiring instrumental assessment, for example Videofluoroscopy Swallow Study, in accordance with departmental policy and guidance.
• Contribute to child related reports, including looked after children and annual review reports as required, and assist with the collation of these as and when required, in a timely manner and in line with organisational targets.
• Utilise patient reported and standardised outcome measures for each allocated child/young person and complete in a timely manner.
• Assess, evaluate, and recommend discharge/transition plans for children/young people within the multidisciplinary team framework.
• Provide clinical cover across the service during episodes of staff shortage/heavy workload, in order to ensure effective service delivery.
• Work flexibly in terms of hours, in order to meet the needs of the individual child / young person, as well as the service as a whole, including an early evening (maximum one per week) and weekend day (maximum one per month)
• Actively participate in and support the running of relevant meetings.
• Actively contribute to audit and research, including production of research outputs.

Communication

• Facilitates effective communication with families and members of the multidisciplinary team, supporting others to embed the advice regarding management of needs around communication and eating and drinking.
• Recognises barriers to communication and be able to reduce and repair these as appropriate.
• Communicates regularly and effectively with the wider team and Therapy Leads.
• Maintains clear and concise documents and records, in accordance with The Childrens Trust Policy.
• Ensures documents are managed confidentially at all times.
• Involve children and families in areas of service development.
• Use a range of advanced communication skills, to share specialised information and discussions with a range of audiences, with different levels of knowledge and expertise.
• Attend, contribute and chair Multidisciplinary Team meetings, to discuss individual children/ young people.
• Manage informal complaints, in line with The Childrens Trust polices and contribute to the resolution of written complaints and as they occur, taking immediate action where necessary.
• Develop and promote relationships with external networks, including professionals, stakeholders, and specialist centres, in order to ensure excellence of care, whilst representing the organisation and reflecting The Children's Trust core values.

Governance

• Read and implement all policies, procedures, and risk assessments, pertinent to working practice and keep up to date with changes as and when they occur.
• Critically evaluate practice through clinical audits and by appraisal of the information gained, in combination with current knowledge of evidence-based practice; identify opportunities for service improvement and development, with support from Clinical Specialist Therapists/ Heads of Therapy.
• Continue the audit cycle, by evaluating any changes implemented as a result. This should include the adoption of evidence informed practice, the trial of emerging interventions and the cessation of interventions, where evidence is insufficient and other approaches are indicated.
• Recognise and critically appraise situations where the effectiveness, efficiency and quality of the service are compromised and take appropriate action to resolve the situation, with support from Highly Specialist Therapists/ Head of Rehabilitation Therapies.
• Critically reflect on own performance and that of other staff; and use this evaluation to enhance the effectiveness, efficiency, and quality of future practice.
• Undergo The Childrens Trust Risk Assessor training, in order that all activities are risk assessed and documented in the most appropriate format. Ensure that detailed risk assessments are completed, as required.
• Actively participate in local clinical governance activities.

Career Long Learning, Education and Research

• Undertake all mandatory training, in line with The Childrens Trust policies.
• Independently advance personal knowledge, understanding and skills, in line with identified learning needs, by making appropriate use of a variety of learning and development resources and opportunities, e.g., by attending courses/ lectures, attending, and contributing to journal club, contact and involvement with relevant Clinical Excellence Networks, engaging in shadowing and peer observation sessions, and/ or visiting other departments.
• Develop and deliver external training courses in area of specialism, where potential demand is identified.
• Disseminate and ensure the embedding of relevant new practice, through attendance at and contributing to in-service education, Literature Reviews, mentoring and shared sessions.
• Record outcomes of learning activities, in a format that reflects personal preferences and professional requirement, in line with the RCSLT competencies.
• Complete and maintain clinical competency documents in line with job role, for example RCSLT dysphagia competencies.
• Take an active part in the training of junior colleagues and lead the development of Reflective Practice in others.
• Participates in in-service competency training programmes and teaching sessions, as appropriate.
• Continuously updates knowledge of the external environment and highlights any issues that will impact upon existing policies and procedures.

Limits of Authority and Problem Solving

• In addition to The Childrens Trust policies, the Specialist Speech and Language Therapist is governed by, and should adhere to, the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) Standards of Proficiency for speech and language therapists and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists Quality Assurance Standards.
• Make day-to-day decisions regarding speech, language and feeding / swallowing requirements for children and young people, based on case load, including recommendations for specialist equipment.
• Responsible for day-to-day time management and prioritisation of workload, taking into account the needs of the whole service.
• Monthly formal supervision.
• Provides formal supervision monthly to junior Speech and Language Therapists and/or Multidisciplinary Technicians.
• Support recruitment processes, as requested by the Therapy Team Lead.

Professionalism

• Takes action and raises concerns.
• Adhere to the policies and procedures of The Childrens Trust.
• Maintain professional boundaries and professionalism at all times.
• Committed to demonstrating the organisations values and behaviours at all times.

Health and Safety

• Adheres to all Health and Safety guidelines, principles, and regulations to perform your role and comply with The Childrens Trust policies and procedures.
• Provide evidence of all vaccinations (or medical exemption) required for the post.
• Adhere to manual handling procedures and complete mandatory manual handling training.
• Promotes the health and safety of others.
• Uses the incident reporting and risk assessment system (Vantage), to identify and report risks and incidents/actions if directed.
• Responsible for identifying and mitigating risk within the work environment.

Wellbeing and Emotional Resilience

• Maintains a positive approach and outlook when dealing with change and overcoming challenges and problems.
• Recognises own limitations, develops realistic goals, and uses support network resource when or if necessary.
• Treats challenges and problems as a learning experience.
• Remains organised and focused when under pressure.
• Responds appropriately and effectively to all constructive feedback.
• Motivates self and other.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

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).