Speech and Language Therapy Assistant - ELSEC

Job overview

***Fixed Term contract opportunity for up to 8 months***

We are looking for someone passionate about Speech and Language Therapy to join our exciting team, focussed on understanding and improving speech and language skills in the early years. The Assistant role is central to delivering support in settings.

You will bring experience and understanding of working with children in the early years who may have communication needs. We will support you with a framework of training and supervision to ensure you become a skilled support worker in Speech and Language Therapy.

Gloucestershire has been identified as a pathfinder site for the  Early Language Support for Every Child (ELSEC) programme. The new team consisting of Speech and Language Therapists and Assistants takes on development and roll out of universal and targeted support for Children in identified settings across Gloucestershire. You will work closely with parents, early years education staff, Health Visitors and more to build a lasting legacy of knowledge and support for our communities.

Gloucestershire also has a large team of children's SALTs and Assistants, and there will be opportunities for joint working across the team.  You can access regular whole team meetings and training in a range of clinical areas. On top of this we provide excellent clinical supervision . Though there will be some lone working, there are shared bases where people can meet and work together.

Main duties of the job

• To contribute to information gathering and screening process through observation and joint evaluation of a child’s communication needs aged 2 – 5.
• To make appropriate clinical decisions following assessment, with support from the supervising speech and language therapist and to contribute to onward referrals for children needing support from the core Speech and Language Therapy Service.
• To contribute to the development of communication environment plans to support developing communication friendly settings across the county.
• To participate in training of teaching staff, parents and other professionals as required.
• To deliver therapy treatment programmes as designed by the therapists without direct supervision, but with appropriate instruction and monitoring.  This could include teaching other carers, supervising individual or group activities.
• To provide accessible verbal and written clinical advice about speech and language therapy intervention to parents/carers, child and education settings.
• To prepare therapy materials and bespoke IT generated communication resources identified by the Speech and Language Therapist.
• To undertake as directed administrative tasks, e.g. scanning, photocopying, filing, registration of patients, co-ordinating appointments

The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To support the Early Language Support for Every Child (ESLEC) Team, delivering a comprehensive speech and language therapy service to children and young people with universal or targeted speech, language and communication needs.

To undertake administrative duties as required to support the delivery of universal and targeted interventions including making resources.  To liaise about children with the supervising therapist and other members of the multidisciplinary team as appropriate.