Job Description
Job Title:
Specialist Speech and Language Therapist
Location:
St. Elizabeth’s School
Hours:
26.4 (0.6WTE) Hrs: Consolidated hours
Responsible to:
Therapy Services manager
Key Relationships:
Pupils/Students their families and carers
Teaching Staff
Multidisciplinary Team Colleagues
Speech and Language Therapy Colleagues
Therapy Services manager
Job Purpose
To work closely with colleagues of all disciplines and the School Leadership team to further
develop the provision of Speech and Language Therapy within St. Elizabeth’s School.
To provide clinical assessment, reports, therapy programmes, advice and training as an
integrated resource alongside the School curriculum and residential activities across the waking
day.
To improve the students/pupils quality of life by delivering a functional integrated programme
encouraging self advocacy.
Outline of Role
1. To provide a Speech and Language therapy service to pupils/learners attending St.
Elizabeth School.
2.
To provide improved access to the curriculum and enhance independent living skills
through the delivery of effective speech and language therapy to the students/pupils.
3. To provide initial and on-going assessments and to develop and implement specialist
programmes of care for students/pupils to include:

Communication skills – receptive language, expressive language, pragmatics/
social use of language, signing, non-verbal communication

AACs – provision of new equipment, management, reassessment and monitoring,
reviewing suitability of equipment.

Monitoring of the communication environment- consistency of the Total
Communication approach to include staff and carer training.

Dysphagia assessments- to ensure safety, optimum nutrition, provision of
appropriate protocols, staff training and co-ordination of mealtime management.

To deliver individual and group therapy in a range of settings e.g. within the
classrooms or bungalows.
4. To plan, provide and evaluate a high quality specialist Speech and Language
Therapy service to meet the needs of the pupils/students attending St.
Elizabeth’s School.
5. To provide effective line management to the Therapy Assistants and to
conduct Annual Appraisals and regular supervision reviews for these staff.
6. As a Clinical Lead within the service, to actively contribute to the development
of others within the multidisciplinary team.
7. To assist in the recruitment of new staff and ensure effective induction is
provided.
8. To function as a Clinical Lead practitioner with students/pupils at St.
Elizabeth’s School who have communication difficulties and Alternative and
Augmentative Communication needs.
9. In conjunction with Senior Managers, to manage and develop the direction
and delivery of speech and language therapy services to the students/pupils
at St. Elizabeth’s School contributing to and proposing service developments
in these areas.
10. Recognise the importance of inclusion by using appropriate means of
communication at all times.
11. Employ support strategies which will empower students/pupils.
12. Purchase any equipment from a recognized supplier and maintain all
equipment to a high standard.
Key Roles and Responsibilities
1. To independently manage and prioritise a designated speech and language
therapy caseload of students/pupils and consider complex issues relating to
this client group. In addition, to demonstrate skills in dealing with complex
issues to generate appropriate coordinated strategies for caseload and
workload management for the service.
2. To provide baseline assessments for all new student/pupils. Devise relevant
protocols and monitor and review the effectiveness of the protocols by setting
appropriate targets and reviewing and updating them regularly.
3. To contribute to the preparation of Individual Learning plans.
4. To familiarize self with the developmental, medical and educational histories
as well as the statemented needs of each student/pupil.
5. To be aware of and adhere to Royal College of Speech and Language
Therapy clinical guidelines, Health Professions Council standards of
proficiency, conduct, performance and ethics and policies and guidelines
relating to specialism.
6. To exercise confidentiality, safe custody and storage of records and other
material, both written and computerised.
7. To provide effective leadership to support staff in the Speech and Language
Therapy team.
8. To ensure that staff within the service areas understand and maintain
required standards of case notes and record keeping in accordance with the
Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and Centre policy.
9. To assess, develop and implement specialist programmes of care and
treatment adapting practice to meet the individual needs of the
pupils/students.
10. To provide screening assessment and advice on the potential Speech and
Language Therapy needs of prospective pupils/students.
11. To use knowledge and experience to inform sound clinical judgment/ decision
making for caseload management and service development.
12. To provide specialist advice to others regarding the management and care of
pupils/students with communication and AAC needs.
13. To independently accept referrals and to then make referrals to other
professionals as appropriate.
14. To oversee the management of specific clinical issues.
15. To recognize own professional boundaries and be able to seek professional
support.
16. To be able to define a differential diagnosis and make appropriate clinical
decisions after analyzing the evidence from assessments.
17. To demonstrate developed auditory and perceptual skills in the assessment,
diagnosis and treatment of students/pupils.
18. To maintain concentration in all aspects of patient management for prolonged
periods. In particular to simultaneously monitor auditory, visual and
kinaesthetic aspects of student’s/pupil’s communication, adapting and
facilitating according to perceived need.
19. To continually monitor, evaluate and modify treatment plans to meet the
pupils/students changing needs and structure clear care plans based on
evidence for best practice.
20. To undertake relevant learning and development in order to maintain and
develop skills and knowledge required of a specialist practitioner and keep up
to date with new techniques and developments for the promotion and
maintenance of evidence based practice across a range of clinical areas.
21. To write reports and protocols for other professionals to communicate
assessment findings, make recommendations for intervention and evaluate
outcomes.
22. To provide a report for the Annual Review for each pupil/student receiving
SLT input and attend the Annual Review meeting as required.
23. To contribute to the development of the speech and language therapy service
working in partnership with other SLTs and Health Professional colleagues
across the Centre.
24. To liaise with professionals from other agencies e.g. social services and NHS
organizations.
25. To attend, contribute to and feedback from meetings and support with
delegated tasks as requested by the Therapy Services Manager, including
contributing to working groups and School and Centre development groups.
26. To monitor and report on service delivery on a regular basis to the Therapy
Manager.
27. To demonstrate skills in motivating pupils/students and carers to engage in
the therapeutic process.
28. To contribute to multi-disciplinary and interagency teams by discussing own
and other professionals input around pupil/student needs, ensuring a well
coordinated care plan, negotiate around case management and contribute to
team projects.
29. To take a lead on the development of objectives for projects relating to a
clinical specialist area ensuring that these reflect Health Agency priorities.
30. To have a flexible approach to service delivery maintaining quality standards
across a variety of settings e.g. school and residential settings.
31. To be able to manage emotional consequences of working with distressing
conditions e.g. breaking bad news, challenging behavior.
32. To demonstrate empathy with pupils/ students, carers, families and
colleagues ensuring that effective communication is achieved, particularly
when barriers to understanding exist.
33. To be alert to hazardous situations and act accordingly as well as potential
risks to pupils and students, staff and self and take appropriate action e.g.
team teach training.
34. Support staff during and following an emergency. Be aware and provide help
and support when required and alert Senior Staff where appropriate.
35. To discharge pupils/students when the duties of care has been fulfilled and
notify the relevant agencies.
36. To be responsible for the care and maintenance of equipment, ensuring
standards of
infection control and safety are maintained, including equipment on loan.
37. To monitor equipment and resource needs and to request new items when
necessary through the Therapy Manager.
38.To provide training for other professionals and carers. To train non health
professionals using the language that is familiar to their discipline.
39. To target training (formal and informal) appropriately to the needs of the
residential and school teams.
40. To contribute to and supervise the work of Therapy Assistants.
41. To help with official visitors/events during your normal working day and to
help with occasional events out of school as part of contracted annual hours,
this will include all parents’ Days currently held on a Saturday.
42. To undertake undergraduate training for speech and language therapists and
other professionals and provide quality placements to undergraduate SLTs.
43. To employ good presentation skills to promote multidisciplinary and
interagency liaison, collaborative practice and understanding of the specialist
clinical field to a broad range of audiences, including other professionals and
users.
44. To respect confidentiality at all times. All personal information relating to the
pupils/students to which you have access should be treated as confidential.
45. To participate in the induction and mandatory training programme provided by
St. Elizabeth’s Centre.
46. Demonstrate understanding and comply with all aspects of Health and Safety
procedures, in particular:
Moving and handling
Fire Drill and Fire protection Schemes
A sound working knowledge of Epilepsy
First Aid and Hygiene for the School Environment
The Team Teach Programme
Child Protection
The Mental capacity Act.
Clinical Governance
1. To contribute to discussions on service/policy development, risk management
and clinical guidelines providing comments on proposals, informed by
evidenced based practice. In addition to ensure the principles of clinical
governance are applied to professional practice across the service area.
2. To keep detailed statistical records of your caseload and submit statistical
information within a specific time limit.
3. To contribute to a programme of audit within the service undertaking research
when appropriate following the guidelines of the professional body, to report
back findings to senior management.
4. To advise the Therapy Manager on service delivery issues which may impact
on quality, including capacity and demand and other service pressure, using
specialist knowledge to inform.
5. To adhere to and operate within the departmental and Centre policies and
procedures, and professional standards operational in the place of work.
6. To ensure that professional standards and requirements are understood and
in place within the service.
7. To proactively identify risk management issues to the Therapy Manager.
8. To participate in the appraisals and supervision provided within the service
and identify strengths and areas of own personal/professional development,
including specific objectives relating to clinical specialism.
9. To demonstrate clinical effectiveness by use of evidence based practice and
outcome measures ensuring these are embedded in all areas of practice and
to provide appropriate specialist intervention and evaluate outcomes.
Communication
1. To be able to communicate complex conditions and related information from
assessments to students/pupils, carers, MDT members and other
professionals.
2. To work closely with students/pupils, carers, families and MDT members
across differing agencies agreeing decision making relative to student/pupil
management.
3. To contribute to clinical teams by discussing own and others input around
pupils/students needs ensuring a well coordinated care plan.
4. To competently communicate complex information to carers, families and
students/pupils showing awareness and sensitivity to their needs, often where
barriers to understanding exist.
5. To utilize knowledge/expertise in non-verbal communication e.g. signing,
symbols, to help convey information when there are barriers to understanding.
6. To communicate highly complex ideas or concepts using easily understood
words, and alternative or augmentative communication.
7. To form productive relationships with others who may be under stress and/or
have challenging communication difficulties.
8. To draw on knowledge and skills to adapt practice to meet individual
students/pupils circumstances, including due regard for cultural and linguistic
differences.
9. To advise and increase awareness amongst other professionals/carers on
how they can ensure that students/pupils with severely compromised
communication skills are fully informed and can exercise choice.
10. To negotiate with students/pupils, carers and other professionals around
individual care management and manage breakdown or conflict when it
occurs, seeking advice and support if necessary.
Professional Development
1. To identify own training needs as part of a Continuing Professional
Development Plan in discussion with the Therapy manager and to attend
training as appropriate.
2. To participate in staff appraisal and contribute to accurate objective setting.
3. To maintain clinical expertise in specialist areas of communication
disorders, AAC, dysphagia and other related areas.
4. To keep up to date with current clinical developments through reading,
attendance at relevant courses, meetings and national special interest
groups.
5. To identify individual training and development needs through supervision
and appraisal, maintaining established clinical skills at highly specialist level
through attendance at appropriate continuing education events and
independent study as identified in the PDP; and to attend mandatory
training as required.
6. To ensure CPD needs are met in line with RCSLT and HCPC professional
requirements.
The post holder will be expected to carry out the duties within the ethos of
The Daughters of the Cross of Liege and the spirit of the mission statement