Registered Speech and Language Therapist

Hedgewood School is special school, for children and young people with a primary diagnosis of autism. All pupils have some degree of speech, language and social communication needs, with many having more complex communication needs. We have a commitment to working closely with our families to enable development of communication to have a significant positive impact on the daily lives of pupils and their families.

Hedgewood School is a rapidly developing, expanding, friendly school with opportunity for joint working with colleague professionals. We offer regular supervision and support with professional development.

Hedgewood School is the Hillingdon Hub for The Autism Education Trust (AET) training. We commit to AET training as a baseline for all our staff and train in complex needs and managing autism provision. We also ensure all staff working with our young people are trained in low arousal and non-restrictive management of behaviours that challenge and provide Studio 3 training.

The school delivers a curriculum framework based on three identified pathways. Our Essentials for Living pathway is underpinned by some principles of ABA/VB (Applied Behaviour Analysis/Verbal Behaviour) and where the development of functional communication is vital. A life skills curriculum with a high focus on communication and independence is our middle pathway and our third pathway based on an adapted National Curriculum and core academic skills is still underpinned by development of communication, social interaction and independence.

The successful therapist will be responsible for contributing to an integrated package of care for each child that is delivered in the classroom setting in partnership with all co-professionals. The therapist will work with a growing team of therapists and therapy assistants, working within direct class support and also provide necessary staff training.

All applicants are required to be HCPC registered and it is desirable for them to be registered members of the RCSLT.

You are very welcome to come and see the school in action.

The successful therapist will:-

· play an important role in supporting school to meet the needs of children with SLCN and in supporting good practice across universal, targeted and specialist approaches.

· have a distinct role in assessing, planning, delivering and evaluating support for children and young people with a range of speech, language and communication needs.

· be committed to ensuring children are in environments which support development of speech, language and communication skills throughout the school day, through an integrated service within the class.

· be a key partner for Hedgewood School and committed to its vision of fully integrated speech and language therapy and the development of functional communication.

· support senior leaders to ensure communication-supportive practice throughout their school or setting and support long-term planning for children with SLCN.

· provide on-going training for staff to support the commitment to developing communication methods for all pupils.

· provide training workshops for parents to enable deeper understanding and use of successful strategies to develop communication

· provide assessment, including screening or more specific assessment of individuals to determine specific areas of need and strategies to support development.

· provide input to formal assessment processes for children who have long-term SLCN and who have an Education and Health Care Plan

Hedgewood School is committed to Safeguarding our pupils and working together with professional partners and families to ensure pupil well-being is paramount.