Occupational Therapist (Band 7) Astrum MAT

Job description

Please note we are unable to accept CVs.

To apply please look on our recruitment pages on our Trust's websites, and apply using our application form.

JOB SUMMARY

To work as a member of the Astrum Special Schools Occupational Therapy Service, providing Occupational Therapy assessment and intervention, to children attending special school in Astrum Academy Trust. To be responsible for assessment and intervention of services for children with a broad range of needs from physical and developmental disabilities, motor coordination and sensory processing disorders. To provide advice and training to school staff and the child’s family, using a variety of therapy approaches. To assess for and recommend special equipment where appropriate.

To provide supervision for the Band 6 and 5 Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapy students or Occupational Therapy Assistants working into those areas. To liaise with other Health Care Professionals, Teachers, and Learning Support assistants in the provision of therapy programmes. To advise on clinical priority setting, demand management and specific care protocols across the range of needs of the children, within the Astrum Occupational Therapy Framework. To actively contribute to effective team working and communication within the wider multi-disciplinary teams.

CLINICAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

• To work with and manage a designated caseload of children referred to the OT service from Education and Health Care Professionals. To provide Occupational Therapy assessment, formulate treatment plans, evaluate outcomes of treatment and where appropriate to prescribe equipment for postural care.
• To administer specialist standardised and structured assessments, interpret results and contribute to accurate diagnosis and prognosis within the team responsible for the child’s care.
• To assess and treat individual children with complex needs, in their school, working as part of the multi-disciplinary team, and liaising closely with education staff and parents/carers.
• To use a range of communication strategies to overcome barriers to communication e.g. language, communication difficulties or cognitive impairment and English as a second language, in order to engage and motivate the child and their family/carers in their Occupational Therapy treatment.
• To take primary responsibility for Occupational Therapy representation within a specialist area, ensuring that the child’s identified needs for Occupational Therapy are addressed as part of their education or care plan.
• To attend and if necessary, organise meetings necessary to coordinate multi-agency care of the child e.g. transition planning, child protection.
• ·To make referrals to other services as required to meet the child or family’s identified needs.
• To keep accurate and contemporaneous records, and write reports and discharge summaries as required, ensuring that confidentiality and information-sharing standards are met as in Trust and professional standards.
• To provide specialist Occupational Therapy advice to Education, Health Care Plans, annual reports, and transition plans as required.
• To be actively involved in target setting and annual review meetings, working across disciplines to ensure continuity of approach and to maximise the effectiveness of treatment in the school setting.
• To communicate complex clinical information and care plans to parents, cares, and staff in other agencies, in order for them to understand and carry out effective treatment or management of their child.
• To be responsible for developing appropriate service delivery initiatives to meet the varied needs of the special school population with the Astrum Occupational Therapy Lead.
• To be actively involved in the regular review of the therapeutic service for the children with the Astrum Occupational Therapy Lead.
• To use specialist knowledge/expertise to contribute to the development of Paediatric Occupational Therapy service and to provide advice and training to other OT colleagues, health care professionals and professionals working in external agencies such as education and social services.
• To participate in profession specific and multi-disciplinary audit activity, and to lead on audit for the occupational therapy special schools.
• To establish relationships with the Local Education, NELFT and Social Services, other community services and facilities, and to assist children and their families to make links with resources available to them.

Managerial and Supervision Responsibilities:

• To attend regular supervision sessions with Line Manager.
• Participate in the Trust’s appraisal and staff development programme, actively identifying the training and development needs of self and more junior therapists within the service.
• Take responsibility for updating specialist clinical knowledge and continuing professional development using best available evidence and documenting learning.
• To establish and maintain links with other Occupational Therapists working with children, in order to access peer supervision, update clinical knowledge, and share best practice and innovation.
• To be responsible for ensuring clinical supervision, identification of training and development needs, and providing training to less experienced Occupational Therapy staff as requested.
• To be actively involved in the organisation and supervision of Occupational Therapy student placements within the service, taking responsibility for specific students and their learning as requested.
• To contribute to the training of students from other disciplines by offering individual or group training.
• To be actively involved in the in-service development program for the Astrum Occupational Therapy Service, drawing on current research and examples of best practice.
• To teach other disciplines and staff about the role of the Occupational Therapist, both in formal group teaching sessions and through informal contact.
• To be actively involved in clinical governance and service improvement work within the Astrum Therapy Service e.g. audits, user feedback, service risks and outcome measures.

Administrative Responsibilities:

• To be responsible for administrative duties and as required by the Trust or school.
• To be aware of responsibilities under the Health & Safety at Work Act, and to contribute to the maintenance of a safe environment for self and others in accordance with the Act.
• To participate in service development planning and to keep managers up to date with developments and information so that they are able to represent the service accurately and effectively in planning forums.

Policy/ Service Development and Implementation:

·        To understand and adhere rigorously to the Child Protection procedures as laid down by guidelines.

·        To report all complaints/recommendations and incidents to Designated Safeguarding Lead immediately.

·        To be aware of and adhere to all trust and service policies.