Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Job summary

We have an exciting opportunity for a full-time Band 6 Speech and Language Therapist to work at The Bridge School located in Islington. This post is an excellent opportunity for an experienced Band 5 looking to develop their skills to specialise in Autism/ AAC/ Learning Disability or a Band 6 looking to broaden their clinical experience and work in a special school environment.

The postholder will be able to:

• Develop skills and experience of working with autistic children and young people in a specialist school setting
• Develop and shape neurodiversity-affirming practice
• Develop specialist skills and experience in supporting AAC assessment and intervention through our evidence-based high-tech and paper-based AAC pathways and practice which have been highly informed by research and expert opinion.
• Have opportunities to shadow other teams within our wider team/service (e.g. physical disability/MLD special schools, mainstream, early years, autism diagnostic)
• Support local service development

The Bridge Team is one of three special schools in Islington with health and therapies provided by our multi-agency Special Schools team. This team sits under the wider Islington Additional Needs Service (IANDS) which supports children with additional or complex needs across the borough.

We will consider secondments but this will be subject to agreement by your current employer.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will work in the multidisciplinary and multi-agency environment to provide a clinical Speech and Language Therapy service for school-aged children who have special educational needs (SEN) related to autism spectrum condition, learning disability, and common co-occurring conditions. They will be responsible for managing and prioritising a defined caseload, independently accessing planned supervision to support the process.

The postholder will provide a universal and targeted speech and language therapy service which includes the advising, training and upskilling of parents, carers, and school staff to support children with complex communication needs. They will also provide direct interventions including assessment, liaison, and episodes of face-to-face therapy for individual/groups of children and young people as well as work within the MDT.

The postholder will liaise with educational colleagues in order to undertake joint planning and reviewing of targets, production of reports, and contributing to EHCP processes.

About us

We have an excellent reputation for being innovative, responsive and flexible to the changing clinical needs of the local population. We are treating more patients than ever before and are dedicated to improving services to deliver the best for our patients. Our mission Helping local people live longer, healthier lives. Our vision Provide safe, personal, co-ordinated care for the community we serve. Our goals We have developed six key strategic goals to make sure we continue to support people to live longer, healthier lives.

• To secure the best possible health and wellbeing for all our community
• To integrate and coordinate care in person-centred teams
• To deliver consistent, high quality, safe services
• To support our patients and users in being active partners in their care
• To be recognised as a leader in the fields of medical and multi-professional education, and population-based clinical research
• To innovate and continuously improve the quality of our services to deliver the best outcomes for our local population

Date posted: 16 July 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 6
Salary: £47,951 to £56,863 a year
Contract: Fixed term
Duration: 10 months
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 220-WHT-4092
Job locations: The Bridge School, London, N7 9LD, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

• 1. To demonstrate clinical expertise in the assessment, treatment and management of, language and communication difficulties in children and young people providing appropriate specialist intervention and evaluating outcomes.
• 2. To demonstrate specialist knowledge in special educational needs including learning disability and autism, underpinned by current evidence based practice and outcome measures.
• 3. To demonstrate a developing specialist knowledge in AAC assessment and interventions.
• 4. To demonstrate highly developed perceptual skills in the assessment and treatment of young people with special educational needs.
• 5. To make appropriate specialist clinical decisions on evidence from assessment of complex cases, seeking advice as appropriate.
• 6. To develop knowledge and skills in managing children with special educational needs, seeking training, support and supervision from clinical supervisor as appropriate.
• 7. To develop clear care plans based on best practice.
• 8. To demonstrate clinical effectiveness reflecting on evidence based practice and outcome measures.
• 9. To provide advice to others regarding the management and care of children with communication difficulties.
• 10. To communicate complex condition related information to carers, families and members of the multi-disciplinary team/other professions, demonstrating empathy and ensuring that effective communication is achieved, particularly where barriers to understanding exist.
• 11. To work closely with clients, carers, MDT and families, in order to agree plan of management.
• 12. To deal with initial complaints sensitively, avoiding escalation where possible
• 13. To form productive relationships with others who may be under stress and/or have challenging communication difficulties.
• 14. To demonstrate excellent communication skills.
• 15. To demonstrate skills in motivating clients and /or parents/carers to engage in the therapeutic process.
• 16. To maintain sensitivity at all times to the emotional needs of children with special and complex needs and their carers, in particular when imparting potentially distressing information regarding the nature of the clients difficulties and implications of the same.
• 17. To demonstrate the ability to manage children with behaviours that challenge including the application of appropriate management strategies as stipulated in their behaviour support plan.
• 18. To monitor and review the progress of children and young people against the targets set and agreed, and to modify targets as appropriate.
• 19. To adapt practice to meet individual client circumstances.
• 20. To reflect on clinical practice both individually and with peers identifying strengths and needs and providing evidence of sound clinical judgements based on research and the evidence based practice.
• 21. To develop the ability to reflect on auditory, visual and kinaesthetic aspects of clients communication and to identify appropriate strategies to facilitate and enhance communicative effectiveness.
• 22. To be aware of legal requirements relating to the provision of a speech and language therapy service.
• 23. To maintain up to date and accurate case notes and write reports reflecting highly specialist knowledge, ensuring that they meet departmental standards and are in line with local Trust Policy, and RCSLT professional standards.
• 24. To demonstrate knowledge of current policies and practice in education and incorporate these into the model of working as appropriate.
• 25. To manage and prioritise a complex and specialist caseload independently, advising line manager on issues of service delivery including shortfall, service pressures etc.
• 26. To demonstrate skills in dealing with complex issues to generate appropriate strategies for caseload management.
• 27. To contribute to multi-agency assessment procedures as required.
• 28. To demonstrate good negotiation skills across a range of issues and situations, recognising and resolving potential breakdown and conflict when it occurs.
• 29. To ensure that children and young people are referred to other services as appropriate.
• 30. To monitor and evaluate specialist service delivery and provide progress reports as required.
• 31. To demonstrate comprehensive understanding of the issues associated with clinical governance and their application to professional practice. This will include compliance with / adherence to, and implementation of service and service area and Trust policies, National and Local guidelines and RCSLT Professional and Clinical and Guidelines.
• 32. To develop a working knowledge of relevant procedures including: Safeguarding Children, SEN procedures, working with Vulnerable Adults and other legal frameworks.
• 33. To be accountable for professional action and recognising professional boundaries, and working within defined departmental and national protocols/policies and professional code of conduct.
• To work independently accessing appraisal within a Personal Development Review at pre-determined intervals.

Person Specification

Skills
Essential

• 4.Ability to work effectively within a diverse team

Desirable

• Experience of supervising SLT students or a junior team member

Knowledge
Essential

• Experience of working with children with special education needs

Desirable

• Experience of working in a special schools setting

Knowledge
Essential

• Knowledge of a range of specialist interventions relevant to paediatric special and complex needs (e.g. autism, learning disability, physical disability) and ability to compare and contrast relative benefits and outcomes

Desirable

• Experience of writing EHCP reports / advice

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

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).

Employer details
Employer name: Whittington Hospital NHS Trust
Address: The Bridge School, London, N7 9LD, United Kingdom
Employer's website: (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact:
Team Lead, Bridge Schools
Kirsty Hammond
View email address on meeveem.com