An exciting opportunity has arisen for an Advanced Practitioner Assistive Technology, Band 7 to join our Assistive Technology Team. This role will require the successful candidate to provide a high quality, evidence based assistive technology service, promoting participation, communication and interaction for children and young people accessing The Childrens Trust Therapy Services. Additionally, you will develop and deliver the service, in collaboration with multidisciplinary health, therapy and education teams.
Our service delivery aims to promote outcome focussed interventions, safe care, function, and participation, of children and young people accessing home, school, and community life. You will provide clinical leadership within the area of assistive technology, across the therapy service, ensuring the delivery of child and family focused goal led interventions at a highly specialist level, for children and young people accessing The Childrens Trust School and in-patient neurorehabilitation services.
The Childrens Trust is
the UKs leading charity for children with acquired brain injury, providing
expert rehabilitation, education, therapy, and care at our national specialist
centre in Tadworth, and to children and their families across the UK, via our
Brain Injury Community Service.
Boasting a beautiful 24-acre site in Surrey, we
are located just outside of London, close to the M25 (accessible via Junction
8, A217 to Tadworth) and easily accessible via National Rail, by way of:
Clapham Junction, Sutton, and Epsom.
The work we do is
highly rewarding, and in addition to an attractive salary, we offer a valuable
range of benefits, including, adoption pay, time off for fertility treatment,
enhanced paternity leave, paid carers leave, time out days for those
experiencing menopause symptoms, time off for gender reassignment.
We also offer
additional annual leave days for those with long service, with entitlements
ranging from 35 to 41 days (including bank holidays) depending on your length
of service.
Other benefits include
free on-site parking; a staff shuttle service from Epsom and Sutton train
stations to Tadworth Court, subsidised cafeteria, on-site staff accommodation
(subject to availability), the ability to retain your NHS pension (where
applicable) or the opportunity to join an alternative scheme, and the
opportunity to develop your career in a supportive and collaborative
environment.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Clinical Skills and Responsibilities
Lead the provision of high quality, evidence based
assistive technology interventions, for children and young people attending The
Childrens Trust School and receiving in-patient neurorehabilitation.
Provide clinical leadership to the Assistive Technology
Team, identifying service priorities, service delivery methods and standards of
practice.
Provide assessments for complex augmentative and alternative
communication (AAC) systems
Identify service needs for AAC and selection of appropriate hardware,
software, access, and mounting options, as per organisational policies and
procedures.
Understanding of mainstream technologies in
specialist support, assistive technology, and computer access.
Knowledge of environmental control and powered
mobility.
Lead in the design and implementation of
communication and technology resources.
Maintain and disseminate specialist knowledge of
eye-gaze control and the use of eye-tracking, within clinical assessment and
management.
Develop therapy goals, plans and methods, in
collaboration with the child and family/carers, as well as the Multidisciplinary
and Education teams, founded upon evidence-based practice.
Be an autonomous Practitioner, with responsibility
and overview for Assistive Technology interventions, and maintaining relevant records
and reports.
Work closely with all members of the Multidisciplinary
Team, as well as the child and family, to provide a fully integrated approach
to the overall management of the child. This will include any home/school
visits, professional child related meetings and/ or appointments, as required.
Identify and utilise specialist assessments and
relevant outcome measures, for children/young people receiving assistive
technology interventions.
Work flexibly across site as needed e.g. with
the team in the Childrens Trust School
Work flexibly in terms of hours, in order to
meet the needs of the service, including an early evening (weekly) and one
weekend day, per calendar month.
Represent the
Therapy Team and The Childrens Trust when appropriate, deputising for the Team
as required.
Undertake specialist
assessments, externally responding to national and international requests.
Act as the Lead Professional for complex case
management and coordination, as and when required.
Actively participate
in, support and Chair relevant Multidisciplinary Team meetings, as and when
required.
Undertake other or
additional duties that are within your skills and abilities, as the
organisation may reasonably require from time to time.
Communication
Communicate effectively with children/young
people, applying the principles of consistent communication.
Embed effective communication guidelines across
site and communication standards for children and young people with PMLD.
Facilitate effective communication with families
and members of the Multidisciplinary Team.
Recognise barriers to communication and be able
to reduce these as appropriate.
Communicate regularly and effectively with the
Heads of Therapy.
Maintain clear and concise documents and
records, in accordance with The Childrens Trust polices.
Ensure documents are managed confidentially at
all times.
Attends regular meetings with the Multidisciplinary
Team to discuss individual children/young people and service development in
general, as required e.g. reviews, case conferences, parents evenings, clinics,
etc.
Manage informal complaints, in line with The
Childrens Trust polices and contribute to the resolution of written complaints
and as they occur, taking immediate action where necessary.
Develop and promote relationships with external networks,
including professionals, stakeholders, and specialist centres, in order to
ensure excellence of care, whilst representing the organisation and reflecting
The Childrens Trust core values.
Be able to discuss challenging and emotive
subjects with families and children/young people, regarding long-term needs and
possible outcomes.
Management of Self and Others
Provide day-to-day leadership, support and
supervision for junior staff, technicians, volunteers, and students, within
area of responsibility, providing direction, motivation, and support to achieve
key objectives.
Participate in the annual Performance Development
Review and monthly supervision sessions, as required by The Childrens Trust,
both as Appraiser and Appraisee.
Advise the Head of Therapy, regarding resources
and equipment needs, including shortfalls.
Manage time effectively, prioritising, and
delegating work, as required.
Governance
Read and implement all policies, procedures, and
risk assessments, pertinent to working practice and keep up to date with
changes as and when they occur.
Critically evaluate practice through clinical
audits and by appraisal of the information gained, in combination with current
knowledge of evidence-based practice; identify opportunities for service
improvement and development.
Recognise and critically appraise situations
where the effectiveness, efficiency and quality of the service are compromised
and take appropriate action to resolve the situation.
Critically reflect on own performance and that
of other staff; use this evaluation to enhance the effectiveness, efficiency,
and quality of future practice.
Actively participate in local clinical
governance activities.
Professionalism
Meet relevant HCPC and professional body standards,
with respect to professionalism and to keep up to date with any changes.
Be responsible for maintaining registration with
HCPC and other relevant Professional Bodies.
Takes action and raises
concerns.
Adhere
to the policies and procedures of The Childrens Trust.
Maintain professional boundaries and professionalism at all times.
Committed to demonstrating the organisations values and behaviours at all
times.
Career Long Learning, Education
and Research
Undertake all mandatory training, in line with
The Childrens Trust policy.
Prepare appropriately for Performance
Development Reviews; identifying learning objectives and setting targets, as
well as opportunities for professional development, in order to meet Continuous
Professional Development requirements.
Independently advance personal knowledge,
understanding and skills, in line with identified learning needs, by making
appropriate use of a variety of learning and development resources and
opportunities, e.g. by attending courses/ lectures, contact and involvement
with relevant special interest groups, and/ or visiting other departments.
Lead the Continuous Professional Development in
area of specialism and key responsibilities.
Active membership role in The Children's Trust Research
Committee, contributing to research priorities.
Take an overview of assistive technology
research priorities and projects.
Submit research Abstracts/ Posters to both local
and national conferences, disseminating the work of the assistive technology
team externally.
Continuously update knowledge surrounding
external practice environments and highlight any issues that may impact upon existing
service delivery, policies, and procedures.
Participate in and co-design in-service
competency training programmes and teaching sessions, as appropriate.
Design and deliver external training in the
specialism of Assistive Technology, on behalf of The Childrens Trust.
Limits of Authority and Problem
Solving
Make day-to-day decisions regarding case load and
consultations.
Sign-off items within agreed budget amount.
Formal, monthly supervision of junior colleagues.
Support the Heads of Therapy in the delivery of
an effective Therapy Service.
Deputise for Heads of Therapy, as and when
required.
Support recruitment
processes (as requested by the Head of Therapy) and ensure Succession Planning
for the service.
Any other duties, as required and deemed
appropriate.
Health and Safety
Adheres to all Health
and Safety guidelines, principles, and regulations to perform your role and
comply with The Childrens Trust policies and procedures.
Provide evidence of all
vaccinations (or medical exemption) required for the post.
Adhere to manual handling procedures and
complete mandatory manual handling training.
Promotes the health and safety of others.
Uses the
incident reporting and risk assessment system (IRAR), to identify and report
risks and incidents/actions if directed.
Responsible
for identifying and mitigating risk within the work environment.
Wellbeing and Emotional Resilience
Maintains a positive approach and outlook when
dealing with change and overcoming challenges and problems.
Recognises own limitations, develops realistic
goals, and uses support network resource when or if necessary.
Treats challenges and problems as a learning
experience.
Remains organised and focused when under
pressure.
Responds appropriately and effectively to all
constructive feedback.
Motivates self and others.