Main Roles and Responsibilities
- To work as part of the multi-disciplinary team and carry a caseload of therapeutic and preventative services in a variety of settings including the clinic, schools and children’s centres, which improve or maintain the health, function, learning potentials, independence and quality of life of the children.
- With support and supervision, to manage your caseload of individuals (usually aged 0-25 years) with a range of needs and disabilities. This will involve treatment of children with neurological difficulties, co-ordination difficulties, sensory processing problems and attention and behavioural deficits and maintaining associated clinical records.
Role Summary
- To be a therapy technician.
- To be professionally responsible for all aspects of your own work including the therapeutic management of client(s) in your care.
- To use your knowledge and skills to provide support and advice to the MDT as an autonomous practitioner.
- To be a member of the therapy team, contributing to service and product development.
- The post requires a flexible approach to working and may require flexible working hours.
1. Clinical – Assessment and Treatment Planning
1.1 To carry and prioritise a caseload and other ongoing tasks.
1.2 To carry out assessments and treatment in the most appropriate setting for the individual’s needs, whether this is in the clinic, school or the individual’s residential home.
1.3 To perform specialist occupational therapy assessment of children with diverse and complex presentations using advanced clinical reasoning skills and knowledge of typical child development.
1.4 To use specialist OT assessment tools to assess the individual’s function in relation to: self-care, development, physical, sensory, sensory processing, gross and fine motor skills.
1.5 To analyse and interpret complex assessment results in order to provide an accurate judgment of the individual’s condition and identify OT goals as part of an overall care plan.
1.6 To develop and implement treatment and management plans for each individual incorporating individual or group therapy sessions and programmes for use in care and/or in education settings.
1.7 To re-evaluate and progress/adapt treatment programmes at established intervals depending on the needs of each individual and the outcomes expected and to authorise discharge when appropriate.
2. Clinical – Interventions and Treatments
2.1 To plan and implement a range of specialist child centred individual and/or group interventions.
2.2 To re-evaluate and progress/adapt treatment programmes at established intervals depending on the needs of each child and the outcomes expected and to authorise discharge when appropriate.
2.3 To identify and implement appropriate treatment approaches and techniques during therapy based on sound knowledge of evidence based practice and best practice guidelines.
2.4 To monitor the effectiveness of intervention.
3. Clinical – Analytical / Judgmental Skills
3.1 To analyse and interpret complex assessment results to provide an accurate judgment of the individual’s condition where appropriate, or to contribute to the individual’s diagnosis by communicating assessment findings to the other involved professionals.
3.2 To identify OT goals as part of an overall care plan.
3.3 To identify and implement appropriate treatment approaches and techniques based on sound knowledge of evidence based practice and best practice guidelines
3.4 To monitor the effectiveness of intervention.
3.5 To make referrals to other professionals and agencies if required to address the individual’s global needs.
4. Clinical – Communication
4.1 To provide support and advice for the individual’s parents, carers and/or school about all aspects of their care that relate to their OT needs, adjusting your use of language to allow for their level of comprehension to understand.
4.2 To adjust your communication according to the age and comprehension level of the child/family and use non-verbal communication, sign and augmentative communication aids as necessary.
4.3 To provide and receive complex and sensitive information with regard to a child’s difficulties and expectations.
4.4 To be able to demonstrate empathy and sensitivity in response to parents and children.
4.5 To work sensitively with parents who are themselves dealing with anger, grief and frustration as they come to terms with the impact of their child’s condition.
4.6 To communicate effectively with parents/carers, team members, colleagues and other agencies, including health and educational staff using written and verbal communication skills.
4.7 To attend meetings where requested in order to provide specialist advice about the functional needs of the individual.
4.8 To arrange these meetings when appropriate. This may include the development of comprehensive MDT plans for transition and discharge.
4.9 To act appropriately when exposed to children who may be wet, soiled, sick, have saliva control issues etc.
4.10 To provide specialist OT reports for use within inter-agencies, e.g. education, and documentation relevant to the setting, standards and guidelines.
4.11 To maintain accurate, legible and complete clinical records of all patient related interventions in accordance with professional and service standards.
4.12 To provide programmes on a verbal or written basis, using pictorial representation as required, ensuring these programmes are carried over into daily life.
5. Human resources including personal and people development
5.1 To adhere to the Royal College of Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and comply with local and national standards of practice.
5.2 To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspects of your own professional and clinical work.
5.3 To review and reflect on own practice and performance through the effective use of professional and clinical supervision and appraisal in line with local and company guidelines. Formal supervision on a monthly basis and appraisal on a yearly basis with six monthly reviews.
5.4 To demonstrate basic leadership skills through the management of designated projects e.g. developing resources, clinical governance objectives.
5.5 To plan, organise and provide training to parents/carers and educational staff.
5.6 To plan and undertake presentation of OT related talks.
6. Health, safety and security
6.1 To be vigilant at all times in maintaining a safe therapeutic environment within the clinic, schools and residential settings.
6.2 To carry out risk assessments and show an awareness of Health and Safety implications and act accordingly.
6.3 To be responsible for equipment used in carrying out Occupational Therapy duties and to adhere to all policies and guidelines to ensure safe use of equipment by self and others.
6.4 To report any defects or difficulties to Clinical Director.
6.5 To set up equipment when it arrives, show parents/carers/professionals how to use it safely, advise on when/how often it should be used and monitor it as the individual grows/changes.
6.6 Arrange for repairs and adaptations as necessary.
6.7 To have a sound knowledge of theory and practice of manual handling of specialist equipment e.g. adaptive seating, therapeutic equipment.
7. Policy and Service Improvement/Development
7.1 To participate in the operational planning and implementation of policy and service development within the OT team and the wider therapy group.
7.2 To demonstrate a working knowledge and contribute to developing and completing clinical audits.
7.3 To advise the Office Manager of any therapeutic equipment/materials needed for the service.
RESPONSIBILITY- Audit/Research & Development
- To demonstrate ongoing personal development through participation in internal and external development opportunities, recording learning outcomes in a portfolio.
- To demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate current research, apply them to practice and disseminate findings at a local level.
- To broaden research and development skills through participation in local audit and research projects.
- To develop and promote evidence based practice.
RESPONSIBILITY-Quality
- To contribute to clinical governance as a member of the OT team looking at specific issues.
- To contribute to service development both of the service as a whole and in smaller groups by gathering requested information, suggesting issues to more senior staff and instigating projects with the agreement of senior staff.
- To demonstrate understanding and application of national guidelines/legislation relating to health and social care in the provision of children’s services.
RESPONSIBILITY-Equality, diversity and rights
- To adjust communication according to age and comprehension level of the individual, using gesture and augmentative communication aids as necessary.
- To assess each individual’s clinical needs and base treatment intensity and frequency on this assessment.
- To evaluate each recipient’s social situation and their emotional and educational ability to process the information and act upon it in the best interests of the child.
RESPONSIBILITY – Risk Management / Health & Safety
- The post holder has a responsibility to themselves and others in relation to managing risk, health and safety and will be required to work within the policies and procedures laid down by the Organisation.
- Members of staff are required to observe the hygiene code and demonstrate good infection control and hand hygiene.
- Employees must be aware of the responsibilities placed on them by the Health & Safety at Work Act (1974) to ensure that the agreed safety procedures are carried out to maintain a safe environment for other staff, community members and visitors.
- To act immediately on safety notices, hazard warning notices and any other notifications in relation to equipment used/prescribed by the organisation.
- To report all clinical and non-clinical incidents or near misses promptly and when required to co-operate with any investigations undertaken.
- All staff have a responsibility to access occupational health, other staff support services and/or any relevant others in times of need and advice.
RESPONSIBILITY- Records Management
- The post holder has responsibility for the creation and maintenance of records in accordance with the Data Protection legislation The Data Protection Act 2018. I.e. if required to do so, obtain, process and/or use information held on a computer in a fair and lawful way, to hold only for the specified registered purposes and to use or disclose the data only to authorised persons or organisations.
- The post holder has a responsibility to maintain timely and accurate record keeping and in accordance with professional guidelines.
This job description is not exhaustive and the post holder may be required to undertake such other duties from time to time as are consistent with the responsibility of the post.
This job description is subject to review and development from time to time in liaison with the post holder. As an employee of Whole Child Therapy Ltd you will be required to adhere to all the organisations policies and procedures.
Additional duties and responsibilities:
Performing with appropriate professional care any other tasks, duties and responsibilities within reason that further the aims and objectives of Whole Child Therapy Ltd.
Whole Child Therapy Ltd is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults and expects all staff to share this commitment. An enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check and registration with the Update service will be required.
Whole Child Therapy Ltd reserves the right to vary or amend the duties and responsibilities of the post and the post-holder at any time according to the needs of its business.
Person Specification
| Criteria | Essential | Desirable | Assessment method(*) |
| Qualification, Education and training | To be engaged on a degree programme- Occupational Therapy or Physiotherapy
or To have significant clinical or SEN experience. |
Clinical experience.
Experience of MDT working Previous assistant or technician experience SI Training |
Application and reference |
| Experience | Working with children/young people
Delivery of individual and group (therapy) sessions Maintaining statistical data and providing related analysis Supporting parents and families |
Working in an SEN environment
|
Application form and interview |
| Knowledge and understanding | Ability to work independently with appropriate clinical supervision and support
Understanding of professional ethics and application in practice. Understanding of team dynamics. Ability to reflect and critically appraise own performance Health, safety and risk awareness Principles of Safeguarding |
Principles of professional boundaries and clinical governance | Application and interview |
| Communication and relationship skills | Able to give clear, concise written and verbal reports/notes in English
Awareness of confidentiality Good communication skills, including the ability to process and share information Able to communicate with people and a good understanding of the needs of people with complex communication and physical needs Commitment to professional issues and activities Demonstrates professional independence Demonstrates motivational skills Able to pass on skills/knowledge to others within formal and informal settings, including multidisciplinary groups Aware of Equal Opportunities Good team working skills Understanding of roles of other members of the multidisciplinary team, and own role within the team Able to give constructive feedback |
Training and presentation skills | Application form and interview |
| Technical skills | Observation and treatment skills.
Casework planning and evaluation Accurate record keeping Ability to review, interpret and apply, if appropriate, research findings. |
Sensory Integration therapy
Neuro-disability Child development Therapeutic listening |
Application and interview |
| Analytical skills | Able to analyse and interpret a range of facts and situations
Able to think logically Able to assess, plan and progress treatments appropriately |
Interview | |
| Interpersonal skills | Communicates effectively and appropriately with people who may have widely differing levels of communication abilities and professional understanding
Able to establish and develop effective and productive relationships with parents, children and other professionals
|
Able to form and nurture effective professional relationships.
Well developed teamwork and networking skills |
Interview |
| Planning and organisational skills | Good time management and organisational skills
Able to prioritise own workload Able to work flexibly and independently Able to contribute to in service training |
Interview and references | |
| Motivation and aptitude | Demonstrable suitability to work with children with complex support needs
Patient and calm particularly at times of pressure. Offers creative solutions Seeks out constructive ways to resolve problems, conflict or differences in professional judgement Resilient to periods of high/demanding emotional intensity. Demonstrable commitment to own CPD |
Confident in operating as a solo specialist within a multidisciplinary context | Interview and references |
| Other | Able to undertake manual handling tasks in line with setting policies
Able to cope with a busy working environment , with periods of interruption throughout the working day Have a flexible approach to working and able to undertake evening, weekend and public holiday duty commitments as required Physical capacity to react quickly in response to emergency situations (kneeling, running or similar) |
|
Interview and references |