Location: One based in West Yorkshire and the other in The North West or Staffordshire 

Salary: £44,000 to £50,000 + benefits NJC Band 7 (higher for experienced candidates).

Contract: Permanent, 37 hrs per week, term time only or full time all year round (open to negotiation). 

Hours: (Mon to Fri 08:45 – 16:45)

Start date: Tbc

 

Are you an experienced Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) with the enthusiasm and motivation to work with children with a wide range of learning difficulties and disabilities, including autism?

 

These unique and brand new opportunities allow you to work alongside committed school staff in a range of schools across the Trust in all the communities we serve.  We aim to deliver an outstanding school experience to children with special educational needs and disabilities  and their families. Many of our communities are the most deprived in the North of England.

 

The majority of your role will be focusing on pupils in our Primary schools but there would also be some support needed at Secondary level in the lower years. Your core responsibility will be to offer assessment and therapy work but also develop our staff to improve pupil experiences for children with a range of additional special educational needs . This would mean working alongside the NHS Speech and Language intervention when required to ensure we maximise capacity that already happens in our schools. We want you to support the ongoing daily work, building capacity and expertise with your input within assessment and therapy strategies. We want our provision for SEN pupils to improve across the Trust developing into outstanding experiences and both appointments will help greatly with this key target. 

 

There are exciting and new opportunities based in our schools with one concentrating in West Yorkshire and the other in the North West or West Midlands to work with a range of pupils and staff and help to improve the practice of this key area across the Trust. You will be working with a dedicated team of SENCO’s based in our schools and belong to a team of Directors of SEN who also work across the Trust. The network of SENCOs which you would belong to is led by our SEN lead across the Trust; Dominic Wall Executive Headteacher. Virtual work from home is also possible for a proportion of your week’s time where your work tasks allow it with the pattern to be determined in dialogue with line managers. There is travelling within your region between schools and hub offices. 

 

Working for the Coop in all what we do is underpinned by being a morale and values based organisation. We strongly believe in networks of schools working collaboratively and cooperatively together to improve pupil daily experiences and making our schools great places to work for our staff. Join an organisation determined to make a difference but also doing it in the right way.

 

Location: Flexible, one Speech and Language therapist required to work at all academies within West Yorkshire, with the second within all our schools in Manchester, Wirral, Stoke and Staffordshire.

 

 

Essential Criteria:

 

• At least 3 years’ experience as a Speech and Language Therapist  with additional training and experience of working with children with special educational needs and disabilities and their families.
• Previous experience of working with children with special educational needs and disabilities in an educational context including early years to KS5. 

• Demonstrable experience of working with children who use Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) and may have additional Sensory Processing Disorders: HI: VI.
• Experience working with children with complex needs such as ADHD and ASD. This may also include children who may use alternative forms of communication.
• Training and experience working with children with challenging behaviours.

• Good communication and interpersonal skills.
• Knowledge and understanding of working within a culturally diverse community.
• Ability to develop effective strategies to engage hard-to-reach families.
• Experienced in delivering training to professionals.
• Experience of liaising effectively with relevant agencies, including health professionals.
• Experience of monitoring and evaluating for improvement.
• Current member of the HCPC and eligible for membership to the RCSLT.

 

Desirable but not essential:

 

Be familiar with and or trained in;

• Training in mealtime difficulties and dysphagia management
• Makaton Sign Vocabulary
• ELKLAN (Supporting Children with SLD or similar)

 

We can offer the right candidate continued access to high quality professional development opportunities within a vibrant, friendly and dedicated school community.

 

If you would like an informal discussion about the post, prospective candidates are warmly invited to contact our lead for SEN across the Trust Dominic Wall Executive Headteacher dominic.wall@coopacademies.co.uk

 

Benefits

Local government pension scheme

Co-op staff discount and other benefits

 

How to apply

Closing date: Monday 4th December

Interviews: Friday 15th December

 

Applications must be on our application form (returned in Word or Google Doc, not pdf format), which is available along with other supporting information on our website at https://www.coopacademies.co.uk/vacancies/ to centralrecruitment@coopacademies.co.uk 

 

For more information about the Trust, please visit www.coopacademies.co.uk 

 

Co-op Academies Trust as an aware employer is committed to safeguarding and protecting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults as its number one priority. This commitment to robust recruitment, selection and induction procedures extends to organisations and services linked to the Trust on its behalf. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check.  We value variety and individual differences, and aim to create a culture, environment and practices at all levels which encompass acceptance, respect and inclusion. All our colleagues are expected to demonstrate a commitment to co-operative values and principles.