Closing date: 11 August 2026
Date posted: 17 July 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 5
Salary: £36,943 to £44,900 a year, per annum
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 363-SS8150210
Job locations: West Ham Lane Health Centre, 84 West Ham Lane, London, E15 4PT, United Kingdom

Job summary
We have an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic and dedicated Occupational Therapist to join our growing paediatric OT team, supporting children and young people aged 0-18 years. This Band 5 role is ideal for a therapist who is keen to develop their skills within a supportive and experienced multidisciplinary environment. You will be joining a skilled team who will provide you with a broad range of clinical experiences to help you develop strong foundational paediatric OT skills. Experience will be gained across a variety of settings, including clinics, schools, and client homes. The caseload is focused on supporting Newham's neuro-diverse population and offers opportunities to work with children with physical disabilities, upper limb needs, seating, and much more. We are part of a multi-disciplinary therapies team delivering high-quality and evidence-based services for children and families in Newham and have a strong multi-agency work ethic. You will work closely with colleagues such as Speech and Language Therapists, Paediatricians, Physiotherapists, and Specialist Nurses, as well as professionals from partner agencies that provide service across Newham. We are based at the Child Development Centre in Stratford, in the London Borough of Newham, close to the Olympic Park in the heart of London's East End (with excellent transport links with the rest of London and Essex).

Main duties of the job
The successful applicant will have experience working with children and families OR as a Band 5 OT, and will demonstrate a commitment to developing their paediatric OT skills within a supportive and dynamic team. You will be involved in the delivery of our Parent Coaching intervention working with parents of children who are of pre-school age and also those moving into Key Stage 1 who have social communication difficulties or a diagnosis of ASC. You will support the Newham schools, as part of an OT School Hub, that will involve delivering training, supporting coffee mornings for families and supporting the school staff to set up groups in school.

About us
Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations. In return, we can offer you:

• An amazing working environment, with a warm, welcoming and supportive team of OTs and OTAs who bring experiences from all over the world.
• 1:1 monthly supervision, appraisal and CPD
• Team learning programme
• Protected service development time and regular team away days
• Opportunity to supervise and develop junior staff
• Bi-monthly team meetings
• Ongoing clinical skills development, MDT working
• Opportunity to be involved in service improvement
• Involvement in audit and quality improvement

Job description
Job responsibilities

• 1. To manage a caseload of children aged up to 18 years with a range of difficulties that are impacting on their ability to be able to fully participate and engage in activities of daily living.
• 2. To complete assessments, writing individual reports and programmes, implementing groups, providing advice to parents and schools and reviewing outcomes with a functional based focus.
• 3. Work as part of the OT service and with members of the wider MDT within Specialist Services for Children and Young People.
• 4. To work alongside teaching assistants, teachers, families and carers to achieve outcomes for individual clients, providing support, programmes, ideas, advice and assessment

Person Specification
Education/Qualification
Essential

• Occupational Therapy Degree or equivalent
• Registration with Health Professions Council
• Maintenance of continuing professional development portfolio

Experience
Essential

• The ability to demonstrate continued learning during student placements
• Experience of working/motivation to work with children and/or young people OR working as a band 5 OT

Knowledge and skills
Essential

• Ability to work and communicate with a wide range of professionals as a member of a multidisciplinary team e.g.: other health professionals, education staff, Social Services and other statutory and voluntary organisations.
• Ability to establish a therapeutic relationship with a client and their carers/families motivating them to participate in the therapeutic process
• Ability to undertake all aspects of the occupational therapy process
• Ability to work with both individuals and groups in a therapeutic setting
• Ability to plan and coordinate treatment to be implemented by others e.g. teachers and education support workers/parents
• Ability to reflect and appraise own performance

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. 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.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

Employer details
Employer name: East London NHS Foundation Trust
Address: West Ham Lane Health Centre, 84 West Ham Lane, London, E15 4PT, United Kingdom
Employer's website: Apply through our website

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact:
Clinical Lead for Occupational Therapy
Sean Bowen
sean.bowen@nhs.net
02085866480