Job summary
Band 6 Specialist Paediatric Occupational Therapist-or Band 5 to Band 6 Development Post

Paediatric Community Services- Newham, East London Foundation Trust

Do you want to develop your specialist paediatric knowledge and progress your career by working in a highly diverse award winning community team ?

Do you want to want to be part of a multidisciplinary team and support our Band 7s in the development and running of our integrated pathways?

We have an exciting opportunity for an innovative and dedicated Occupational Therapist with specialist skills, excellent foundational knowledge and varied experience in the field paediatrics, to be part of our team supporting children and young people from 0-19 years.

Joining our highly skilled team of OTs and assistants will ensure a broad range of clinical experiences that will develop the specialist skills you require to progress your OT career.Your varied caseload will offer opportunities to work with different presentations of physical conditions and neuro-diversity, as well as protected time to contribute to our numerous evidence based pathways.

These include, but are not limited to: Upper Limb Splinting, Complex Seating, Early Intervention for Young Infants, Specialist DCD Assessment Clinic in partnership with our Paediatricans, Parent Coaching. Our community work spans a variety of settings including our own well-equipped clinic rooms, in our clients' home and at school.

Main duties of the job
This post is available as a 'run through' development post for band 5 staff with 12 months postgraduate experience, where additional support will be provided in order to meet a certain level of competency measured between 6-12 months in the post.

As a Band 6 in our team, you will manage your own caseload, support junior staff and students with their competency development through regular formal and informal supervision. You will have your own monthly supervision with opportunities to be involved in Quality Improvement and Clinical Audit. Our team is proud to have presented at national conferences, showcasing our pioneering work in Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and Parent Coaching Pathways, setting the standard for best practice and sharing knowledge with the wider occupational therapy community.

Within the Specialist Children and Young Peoples' Service (SCYPS), the OTs form an integral part of a multidisciplinary therapies team who work closely with Physiotherapists, Speech and Language Therapists, Dietitians, Paediatricians and Specialist Nurses. Together our mission is to make positive differences to peoples' lives by delivering high quality services for the children and families of Newham.

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 responsibilities
We are a warm, welcoming and supportive team of OTs and OTAs bringing life experiences from across the world. Our monthly team meetings and away days ensure we have time to work creatively on projects and developments in line with best practice. We are a team who achieve exceptional standards and are proud to pioneer new ways of working routed in research and innovation.

We Care. We Respect. We are Inclusive. And we are looking for talented OTs who embody these qualities when supporting our service users and their families, as well as in their relationships with colleagues and partner organisations.

Person Specification
Education/ Qualification
Essential

• Recognised Occupational Therapy Degree/Post graduate degree Qualification or equivalent
• Registered Member of Royal College of Occupational Therapists
• Evidence of successful completion of specialist short courses

Experience
Essential

• Minimum of 12 months at Band 5 level (preferably in a paediatric setting) with evidence of consolidating OT competencies
• Ability to undertake all aspects of the occupational therapy process
• Highly developed skills in relation to a field of specialism visual perception: ability to diagnose specific problems in the field, devise and implement appropriate treatment programmes, and evaluate and modify the programme
• Experience completing comprehensive OT assessments using standardised and non standardised tools (e.g., DASH, Movement ABC, Sensory Profile, Beery VMI).
• Experience working effectively within a multidisciplinary or multi-agency team (e.g., SLT, physiotherapy, education staff, social care).

Knowledge and Skills
Essential

• Ability to train parents/carers to carry out therapeutic interventions including gross and fine motor activities using manual dexterity skills and physical stamina e.g. sensory integration treatments using large equipment.
• Ability to apply safe manual handling techniques to children/young people with highly complex disabilities
• Ability to prioritise own workload taking into account both clinical and non-clinical elements
• Ability to reflect and critically appraise own and others performance
• Excellent interpersonal skills - including observation, listening and empathy skills
• Negotiation and problem-solving skills
• Demonstrates good analytical and self-reflection skills

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.

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).

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details
Employer name: East London NHS Foundation Trust
Address: West Ham Lane Health Centre, 84 West Ham Lane, 84 West Ham Lane, E15 4PT, Stratford, E15 4PT, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.elft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

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

Details
Date posted: 07 September 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 6
Salary: £45,953 to £54,254 a year
Outer London weighting
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 363-SS8142420-A
Job locations: West Ham Lane Health Centre, 84 West Ham Lane, 84 West Ham Lane, E15 4PT, Stratford, E15 4PT, United Kingdom

Supporting documents
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