Occupational Therapist

Job Role: Occupational Therapist (School Based)

Start date: ASAP or September 2025

Hours: 8.30am - 4.30pm or 8am - 4pm

Duration: Monday - Friday (Permanent) Term-time only

Salary: £45000 - £55000 FTE term time only + 2 weeks

Main purpose of the job:

• The main purpose of the job is to provide specialised occupational therapy services for students with complex needs, including PMLD, SLD, and autism, within a specialist school or college setting.
  
  
• The role involves leading the onsite OT provision, developing and delivering tailored therapy programs, offering training to staff and groups, supporting students’ functional and developmental goals, and managing OT equipment to ensure the effective delivery of services.
  
  
• The therapist will work closely with the head of therapy to enhance and expand the therapeutic services offered at the school.
  
  Main responsibilities and tasks
  
  
• Clinical Assessment and Intervention
  
  
• Manage and prioritise a complex and specialised caseload, adhering to professional and ethical guidelines.
  
  
• Conduct comprehensive assessments to identify students' occupational therapy needs as part of transition into college and throughout their time at school.
  
  
• Develop and implement individualised therapy programs, delivering interventions
  
  
• through individual or group sessions as appropriate.
  
  
• Monitor and review students' progress, adjusting therapy plans to ensure optimal outcomes.
  
  
• Use different assessments across the three pathways to support students who have SLD, PMLD and Autism.
  
  
• Oversee the assessment, ordering and use of specialist equipment
  
  
• Ensure students are working independently, as functionally possible, with aspects of their whole life including feeding, mobility and regulation
  
  Collaboration and Communication
  
  
• Work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team, including education staff, speech and language therapists, physiotherapist, and other professionals, to support the holistic development of each student.
  
  
• Effectively communicate complex condition-related information to parents, carers, and relevant professionals.
  
  
• Supporting therapy into daily curriculum activities
  
  
• Participate in clinical discussions and contribute to the management of individual students within educational and therapeutic settings.
  
  
• Meeting with teams and individuals to discuss impact and progress
  
  Training and Development
  
  
• Provide training and guidance to staff and parents to ensure consistency in therapeutic approaches across different environments.
  
  
• Maintain training records and staff competencies
  
  
• Engage in continuous professional development to maintain up-to-date knowledge of best practices in occupational therapy.
  
  
• Support the induction process by delivering training to new staff and trainee staff.
  
  
• Modelling therapy strategies to staff
  
  Documentation and Reporting:
  
  
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date case notes in line with professional standards and college policies.
  
  
• Prepare detailed reports for student reviews, including initial assessments, annual reviews, and interim updates as required.
  
  
• Work in collaboration with class teachers to embed therapy outcomes in IEPs, following the Preparation for Adulthood framework.
  
  
• Report to the Principal termly on the effectiveness of OT including qualitative and quantitative data showing progress over time.
  
  Equal Opportunities: The school has a strong commitment to achieving equality of opportunity and expects all employees to implement and promote this in their own work.
  
  Health and Safety: The school is committed to a healthy and safe working environment and expects all its employees to implement and promote its policy in all aspects of their work.
  
  Confidentiality: The school is committed to maintaining the privacy of all its staff and pupils. It expects all staff to handle all individuals’ personal information in a sensitive and professional manner. All staff are under an obligation not to gain access or attempt to gain access to information they are not authorised to have.
  
  Safeguarding: The College is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
  
  If you feel this would be the ideal vacancy for you, then please apply below or contact our team direct and ask for John Stokes @ SENCare Recruitment.
  
  About us:
  
  SENCare Recruitment provides Special Educational Needs (SEN) professionals for SEN schools, mainstream schools, residential care homes and 1-1 home support through local authorities, across the UK. We can offer short/long term placements on a temporary and permanent basis for specialist SEN teachers, teaching assistants, support workers, social workers, VI/HI practitioners and mid-day meal supervisors.
  
  SENCare Recruitment is fully committed to the safety and welfare of children, and by applying for this vacancy, you are consenting to SENCare Recruitment Ltd storing your personal details in line with the new GDPR regulations