Basic / Senior / Lead Occupational Therapist

Would you like to make a positive difference to the life of our students and families every day?

Would you like the time to focus on your clinical work, with enough space for reflection, supervision and administration?

Would you like to develop an Occupational Therapy pathway led by young people and the neurodiversity paradigm?

Then we have an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic and dynamic Occupational Therapist to join our Multidisciplinary Team!

Who we are:

Vanguard School is part of Liberty Academy Trust (LAT) established in 2022 to enhance the secondary school experience of autistic pupils.

LAT currently includes two other free schools, Church Lawton School and Thames Valley School.

What we need:

We are seeking an Occupational Therapist (OT) to work with our dedicated multidisciplinary team to support our students across our school. You will work alongside Speech and Language Therapists, the Lead Clinical Psychologist and the Pastoral team to provide both a universal offer and targeted interventions based on Education Health and Care Plans and social, emotional and mental health needs.

The post holder will have responsibility for developing how OT works in the team, in collaboration with the school, students and families. You will be involved in choosing an independent OT supervisor and will be supported to develop in your career, both in terms of progression and continuing professional development.

The school includes a Sensory Room, so Sensory Integration Therapy or other trainings that would support the use of this room are highly desirable. There may be opportunities to fund training for suitable candidates.

Vanguard School opened before the pandemic and following a period of change, leadership positions are filled and we are excited about Vanguard School’s future direction. We are keen to attract candidates who are seeking a good work life balance. Caseloads will be manageable, supported by reflective practice and you will have the time to develop areas of your own interest in your practice.

Clinically you will be responsible for supporting education staff to implement EHCP recommendations, as well as providing some universal and targeted group and individual therapy. There will be some independent work in this role, so it may suit a senior therapist. However we are most interested in candidates who are passionate about working with Autistic young people in an neurodiversity affirming way. Candidates at an earlier stage of their career will be supported by more joint work with the Lead Clinical Psychologist. We are looking to appoint a confident and skilled professional who is committed to developing their expertise and specialism within the field.

You will be actively involved in staff training and there will also be the opportunity to increase your knowledge and skills through participation in team and wider Vanguard School continuing professional development programmes with regular individual and group supervision opportunities.

You will be expected to work largely on your own initiative and be confident in representing OT within annual reviews and team meetings.

You must hold a recognised OT qualification and be registered with the HCPC.

We need you to be resilient, supportive and sensitive towards the needs of Autistic people.

Along with a host of benefits – flexible working, local authority pension (comparable to the NHS pension) - we’ll make sure you get excellent Autism-specific training to help further your career.