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Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist

Brief Job Overview

Tripod Partners are currently recruiting for a Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist to join Southend-on-Sea City Council within Essex Social Services. This strategic and impact-driven role focuses on developing inclusive Occupational Therapy practice across mainstream schools and educational settings, improving outcomes for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), particularly those with physical and sensory needs.

The successful Occupational Therapist will play a key leadership role in shaping and embedding universal and targeted Occupational Therapy approaches across education settings. This is a non-caseload holding role with a strong emphasis on systems leadership, service innovation, project development, workforce development and collaborative working across education, health and local authority services.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide specialist Occupational Therapy advice and support to mainstream schools and educational settings to enhance provision for children and young people with physical and sensory needs.
• Lead and supervise a team of Occupational Therapy Assistants delivering targeted support.
• Supervise and support a Specialist Occupational Therapist and Occupational Therapy Assistants.
• Develop and embed universal Occupational Therapy approaches that promote inclusion and improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND.
• Support inclusive classroom environments and the implementation of appropriate universal adaptations.
• Develop and promote regulation approaches and emotionally supportive practice within educational settings.
• Support the development of effective sensory spaces and sensory-informed environments.
• Promote appropriate movement, sensory breaks and accessibility throughout the school day.
• Support schools with sensory profiles and the implementation of sensory-informed approaches.
• Contribute to workforce development and capacity building across education settings.
• Monitor, develop and evaluate service delivery, including data collection and reporting.
• Contribute to strategic SEND reform, inclusion projects and wider service improvement initiatives.
• Contribute to policy development and the continuous improvement of Occupational Therapy services.
• Contribute strategically to Southend’s SEND and inclusion developments, including relevant capital projects.
• Provide consultative input at transport panels where required.
• Work closely with NHS Occupational Therapy colleagues to ensure complementary, aligned and cohesive support for children, young people and schools across the local area.
• Build effective collaborative relationships across education, health and local authority services to support sustainable improvements in practice.

About You

We are looking for a highly experienced Occupational Therapist with the leadership skills and professional expertise to influence Occupational Therapy practice at a strategic and systems level. You will be confident providing specialist advice to education settings and developing evidence-informed approaches that can be embedded across mainstream schools.

You should have a strong understanding of the needs of children and young people with SEND, particularly physical and sensory needs, alongside the ability to develop workforce capacity and support sustainable improvements in practice. This role will suit an Occupational Therapist who is comfortable working beyond traditional caseload-based practice and is motivated by service development, innovation and strategic inclusion.

Requirements

• Relevant Occupational Therapy qualification.
• Current HCPC registration.
• Significant experience working as an Occupational Therapist, ideally within children’s services, education or SEND environments.
• Experience providing specialist Occupational Therapy advice relating to physical and sensory needs.
• Experience supporting mainstream schools or educational settings.
• Strong understanding of inclusive practice and Occupational Therapy approaches for children and young people with SEND.
• Experience of service development, project work, workforce development or systems leadership.
• Leadership and supervision experience.
• Ability to work strategically across education, health and local authority services.
• Strong communication, partnership-working and influencing skills.
• Ability to monitor and evaluate service delivery using data and reporting.

Contract & Salary

• Job Title: Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist
• Location: Southend-on-Sea City Council
• Area: Essex Social Services
• Service: SEND / Inclusion – Occupational Therapy
• Job Type: Locum
• Contract Length: 2-year fixed-term contract
• Salary: Negotiable
• Caseload: Non-caseload holding strategic role

How to Apply

To apply for this Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist role, apply using the form on the page.