Speech and language therapy

About the role

This position places you within the children's community therapy service in Croydon, where your primary ownership is the design and delivery of intervention programmes for children with communication needs. You will exercise clinical judgement to manage an independent caseload, making decisions that directly influence outcomes for young people and their families. A core part of this role involves building and maintaining collaborative relationships with schools, families, and multidisciplinary partners to ensure that care plans are practical and consistently applied across environments. You are responsible for conducting thorough assessments, including Education, Health and Care Needs Assessments, and translating the findings into clear, actionable strategies. The role requires you to work flexibly across early years and school-aged populations, adapting your methods to meet changing needs and priorities. Success in this position will depend on your ability to communicate effectively, organise complex information, and follow through on commitments in a reliable manner. You will be expected to contribute to the professional development of the service by sharing good practice and participating in team reviews.

Key facts

What you'll do

Coordinate and deliver specialist speech and language therapy programmes for early years children to build foundational communication skills and meet therapy targets.

Support school-aged children within educational settings to remove barriers to learning and enable full participation in lessons and social activities.

Lead Education, Health and Care Needs Assessments (EHCNAs), integrating information from multiple sources to coordinate effective multi-agency input.

Develop, implement, and review individualised care plans in collaboration with families, teachers, and other professionals to ensure consistency across home and school.

Maintain accurate, secure, and up-to-date clinical records that meet professional standards and demonstrate accountability of care.

Use standardised tools and structured frameworks to guide assessment, intervention, and progress monitoring for each child.

Promote independence and communication competence by designing practical strategies that can be used throughout the child's daily routines.

Work closely with schools to provide training and advice so that staff can support communication needs effectively in the classroom.

Engage proactively with families, listening to their concerns and equipping them with techniques to reinforce therapy goals at home.

Contribute to the evaluation and improvement of the children's community therapy service by sharing feedback and participating in team discussions.

Attend case conferences and multi-professional meetings to represent the speech and language therapy perspective and influence decision making.

Ensure compliance with professional standards, safeguarding policies, and organisational procedures in every aspect of caseload management.

Adapt your practice to reflect new evidence, local priorities, and the individual cultural or linguistic needs of children and their families.

Demonstrate reliable follow-through by meeting deadlines, attending supervision, and committing to ongoing professional development.

Requirements

A degree or equivalent qualification in Speech and Language Therapy is mandatory for practice.

HCPC registration as a Speech and Language Therapist is required to work legally in this role.

Candidates must have recent experience in children's Speech and Language Therapy services.

Experience carrying out Education, Health and Care Needs Assessments (EHCNAs) is necessary to coordinate multi-agency input.

Knowledge of early years communication development is essential to support foundational skills.

Proven experience working with school-aged children in educational settings is required to function effectively in those environments.

Strong communication, organisational, and teamwork skills are needed to operate within a multidisciplinary context.

The ability to manage a varied caseload independently is required to sustain workload and service quality.

Applications from candidates eligible under UK immigration rules are accepted, and country of residence must not be on the Red or Amber list.

Reasonable adjustments for disability can be requested during recruitment and in the workplace when requested early.

Practical notes

Questions to ask

Useful questions for the interview: what a typical week looks like, how work is assigned, what tools the team uses, and how feedback works. Asking how the role has changed recently and what the team wishes it had known when joining is also reasonable. Questions about the manager's priorities are especially valued.