8/11/2019 Paeds Job Application

1/3

Introduction

I am particularly keen to work as a paediatric speech and language therapist (SLT)and I would welcome the opportunity to work for Trafford CYPS, after previouslycompleting my final clinical placement at Cherry Manor and thoroughly enjoying it. Ibelieve the following information demonstrates that I fulfil all of the essential anddesirable requirements listed on the person specification for the post.

Training and Qualifications

ESSENTIAL I qualified in January 2014 with an upper second-class honours degree in

Speech Pathology and Therapy from Manchester Metropolitan University. I have been registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)

since April 2014. I have been a member of the Royal College of Speech and Language

Therapists (RCSLT) since 2011.

I recently attended several training courses at the Centre for Child MentalHealth (CIMH) in February 2014 focusing on the diagnosis of disorders suchas ASD/ADHD and behavioural difficulties in children and adolescents.

DESIRABLE I worked as a workshop specialist for Apple whilst at University and

completed several IT examinations to enable me to deliver mentoring/trainingsessions to Apple employees; businesses such as the NHS; schools andcustomers.

Experience

ESSENTIAL As an undergraduate student, I gained experience working with children and

adolescents with a wide range of speech, language and communicationdifficulties across a number of different clinical, educational and socialsettings.

My work as an SEN Mentor, in a primary school with an extensive diverseand multicultural population, has enabled me to extend my range ofexperience with children in school, for example, working in the communitywith children of the Roma community.

I have been fortunate to have several clinic and school-based clinicalplacements, which have provided me with valuable experience in caseload

management and prioritisation. In my current role, I am responsible formanaging, reviewing and maintaining contemporaneous and accurate casenotes.

Skills and Knowledge

ESSENTIAL I have carried out both formal and informal assessments within these

settings. For example, I have administered a TALC assessment with a 5-year-old boy referred to the ASD team and also sub-tests of the CELF4 with a13-year-old referred for poor narrative development.

I am able to analyse the results of formal and informal assessments to deviseand inform therapy targets and therapeutic interventions, for example, using

8/11/2019 Paeds Job Application

2/3

the results of a STAP assessment to guide phonological therapy and identifydisordered and delayed speech processes.

I have experience of session planning and target setting (both short and longterm goals) using a range of therapeutic interventions, taking into account thecurrent evidence-based practice. For example, I planned and administered a6-week block of therapy for the development of phonological awarenessthrough the use of minimal pair activities.

I am confident using baseline measures and therapy outcome measures toevaluate the efficacy of therapy to inform future case management.

I have excellent auditory discrimination skills. I have carried out bothphonological assessments such as CLEAR and STAP and informalassessments and observations, which have required me to make quick andaccurate phonetic transcriptions, which I have then analysed to inform myclinical decision-making.

I understand the importance of working in collaboration with families, carersand professionals to achieve therapeutic aims. I have had opportunities towork alongside Teaching Assistants, explaining and supporting them to

implement therapy strategies within the school day. I appreciate the need to consult with families and educational staff in order to

meet their aims while considering my own clinical targets. I recognise theneed to be flexible and modify targets to achieve a clinical outcome, forexample, changing individual targets to small group therapy targets when anursery was faced with staff shortages.

Reflecting on my clinical practice has given me an awareness of a speechand language therapists role in altering his or her own communication styledependent on the situation, for example, relaying the same clinical findings toparents and members of an MDT. The same information needs to bedelivered in very different ways, with regard to the prior knowledge andunderstanding of the intended audience.

I am IT competent, having produced undergraduate summative assignmentsusing word and number processing packages such as Microsoft Word andExcel and Pages. I have extensive experience of using iPad/iPod apps withintherapeutic sessions and have delivered training sessions to undergraduateSLT students focused on the use of technology within clinical settings.

I am self-motivated and am happy to work independently. I also enjoy teamworking and find problem-solving and sharing ideas with colleagues and otherprofessionals stimulating.

I understand my responsibility to maintain my continued professionaldevelopment (CPD) and am willing and eager to attend all relevant trainingopportunities available to me within the trust, to consider my progress through

reflective practice and to ask for support, when I feel a task is outside of mycurrent capabilities. I am a car owner and have a full clean UK driving licence with appropriate

insurance.

DESIRABLE I am confident in using PowerPoint and Keynote to produce high quality

presentations, which I have used previously to design and deliver a variety oftraining sessions.

I participated in a PhD research project on the development of a formalassessment of abstract language and gathered data from school-agedchildren from several primary schools.

I have a good knowledge of Signalong and have used both Signalong andMakaton on previous clinical placements.

8/11/2019 Paeds Job Application

3/3

I recently completed my research project, which explored the experiences ofparents on Welsh-medium SLT in Wales. For the collection of data, Iinterviewed 14 parents in Wales in order to analyse and produce myresearch.

Other

I am a fluent Welsh, French and Spanish speaker. I have a recent record of completing the North West Health Sector Core Skills

Framework e-learning in the areas of Fire Safety; Moving and Handling;Conflict Resolution; Equality; Diversity and human Rights; Resuscitation;Health, Safety and Security; Infection Prevention and Control andSafeguarding Children.

I am happy and willing to conform to all Trust policies and procedures and toparticipate in Trust audit and research activities.