Specialist Children's Occupational Therapist

Do you find joy in turning play into therapy? Perhaps you’ve transformed a school hall into a jungle adventure, or shared a make-believe feast with a superhero on the moon. In children’s occupational therapy, imagination isn’t just fun – it’s a powerful tool for growth, learning, and independence.

If you’re inspired by the idea of supporting children and young people to build confidence in self-care, learning, and play, this role could offer the creative and meaningful career move you’ve been waiting for.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Band 6 Occupational Therapist to join our Community Paediatric Occupational Therapy Team at Buckinghamshire NHS Trust on a fixed-term basis.

In this role, you’ll:

• Deliver universal, targeted, and specialist interventions for children with EHCPs in mainstream settings.
• Manage your own caseload.
• Provide specialist assessments and interventions.
• Support colleagues and students.
• Contribute to training and service development alongside the leadership team.

We’re seeking a positive, proactive clinician with paediatric experience and a commitment to advancing occupational therapy for children and young people.

In return, we offer a supportive team environment that:

• Puts patient care first.
• Values professional development.
• Champions the vital role of occupational therapy in children’s services.

As a Band 6 Paediatric Occupational Therapist, you will:

• Manage your own complex caseload of children and young people with a variety of conditions.
• Use specialist clinical skills to provide assessments, interventions, and coaching to families, education staff, and other professionals.
• Lead on supporting and training team members.
• Supervise students and therapy assistants.
• Contribute to service development through evidence-based, multi-agency projects.

The role requires strong prioritisation, organisational, and communication skills to balance clinical duties with non-clinical responsibilities such as service improvement initiatives, resource development, and training delivery. Working closely with colleagues in Speech and Language Therapy, Physiotherapy, health, education, and social care, as well as the Buckinghamshire Integrated SEND team and tertiary centres, you will play a vital role in ensuring a successful multidisciplinary approach. You will provide universal and targeted advice within the SEND Code of Practice, design and deliver training to parents and practitioners, and embed yourself within the service’s clinical pathway by actively participating in team meetings, all while ensuring the delivery of a high-quality, child-centred occupational therapy service.

Why colleagues think we are "a great place to work!"

What does Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust offer you?

• As part of our BHT family, you’ll benefit from learning and development opportunities to support your career progression.
• Alongside NHS benefits of generous annual leave entitlement and pension scheme, you'll have access to NHS discount schemes.
• We provide a range of health and wellbeing services to promote a healthy, happy workforce.

What do we stand for?

• Our vision is to provide outstanding care, support healthy communities, and be a great place to work.
• Our mission is to provide personal and compassionate care every time.
• We are working hard to increase diversity at all levels within the trust. We believe a diverse workforce can have a positive effect on both staff wellbeing and patient outcomes.
• We welcome applications from black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates, candidates with disabilities, and care-experienced candidates.
• We are proud to achieve the Gold award for the Armed Forces Covenant and support applications from the Armed Forces Community.

Equal Employment Opportunities
We make employment decisions by matching our service needs with the skills and experience of candidates, regardless of age, disability, gender, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation.

For a comprehensive list of responsibilities and duties, please kindly refer to the Job Description and Person Specification by downloading the JD and PS attachment in the advert.

If you are an internal applicant, there is the option for secondment; all applicants must have the endorsement/support of their line manager prior to application.

If you have a disability that makes submitting this online application difficult and would like assistance, please contact us quoting the vacancy reference number.