Location: Unlocking Language, Canary Wharf Clinic, London
Role: Band 6/7 Paediatric Occupational Therapist (full-time or part-time)
Specialism: Sensory Processing & Sensory Integration
Client Group: Children and young people aged 2–25, with a particular focus on Early Years, younger children and children with complex needs
Salary: £42,471- £50,000
Unlocking Language is a specialist paediatric therapy service supporting children, young people and their families across London and Essex.
We are looking for an experienced and enthusiastic Band 6 or Band 7 Paediatric Occupational Therapist to join our multidisciplinary team at our Canary Wharf clinic.
This is an exciting opportunity for an Occupational Therapist with a strong interest and experience in sensory processing, sensory integration and regulation to help further develop the occupational therapy and sensory provision within our clinic.
You will work closely alongside our Speech and Language Therapists, supporting children with a wide range of developmental, sensory, communication and complex needs.
The successful Occupational Therapist will provide specialist assessment, intervention and advice for children and young people aged approximately 2–25 years, with the majority of the caseload focusing on Early Years and younger children.
Children attending the clinic may present with:
- Autism
- Developmental delay
- Sensory processing differences
- Sensory seeking or sensory avoidant behaviours
- Emotional and sensory regulation difficulties
- ADHD
- Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)/dyspraxia
- Fine and gross motor difficulties
- Motor planning and praxis difficulties
- Poor body awareness and proprioception
- Vestibular processing difficulties
- Attention and engagement difficulties
- Complex developmental needs
- Learning disabilities
- Physical disabilities
- Difficulties with activities of daily living and independence
- Handwriting and pre-writing difficulties
- Play and participation difficulties
A key focus of this position will be developing our sensory and regulation provision within the Canary Wharf clinic.
You will:
- Carry out specialist sensory assessments and observations.
- Identify children’s individual sensory processing profiles and how these impact participation, regulation, learning, play and daily life.
- Plan and deliver individualised sensory-based occupational therapy programmes.
- Develop and implement sensory diets and sensory strategies where clinically appropriate.
- Design and deliver sensory circuits, including alerting, organising and calming activities.
- Support children who experience sensory dysregulation.
- Provide strategies for sensory seeking, sensory avoidance and sensory sensitivities.
- Support proprioceptive, vestibular, tactile and interoceptive development.
- Work on body awareness, motor planning, coordination and postural control.
- Advise parents, therapists and other professionals on environmental adaptations and regulation strategies.
- Support the development of sensory programmes that can be continued at home, nursery or school.
An exciting part of this role will be helping us develop and adapt our Canary Wharf clinic to incorporate a dedicated sensory room and enhanced sensory provision.
The Occupational Therapist will have the opportunity to advise on:
- Sensory room design and layout
- Appropriate sensory equipment
- Safe and therapeutic use of equipment
- Regulation spaces
- Movement-based equipment
- Proprioceptive and vestibular activities
- Calming environments
- Sensory circuits within the clinic
- Creating sensory opportunities throughout the wider clinic environment
We are particularly interested in a therapist who is passionate about helping us build a high-quality, evidence-informed sensory environment for the children attending our clinic.
You will:
- Complete comprehensive occupational therapy assessments.
- Develop individualised therapy goals and intervention plans.
- Deliver one-to-one occupational therapy sessions.
- Review children’s progress and adapt intervention accordingly.
- Support fine motor, gross motor and visual-motor development.
- Develop pre-writing, handwriting and functional classroom skills.
- Support play, participation and independence.
- Work on self-care skills including dressing, feeding and everyday routines where appropriate.
- Provide parent coaching and practical strategies for home.
- Liaise with schools, nurseries and other professionals where required.
- Maintain accurate clinical records and documentation.
- Complete reports, recommendations and therapy programmes.
- Contribute to multidisciplinary assessments and intervention planning.
Unlocking Language has a strong Speech and Language Therapy team, and collaborative working will be an important part of this role.
You will work closely with our Speech and Language Therapists to understand how a child’s sensory regulation, attention, motor skills and communication needs interact.
This may include:
- Joint OT and Speech and Language Therapy sessions.
- Developing sensory regulation strategies before and during communication therapy.
- Supporting children to achieve an appropriate level of regulation for engagement and learning.
- Joint goal setting.
- Collaborative parent consultations.
- Sharing strategies across disciplines.
- Supporting children who use AAC and other communication systems.
- Contributing to multidisciplinary clinical discussions and case reviews.
We want OT and Speech and Language Therapy provision to work together rather than operate as separate services.
The successful candidate will:
- Hold a recognised degree or postgraduate qualification in Occupational Therapy.
- Be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
- Have relevant paediatric occupational therapy experience.
- Have experience working with autistic children and/or children with complex developmental needs.
- Have strong knowledge and experience of sensory processing and regulation.
- Have experience planning and implementing sensory programmes and sensory circuits.
- Be confident working with Early Years children.
- Be able to assess children’s functional, motor and sensory needs.
- Be able to work independently while contributing effectively to a multidisciplinary team.
- Have excellent communication skills when working with children, parents and professionals.
- Maintain high standards of clinical documentation and professional practice.
We would particularly welcome applicants with:
- Sensory Integration training or postgraduate Sensory Integration qualifications.
- Experience using standardised sensory assessments.
- Advanced knowledge of sensory processing.
- Experience developing or running sensory rooms.
- Experience with complex needs and neurodevelopmental conditions.
- Experience with DCD/dyspraxia and motor coordination difficulties.
- Experience working within specialist schools or Early Years settings.
- Experience delivering parent or professional training.
- Experience supervising junior Occupational Therapists, particularly for Band 7 applicants.
- Experience developing new clinical services or pathways.
For applicants joining at Band 7 level, we would expect additional experience in specialist paediatric occupational therapy and the ability to take a leadership role in developing our OT and sensory provision.
This could include:
- Acting as a clinical specialist for sensory processing and regulation.
- Leading the development of the Canary Wharf sensory room.
- Establishing sensory assessment and intervention pathways.
- Developing clinical protocols and resources.
- Supporting and supervising junior Occupational Therapists as the service grows.
- Delivering internal training to Speech and Language Therapists and other team members.
- Supporting quality assurance and evidence-based practice.
- Contributing to the strategic development of Occupational Therapy within Unlocking Language.
We are looking for someone who is passionate about paediatric Occupational Therapy, sensory processing and neurodiversity and who wants to play an active role in developing a growing multidisciplinary service.
You will be someone who understands that regulation can have a significant impact on a child’s ability to engage, communicate, play, learn and participate.
Most importantly, we are looking for a therapist who enjoys working collaboratively and wants to help us create an outstanding sensory and Occupational Therapy provision for children and families at our Canary Wharf clinic.
