Specialist Speech and Language therapy Assistant - Surrey County Council
(2025-03)
Working across specialist provisions supporting a variety of speech and language therapists and specialist speech and language therapists, as well as delivering home visits to children with EHCPs (or waiting) who are unplaced.
- Writing termly reviews in both Complex Social Communication Needs (CSCN) school and Severe Learning and Developmental Difficulties school (SLDD)
- Working in multi-disciplinary teams and alongside a variety of professionals: access to education staff, mainstream school SENCOs, physical and sensory support teachers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, school nurses and school staff, as well as the dysphagia team within Surrey County Council
- Required to hold dysphagia telephone reviews with parents
- Deliver home visits independently with 21 students and liaise with a vast range of professionals such as case workers, access to education, REMA (race equality and minority achievement), family support workers and Afghan resettlement scheme officers
- Run clinical supervision groups for assistants once per academic term
- Support all members of the Speech and Language team (North-West Quadrant) with any electronic AAC issues/ support/ modelling/ informal training
- Responsible for monitoring and supporting all students using electronic devices at my SLDD school (over 20)
- Mentoring three Speech and Language therapy assistants
- Delivering training to assistants x1 day per term, following topics allocated by team leads
- Contributing towards a 'health team' meeting at my SLDD school, alongside nursing team, physiotherapists and occupational therapists
Senior Speech and Language therapy Assistant - Surrey County Council
(2020-07 - 2025-03)
Working across mainstream and specialist provisions supporting a variety of speech and language therapists and specialist speech and language therapists.
- Contribute towards the delivery of speech and language therapy to students with EHCPs/ waiting/ plans for additional support within mainstream schools, CSCN (complex social communication needs) schools, SLDD (severe learning and development disabilities) schools, both independently and as a team member
- Working in multi-disciplinary teams and alongside a variety of professionals: access to education staff, mainstream school SENCOS, physical and sensory support teachers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, school nurses and school staff, as well as the dysphagia team within Surrey County Council
- Responsible for the delivery of sessions for two special case students due to my extensive experience of using electronic devices and support families with communication at home
- Weekly monitoring of grid software within my specialist setting (Portesbery school) updating changes, set up users, offer support for both internal and external staff, problem solve and work alongside smart box professionals (frequently problem solving whilst working independently)
- Work flexibly within my specialist settings when encountering challenges and changes (such as, technology issues, behaviour issues or health issues etc)
- Monitor spreadsheets at specialist schools, offering time to therapists, learning therapists' styles and the frequency of when to feed back to each therapist
- Contribute towards universal projects such as 'student voice' in all settings as well as planning for communication days and contribute towards planning of whole school training
- Knowledge and experience of a variety of communication approaches and students, with a good understanding of health diagnoses. This includes students with hearing impairments, vision impairments, multi-sensory issues, physical conditions, autism, children with Down's syndrome, children with Rett's, children with acquired brain injuries, William's syndrome and many more.
- Using my experience to often observe new students to then liaise with therapists and offer my opinion as to what to work on. Confidence with communication approaches particularly niche within specialist provisions
- Joining therapists in whole class reviews at Minimead school (CSCN setting)
- Writing termly reviews for students in mainstream with 4 sessions or more and my other settings
- Create resources/ lesson plans/ crib sheets to support internal staff and share information and support others, finding training opportunities for myself and my team
Speech and Language therapy Assistant - Surrey County Council
(2017-06 - 2020-07)
Working in a range of schools from Special Educational Needs, purpose-built schools, to centres within mainstream schools delivering Speech and Language therapy. Initially I worked in three different settings before moving into two schools permanently, Freemantles a school for children with Autism and Portesbery School a SLDD (Severe learning and development difficulties) establishment.
- Organise with teachers at the beginning of each term a timetable of when to deliver therapy and which students need to be seen and how frequently
- Liaise with school staff and ensure to be modelling sessions wherever possible to pass on skills from the SALT (speech and language team)
- Plan activities for therapy sessions and feedback to therapists, as well as writing notes
- Ensure all notes from each session are written within 48 hours of therapy and include pertinent/ detailed information for therapists to be able to refer to when writing reports/ contributing towards annual reviews, etc
- Ensure any information passed on from either school when School therapists are not in, is emailed and ensure frequent communication between the members within each SALT team at both settings and to record notes on a data base within 48 hours
- Problem solve when sessions do not go to plan and activities are not well received, to allow for some flexibility
- Use initiative to find ways to move students on from targets, as well as seeking advice from therapists, to help my own personal development and experience
- Monitor all high-tech devices within both schools, such as tablets with communication programmes on for students to use e.g.: Ipads, Eye gaze technology. This can be from reporting faults and issues, creating 'grids' within programmes, editing programmes, modelling to staff how to use devices, creating activities for using devices and working with technology used for some students using 'Eye-gaze'
- With the use of these devices within each setting, it is important to ensure programmes are backed up and profiles and accounts created for all students with their own device, as well as classes who use this style of technology
- Make resources for therapists and for sessions and ensure there is a master copy from each made, to encourage school staff being able to photocopy and make their own versions
- Continuously think of and create ideas for using all AAC (Augmentative and alternative communication) within settings and find ways of making activities appropriate for certain age groups within the school
Teaching Assistant - Portesbery School
(2017-04 - 2017-05)
Working alongside a Senior Teaching Assistant and Teacher as a team in a purpose-built school for SLD (Severe Learning Disabilities).
- Prepare the classroom or resources
- Offer 1:1 support to students
- Give feedback to teacher when working 1:1
- Responsible for areas within the curriculum
- Be aware of the needs or the focus for each student
- Feedback to other internal and external professionals
Learning Support Assistant - Headline Agency
(2014-05 - 2016-02)
Working in different settings mainly term time work with young adults at Guildford College, within their Supported Learning department, as well as in a Visually Impaired Unit within a local mainstream secondary school.
- Provide support for students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, as well as for the tutors to ensure the delivery of an effective programme of further education and to work as part of a team
- Work with the whole class, group or part, where required, and in some cases 1:1 support, as well as in a team of staff
- Complement the role of the teacher/ tutor within the teaching environment, assisting where necessary in the preparation of teaching materials and equipment
- Carry out administrative duties, student profiles, data entry, lesson preparation
- Assist with medical and personal care when necessary and provide physical support where needed and be aware of the policy and care plans for the students
- Work with external agencies, carers and parents
Senior Teaching Assistant/ HLTA - Freemantles School
(2010-04 - 2014-04)
Working in purpose-built school for Autistic children and young adults, aged from 4-19 years old. I started as a classroom assistant and within the 2013 academic year was promoted to a teaching assistant.
- Support students in all learning activities both in and outside the classroom. Working with a variety of abilities, physical demands, and different personalities
