Visa sponsorshipHome Office sponsor register · Skilled Worker route
This role is listed by an employer that holds a live Home Office sponsor licence on the Skilled Worker route.
Salary for this role£44,660 – £53,046 a year
Health and Care route minimum£25,000 a year
Pay basisNational pay scales (NHS bands)
This occupation falls under the Health and Care Worker route. Salaries set by national pay scales (NHS bands) at or above the relevant band rate typically meet the occupation's requirement.
Closest occupation match: SOC 2222, Occupational therapists. Pay for this occupation is set by national pay scales (NHS bands), so no single Home Office going rate applies.
Individual eligibility depends on personal circumstances. These figures are public reference information, not advice or a verdict on this job.
Role description
Job summary
We are currently
expanding the size of our therapies team by recruiting occupational therapists
to support the rise in statutory occupational therapy provision and SEND
Support services across the London Borough of Sutton. As part on the
Governments SEND reform we are developing a new and exciting Experts At Hand
service launching in September 2026; this will be embedded into our
therapies service.
We are seeking enthusiastic occupational
therapists to join our friendly and supportive team. Collaborative working is
an important part of the role. This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a
dynamic team providing innovative therapy interventions following
evidence-based practice and an embedded model of therapy in order to best
support the pupils needs.
Main duties of the job
Working within a multidisciplinary team of Occupational Therapists
and Speech Therapists the post holder will have the opportunity to work in
local schools and colleges across the 4 years to 25 years age range or with a
smaller age range within this.
Advising and supporting a range of schools and settings with children
and young people with Occupational Therapy Needs (OT Needs) including a
possible cohort with ASD, or PMLD to manage their caseload to ensure that
intended outcomes are delivered within agreed service standards.
Raising awareness of the
needs of and strategies available for children and young people with OT Needs.
Deliver
specialist paediatric occupational therapy within mainstream schools using the
Experts at Hand model, focusing on early intervention, inclusion, and
embedding practical strategies into everyday teaching and learning.
Provide
on-demand consultation, advice, and training to education staffsupporting
children and young people based on functional need without requiring diagnosis
or EHCP and working collaboratively with families and multi-agency partners.
Build
capacity and confidence within education settings through time-limited,
needs-led support, combining clinical practice, coaching, and system-level
input to improve outcomes and demonstrate impact aligned with local SEND
priorities.
About us
Cognus Therapies are a thriving
multidisciplinary team of occupational therapists, speech and language
therapists, teachers, practitioners and therapy assistants who support children
and young people aged 4 - 25 years in mainstream schools, colleges, and
specialist settings within the London Borough of Sutton and surrounding
boroughs.
Cognus Therapies is owned by the London
Borough of Sutton and forms part of Cognus Limited who are the providers for
special educational needs services within the borough.
Details
Date posted
25 September 2026
Pay scheme
Other
Salary
£44,660.21 to £53,046.29 a year
inclusive of HCAS
Contract
Permanent
Working pattern
Full-time,
Part-time,
Term time hours
Reference number
N0016-26-0030
Job locations
Cognus Limited
First Floor, Cantium House
Railway Approach
Wallington
Surrey
SM6 0DZ
United Kingdom
Job description
Job responsibilities
To personally
undertake a case load of referrals to include:
Visiting and assessing
children and young people with OT Needs.
To
appropriately identify service provision in line with child and young persons
needs at specialist, targeted or universal level of support.
Delivery of specialist
programmes on an individual and/or small group basis.
Advice
and treatment for children and young people with functional difficulties and
sensory processing needs.
Offering
advice to parents and carers as well as teaching staff at a targeted or
universal level.
Maintaining
children/young peoples records to a high standard.
Screening and prioritising new referrals in order to determine the
need and level of occupational therapy provision required in line with service
criteria.
At
the point of referral gathering relevant information regarding previous and
current input from health and social care services.
Carrying
out a range of non-standardised and standardised assessments and interpreting a
range of factors relating to the child or young persons condition; focusing on
access to education.
Providing
reports to referrers and other agencies involved in the child/young persons
care.
Contributing to professional advice
regarding the statutory assessment and annual review process both in Sutton and
in out-of-borough settings if necessary.
Plan,
create and deliver a wide range of tailored interventions and/or therapy
programmes where direct OT input is indicated and effectively hand over
prescribed programmes through training and modelling with teaching staff,
parents and carers.
To
recommend, provide or advise on provision of equipment and take responsibility
for demonstrating its usage and training clients/carers.
To
undertake risk assessment in complex moving and handling situations where
appropriate i.e. provision of equipment identified for the school
environment.
To monitor and record child
or young persons progress and effectiveness of
intervention through goal setting, outcome measurement and evaluation of
practice and to communicate these as required to key stakeholders.
To
liaise and establish communication networks with the multidisciplinary team,
external voluntary and statutory organisations as appropriate in planning for
child or young persons treatment.
Promotion of effective inclusion of
children and young people into all aspects of the school curriculum.
Maintain
effective liaison with all partners e.g., parents, professionals in Education,
Health, Social Care and other Services with particular regard to Safeguarding
and best practice.
Promote robust transition arrangements
for pupils with Occupational Therapy needs including: Collaboration with a
range of partner agencies to create effective transition support for specific
children and young people.
To be aware of changing trends in
treatment and promote Evidence Based Practice; embedding this into own
specialist area of work in order to provide the highest standard of care to
service users.
To participate in clinical audit, service
development activities and research programmes as required. To contribute to formulating policies for specialist area and proposals
for general service changes.
As part of the therapies team to plan,
deliver and evaluate training sessions for schools and educational
providers.
To engage with continual professional
development as identified through managerial and clinical supervision and
appraisal, including attending training and courses as agreed.
Attending and contributing to Team meetings.
Identifying
needs and seeking advice within the framework of specialist teams and wider
agencies as appropriate
Liaison
with parents and carers and schools to find collaborative strategies to overcome
barriers to learning and attend multi-agency meetings as required.
Embedding legislative change and key
developments relating to improved outcomes for children and young people with
Occupational Therapy Needs.
To comply with the Cognus Limited mandatory training requirements.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
Educated to degree level or equivalent
Relevant qualifications including registration with HCPC
Ability to prioritise and deliver results to high standards
Excellent organisational skills
Excellent communication skills
Leads others by setting a positive example in line with company values and acts as a role model
Experience as a paediatric occupational therapist
Adherence to RCOT and HCPC policies and procedures
Is decisive with problem-solving skills
Is committed to safeguarding and protection of children.
Honours and upholds the Companys Equal Opportunity Policy, Dignity at Work Policy, Safeguarding and Protection of Children, Health and Safety and Data Protection Policy at all times.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants.