Occupational therapy plays a key role in helping to prepare students at National Star in Hereford for their developing life of independence.

We’re looking for a term-time only Occupational Therapy Assistant to join our team.

This is a fantastic opportunity for you to begin your career in occupational therapy within our Ofsted ‘outstanding’ college setting, seeing for yourself how your interventions can help students to develop new skills for life. You will help a senior Occupational Therapist to assess and then provide therapy for students with a variety of physical and/or learning disabilities, including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

You will take part in formal learning sessions working with tutors and learners to ensure occupational therapy approaches are used to develop growing independence. Part of your role will be to assess learning environments to ensure they are safe for students and provide the maximum opportunity for them to learn and develop. You’ll get the opportunity to become confident in using various items of adapted equipment too. So that we can understand the progress being made by students you will be expected to maintain individual therapy notes and electronic records of work.

National Star offers the opportunity to train to become a fully qualified occupational therapist thanks to our degree apprenticeship programme, run in conjunction with Coventry University. Becoming an Occupational Therapy Assistant would give you an excellent understanding of the role of an occupational therapist and provide the experience you would need to apply to join the degree apprenticeship programme in the future.

Because of the excellent reputation of National Star in Hereford our day college continues to go from strength to strength, attracting a wide range of new students. Now is an exciting time to join our team!

About us

National Star is a growing charity with more than 1,200 staff based in England and Wales. Established more than 55 years ago, we’ve supported hundreds of young people with disabilities to achieve their potential.

How we will reward you

Our Golden Hello

It’s motivating to feel valued at work. That’s why all new staff will receive a ‘Golden Hello’ up to the value of £250 for full-time staff (pro-rata for part-time employees) upon successful completion of their probation.

Staff benefits

Fantastic career development opportunities and comprehensive induction programme - theory and practical

Award-winning training

Use of fitness suite and swimming pool and staff clubs

Westfield medical cover

Life insurance cover

Employee helpline

Contributory pension scheme

Opportunity to purchase a TOTUM discount card

Employee discounts at attractions, high street retailers, supermarkets, utilities and motoring, plus much more

As a Concerts for Carers registered organisation National Star staff have the opportunity to enter ballots for free tickets to some of the most exciting artists and events across the UK.

How to apply

At National Star, we know the value of a diverse workforce, and welcome applications from all areas of the community. This includes those with disabilities, and we are a proud Disability Confident employer and are committed to providing equal opportunities.

Please note that all applicants will be expected to undertake a DBS Disclosure, and undergo the necessary employer checks. The level of disclosure to be applied for will be dependent on your job role and will be discussed with you during the recruitment process but is usually an enhanced level. Where appropriate, the adult and child barred lists will be checked and we will not employ anyone who appears on either of those registers.

We prefer people to submit an online application as this helps support the charity in saving money. Alternatively please send your cv to recruitment@nationalstar.org or call our recruitment department 01242 527631 for further information or an application form. If you have a disability and need to apply using an alternative format, or if you have any technical problems with our recruitment system please let us know.

All future correspondence with you will be via email (application acknowledgement, invitation to interview etc). Please check your email regularly.