Children's Exercise Specialist

Children's Exercise Specialist

The closing date is 04 May 2026

We are excited to offer a unique opportunity to shape a new role within our Children's Community Physiotherapy Team as a Children's Exercise Specialist across Lambeth and Southwark.

This is a 12-month fixed-term post, with the potential to become substantive. You will help develop this innovative position, supporting children and young people with disabilities to be active in their communities.

In this autonomous role, you will take a family centred approach to improving access to inclusive sport and physical activity for children and young people with physical and learning disabilities. Your focus will be on empowering families to build sustainable, healthy activity habits.

You will work with children and families to explore interests and motivations, identify barriers to participation, and set achievable goals that increase confidence and activity levels.

A key part of the role is acting as a community connector, building local knowledge and partnerships with sports clubs, leisure centres, schools and community providers, and linking families to appropriate opportunities.

You will work independently while collaborating with colleagues across health, education and community settings, delivering support in clinics, homes, schools and local facilities.

If you are passionate about inclusion and community based healthcare, this is a rare opportunity to shape a role with lasting impact.

Main duties of the job

• Work as an autonomous Children's Exercise Specialist, taking a holistic and family centred approach to improve access to inclusive sports and physical activity opportunities for children and young people with physical disabilities.
• Carry out assessments of individual needs and interests, identifying barriers to participation in physical activities.
• Collaborate with young people and families to set achievable goals that promote increased physical activity.
• Colate and maintain data on service users referred to the Children's Exercise Specialist to monitor impact and measure health benefits.
• Develop an effective referral process and administrative practice working collaboratively with the Evelina Community Physiotherapy Team.
• Work autonomously and alongside colleagues across a range of community settings, including local sports centres, sports providers, leisure centres, gyms, schools and homes, to meet the individual needs of each child and family.
• Assist children and young people in finding meaningful ways to increase participation in community activities, identifying areas where additional support may be needed.
• Use local knowledge of accessible sports, clubs, and community resources to link families towards suitable opportunities.

About us

Guy's and St Thomas' is among the UK's busiest and most successful NHS foundation trusts. We provide a full range of hospital and community services for people in south London and as well as specialist care for patients from further afield including cancer, renal, orthopaedic, respiratory and cardiovascular services.

The paediatric community physiotherapy service is part of the Evelina London Children's Directorate within GSTT and sits within the Evelina Children's Community Services. Our children's physiotherapy community team deliver care at the heart of the local communities we serve, working in partnership with local authorities and other healthcare and voluntary sector organisations. Working with our partners in Lambeth and Southwark, we are focusing on new ways of working to improve care for our local children and their families.

Job responsibilities

Clinical Duties and Responsibilities:

Clinical Duties

• Assess the child/young person's current activity levels and identify potential barriers to these through discussion and coaching.
• Facilitate collaborative goal setting and support the child/young person to work towards these.
• Work with therapists and/or Clinical Manager to analyse the data to provide evidence for effectiveness of the role.
• Apply clinical reasoning skills to highlight suitable activity opportunities such as adapted gym sessions, inclusive swimming, sports clubs in Lambeth and Southwark community.
• Develop local knowledge and build connections with local sports/activity providers in Lambeth and Southwark in developing inclusive opportunities for children with physical disabilities.
• Work directly and build partnerships with local providers and other professionals to promote inclusive practice and accessibility. Reduce health inequalities and promote better physical, emotional, and social outcomes.
• Support the transition from physiotherapy based exercise to community based activity.
• Promote the development of self confidence and self management in children.
• Liaise with volunteer and charity organisations in Lambeth and Southwark and share resources that can benefit the client. Develop and maintain a directory of inclusive sports services.
• Be responsible for maintaining accurate and up to date individual patient records. Document all patient encounters on EPIC (electric note system), upload any relevant documents, outcome appointment complete progress notes and discharge once an episode of care is complete.
• Seek timely advice and support as appropriate.
• Plan, organise and prioritise own patient caseload.
• Develop a new referral pathway to manage, triage and prioritise referrals to the Childrens Physical Activity Advisor.
• Work as a lone practitioner within a variety of community and domiciliary settings such as home, school, sports and leisure centres etc.
• Communicate and share information effectively with all members of the multidisciplinary health team, referrers, and external agencies. Undertake any other duties commensurate to the grade, required to ensure the smooth and efficient running of the role and service.

Please see job description for full responsibilities.

Person Specification Qualifications / Education

• A degree or diploma (or strong relevant training) in sport/exercise science, physical activity promotion, community health, public health, nutrition, or similarly relevant field. Or equivalent level of experience.
• Minimum of grade C/4 or above in Maths and English at GCSE level or equivalent (Level 2 and above).
• Evidence of experience of managing or being involved with projects.
• Any coaching or similar experience.
• Experience of working with children and young people with physical disability.
• Knowledge of the benefits of exercise on long term health outcomes for children with physical disability.
• Experience of working with carers and reviewing their needs.
• Experience and knowledge of sports and physical activity.
• Knowledge of accessible sports and physical activity in Lambeth and Southwark or other boroughs.
• Experience of service development or supporting on project.
• Experience of working in a gym or leisure centre.
• Experience of working as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Experience of working in a community setting.

Skills / Knowledge / Ability

• Proficient in use of IT systems and applications, including Microsoft Word, Outlook and Excel.
• Excellent communication, analytical and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to recognise challenging situations when they occur and generate potential solutions, seeking advice where necessary.
• Ability to produce comprehensive reports, letters and data.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the implications of disability on peoples' lives.
• Ability to manage and prioritise own workload.
• Demonstrate excellent communication skills, both written and oral.
• Understand roles of others and recognise own boundaries.
• Work collaboratively with clients, families, carers and colleagues.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to travel and work across a range of community settings with use of mobile devices.

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.

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

£38,488 to £46,852 a year per annum inc HCA (pro rata of full time)