Sports Therapist
At a glance
- Band
- Band 5
- Contract
- Permanent
- Pattern
- Part-time
- Posted
- 18/09/2026
- Closes
- 01/10/2026
Sponsorship verdict
This contract type is not eligible for Skilled Worker sponsorship.
NHS Trusts cannot issue a Certificate of Sponsorship for part-time, bank, locum, zero-hours, job-share or short fixed-term (under 12 months) contracts under current Home Office rules. This applies even when the wider Trust holds a Skilled Worker licence.
Role summary
This is an exciting opportunity for a Sports Therapist to work within the Therapy department in secure mental health services. The role involves providing therapeutic sports and health-related interventions to inpatients. The Sports Therapy team plays a vital role in addressing the health needs of individuals within mental health services, contributing to their recovery. The ideal candidate will have experience working with individuals with mental health problems.
Essential criteria
- GCSE level qualifications
- NVQ and/or BTEC in Care Related Skills
- Qualification in relevant practical skills
- Health and Fitness related Diploma to Level 2 (must include gym instructions
- Using a specialist skill that is relevant to mental health
- Using a range of fitness/health related skills
- Work with people who have experienced mental health problems
- Planning and running groups
- Experience of CPD and role development activities
Desirable criteria
- Working in a forensic mental health environment
- Collaborative working with multi-disciplinary clinical teams
- Knowledge and Skills
- Promoting equal opportunities in action and understanding of importance of clinical confidentiality
- Basic understanding of needs and concerns of service users with mental health needs
- Basic understanding of Sports and its role in mental health and ability to undertake further specialist learning.
- Interpersonal skills enabling therapeutic alliances to be developed and maintained with service users who have complex needs.
- Word-processing/IT skills
- Organisational and time management skills
- Ability to maintain the profile of fitness/health within the organisation
- Clinical skills to carry out therapeutic individual and group based interventions
- Ability to contribute to and work within clinical risk assessment
- Ability to plan, prioritise and coordinate own time and plan tasks.
- Physical skills required facilitating a wide range of activities both on a one-to-one and group basis, including using equipment as required
- Education/ Qualification/ Training
- GCSE level qualifications
- NVQ and/or BTEC in Care Related Skills
- Qualification in relevant practical skills
- Health and Fitness related Diploma to Level 2 (must include gym instructions
- Using a specialist skill that is relevant to mental health
- Using a range of fitness/health related skills
- Work with people who have experienced mental health problems
- Planning and running groups
- Experience of CPD and role development activities
- Working in a forensic mental health environment
- Collaborative working with multi-disciplinary clinical teams
- Knowledge and Skills
- Promoting equal opportunities in action and understanding of importance of clinical confidentiality
- Basic understanding of needs and concerns of service users with mental health needs
- Basic understanding of Sports and its role in mental health and ability to undertake further specialist learning.
- Interpersonal skills enabling therapeutic alliances to be developed and maintained with service users who have complex needs.
- Word-processing/IT skills
- Organisational and time management skills
- Ability to maintain the profile of fitness/health within the organisation
- Clinical skills to carry out therapeutic individual and group based interventions
- Ability to contribute to and work within clinical risk assessment
- Ability to plan, prioritise and coordinate own time and plan tasks.
- Physical skills required facilitating a wide range of activities both on a one-to-one and group basis, including using equipment as required
Useful to know
Agenda for Change 2024/25 pays Band 5 at £29,970 – £36,483 a year, across England.
This advert: £38,488 – £46,852 — outside the standard scale; check for HCAS/London weighting.
Posted 1d ago · Closes in 13d
Plenty of time to prepare a strong application.
Full advert · preview
East London NHS Foundation Trust
Sports Therapist
The closing date is 01 October 2026
Job summary
This is an exciting opportunity to work as a Sports Therapist within the Therapy department in secure mental health services. You will work within a Sports Therapy team providing therapeutic sports and health related interventions. Addressing the health needs of individuals within mental health services is a crucial aspect of Recovery and the Sports Therapy team play a vital role within this. The ideal candidate will have some experience of working with individuals within mental health. Please contact [contact details removed] for more details of this post on [phone number removed].
Main duties of the job
1. To provide specialist individual/group assessment and treatment programmes for inpatientservice users in sports, health and fitness related activity.2. To provide these programmes in a manner which is safe, effective, inclusive and in accordancewith Trust policies and procedures3. To support the Multi-Disciplinary Clinical Team (MDT) in its provision of assessment andtreatment programmes to inpatient service users.4. To develop links with relevant community sports, health and fitness providers in order to facilitateservice users accessing these services5. To contribute to the development of the Forensic Directorate Sports Service and Therapies Service.
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