Matron - Paediatrics

Band 8a

Main area

Paediatrics

Grade

Band 8a

Contract

Secondment: 12 months

Hours

Full time - 37.5 hours per week

Job ref

396-8210680-PB-TA

Site

Kingston Hospital

Town

Kingston Upon Thames

Salary

£63,665 - £70,887 pa icl hcas pro rata

Salary period

Yearly

Closing

27/08/2026 23:59

Home, community, hospital

Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust offers a range of fantastic opportunities to grow your career across both hospital and community settings in south London. Whether you're looking to build new skills or take your experience to the next level, we are uniquely placed to provide the right environment to support your professional development. With colleagues working in people’s homes, in community clinics, and in our two hospitals, we have an outstanding breadth of knowledge and experience to draw from.

Our commitment to exceptional care is reflected in being the first trust of our kind in London to achieve an ‘Outstanding’ rating from the CQC for both overall quality and leadership. We exist to provide the best possible care for our patients and we do that by giving our colleagues what they need to be their best at work. We have won numerous awards from the HSJ and Nursing Times for the way we support our colleagues across all our services.

We are proud to be recognised for our outstanding cancer care, children's services, pioneering surgical teams, and exceptional rehabilitation services. Our maternity services have been rated the "Best in London" by women surveyed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), with parents travelling to Kingston to take advantage of our considerable experience and expertise.

Our Trust values

These words are important reminders, but it’s our behaviours that tell people who we are. We expect all colleagues to bring our values to life in their work.

• Compassionate: We provide care with kindness, understanding, and empathy for all.
• Inclusive: We embrace diversity and respect the unique contributions of every individual.
• Collaborative: We foster teamwork across all levels, working together and with our partners to deliver the best outcomes.
• Inspiring: We are committed to continuous improvement and excellence in patient care, staff development, and innovation.

Job overview

Due to Maternity leave, an exciting opportunity has arisen for a Paediatric Matron for the Paediatric department at Kingston Hospital Foundation Trust.

The Paediatric Unit comprises of an inpatient ward with 24 beds and 2 high dependency beds, a Paediatric Assessment Unit (PAU) / ambulatory care unit, a designated children’s outpatients, a paediatric outreach nursing team and level 1 POSCU.

It is a busy, friendly unit that provides high quality care for children and young people with a wide range of acute medical & surgical illnesses and complex conditions.

You will be expected to take the professional nursing lead for the paediatric inpatient and outpatient services within the department, working alongside a highly motivated nursing and medical team. You will part of the management team; working with the clinical lead and service manager in order to provide a quality and efficient service for Children and Young People at Kingston Hospital.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be clinically based and responsible for the delivery of high quality paediatric care at all times, providing clear professional and clinical leadership. The post holder will maintain effective communication channels throughout the Trust in order to ensure that the needs of the patient and their family are placed at the centre of care delivery.

To work collaboratively with the Paediatric nursing teams to ensure that the standards of patient care and cleanliness of unit environment continue to improve. Provide a visible and authoritative presence in the ward areas for families to access for advice and support.

Working for our organisation

Development and staff wellbeing

Your growth and happiness matters to us. After all, we can’t expect the best from you if we don’t invest in your development and nurture your wellbeing. From the moment you join us, we’re committed to fostering your professional and personal development within a supportive, empowering environment. Whether you’re just starting your career or looking to advance further, we provide you with the tools and opportunities you need to succeed. We actively support colleagues to take part in research, quality improvement and innovation, whatever their role or level in the organisation.

To support your wellbeing, we offer an extensive range of resources, including an on-site staff nursery at Kingston Hospital, wellbeing practitioners, wellbeing classes, dedicated staff physiotherapist, comprehensive occupational health services, 24/7 employee assistance programme, and a range of other support and activities.

We also take every opportunity to thank and recognise the work our teams do, through weekly ‘shoutouts’ and patient feedback, monthly and annual awards.

Wherever you work across our organisation, we look forward to welcoming you.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For further details or to make an informal visit please contact:

Tracey Kelly, Head of Nursing, Planned Care on 07787 222803 or [email protected]

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• RN Child
• Recognised Post Graduate Management qualification or equivalent experience
• ENB 998/Practice Assessor Qualification

Desirable criteria

• Masters level qualification

Experience

Essential criteria

• Significant years of experience at Band 7 with management responsibility of a paediatric unit
• Experience of budget management and managing quality improvement initiatives.
• Experience in dealing with written and verbal complaints

Desirable criteria

• Research and audit

Skills

Essential criteria

• Current clinical skills and experience
• Effective multidisciplinary working, with strong management and organisational skills.
• Undertaken service redesign

Desirable criteria

• Business Planning

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Knowledge of implementation of Clinical Governance
• Knowledge of child protection issues and current NHS policies and guidance.

We support the NHS Flex for the Future pledge

We welcome conversations about flexible working from day one, including options such as adjusted hours, compressed hours and other arrangements. If flexibility matters to you, please talk to us - we’ll be happy to explore what’s possible for the role and the service.

Your recruitment team

The NHS South West London Recruitment Hub is your dedicated recruitment team, here to support you at every stage of the process. If you have a query, please contact us:

E: [email protected]

Your application

Please ensure your supporting statement clearly reflects the job description and person specification, as shortlisting will be based on these criteria.

Please refer to the latest UKVI guidance and ensure you have the appropriate right to work before applying for this role.

Use of Artificial Intelligence
We kindly ask that you avoid using AI tools to draft your application. We value authentic, individual responses that reflect your own experience and communication style.

References

Please provide a minimum of 3 years’ employment and/or education history, including professional email addresses (not personal accounts such as Hotmail or Gmail). If you cannot provide these, please inform the interview panel to avoid delays in pre-employment checks.

Closing date

To help us manage recruitment efficiently, some vacancies may close early once we have received a sufficient number of applications.

Shortlisting

If you are successfully shortlisted, you will be contacted by email or SMS from the South West London Recruitment Hub. Please check your registered TRAC email regularly.

Application feedback

If you do not hear from us within four weeks of the closing date, please assume your application has not been successful on this occasion.

Safeguarding and DBS Checks

We are committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. For roles with direct access to these groups, an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be required. All staff are expected to understand and uphold their safeguarding responsibilities as part of their role.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Further details / informal visits contact

Name

Tracey Kelly

Job title

Head of Nursing - Planned Care

Email address

[email protected]

Telephone number

07787222803