SEND School Care Coordinator in Ipswich

Job description

Job responsibilities

The Care Co-ordinator will provide dedicated administrative and care co-ordination support for the SEND School Dental Check service across Norfolk and Suffolk.

School engagement and co-ordination

You will act as a key administrative contact for participating schools, developing positive and responsive working relationships with school staff and the dental team. You will support school onboarding, co-ordinate introductory arrangements and maintain accurate information about participating schools, eligible pupil cohorts, contacts, planned visits and outstanding actions.

You will work with schools and the clinical team to co-ordinate visits and schedules, taking account of school timetables, pupil routines, therapies and other factors that may affect engagement. You will use initiative within agreed procedures to resolve routine scheduling and operational issues and escalate more complex matters appropriately.

Consent, accessibility and SEND support

You will co-ordinate the distribution, receipt and recording of consent documentation, checking forms for administrative completeness and following up outstanding information.

You will work with schools and families to gather relevant pre-visit information, including communication preferences, sensory needs, known triggers, reasonable adjustments and patient passport information, ensuring this is made securely available to the clinical team.

You will also help arrange accessible information and communication support, including Easy Read, symbol-supported, large-print, translated, paper or digital materials, and approved interpretation or British Sign Language support where required.

Clinical or legally complex decisions relating to consent, capacity, best interests or safeguarding will remain the responsibility of appropriately qualified professionals.

Pathway co-ordination and continuity

You will track participating pupils through the agreed service pathway, including consent, annual face-to-face dental checks, risk assessment, mouth care planning, termly check-ins, preventive activity, referral and follow-up.

You will monitor outstanding actions, support the secure sharing of approved mouth care plans and assist with onward referrals or signposting to appropriate dental services. You will liaise with schools, families and dental providers as directed by clinicians to support continuity of care and minimise duplication.

Safeguarding and escalation

You will be expected to recognise and promptly escalate safeguarding concerns, possible dental neglect, urgent dental symptoms, incidents, complaints and other service risks in accordance with Trust procedures.

You will maintain clear and confidential records of escalations and support administrative aspects of incident reporting and action tracking where required.

This is a non-clinical role. The post holder will not make clinical, safeguarding, mental capacity or best-interest decisions and must escalate matters outside their competence promptly.

Data, performance and reporting

You will maintain accurate electronic trackers and databases relating to activity, consent, dental checks, mouth care plans, referrals, accessibility requirements, feedback and outstanding actions.

You will undertake routine validation and reconciliation of information, support performance reporting, audit and quality-improvement activity, and assist with agreed data submissions where trained and authorised.

The role requires confident and secure use of Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams alongside approved clinical and administrative systems.

Communication and service improvement

You will communicate sensitively and clearly with children and young people, families and carers, school staff and other professionals, adapting your approach to individual communication needs.

You will support the collection of accessible feedback and help identify themes relating to missed contacts, consent barriers, access difficulties and pathway delays. You will contribute to service meetings, audit and quality-improvement work and help the team provide a respectful, inclusive and well-coordinated experience.

Organisation and team support

You will prepare visit schedules, contact lists, administrative resources and school visit information, helping ensure that the team has the information and resources required for effective visits.

You will plan and prioritise work across multiple schools and different stages of the pathway, maintain oversight of outstanding actions and provide cross-cover for agreed administrative functions when required.

You may also provide day-to-day guidance to less experienced administrative colleagues and assist with the induction of new team members.

Governance and professional responsibilities

The post holder will work in accordance with Trust requirements relating to safeguarding, confidentiality, information governance, infection prevention and control, health and safety, equality, incident reporting, records management and business continuity.

You will complete required mandatory and role-specific training and participate in appraisal, supervision, team meetings, audit and service development.

Above all, the post holder will promote dignity, respect, choice and equitable access, helping to ensure reasonable adjustments are identified and co-ordinated so that children and young people with additional needs can access the service effectively.

Person Specification

Qualifications and Training

Essential

• English and Mathematics Level 2/GCSE grade C/4 or equivalent experience
• NVQ Level 3 Business Admin, Customer Service, Health & Social Care or equivalent relevant knowledge & experience

Desirable

• Training in safeguarding, health care administration, SEND, accessible communication or information governance

Experience

Essential

• Experience of providing administrative support in a health, social care or public service environment
• Experience of managing confidential information, trackers, databases or case/pathway records accurately.
• Experience of communicating with service users, families/carers and professionals by telephone, email and in person.
• Experience of organising appointments, visits, meetings or complex schedules.
• Experience of co-ordinating and following up multiple actions, using initiative to resolve routine issues within agreed procedures.

Desirable

• Experience of working with schools, children and young people, SEND services or dental/clinical teams.
• Experience of consent administration, referral tracking, performance reporting or audit.

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• Competent in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams.
• Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to prioritise workload, meet deadlines and maintain accurate records.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills, with tact, sensitivity and confidence.
• Understanding of confidentiality, data protection and secure information handling.
• Ability to use initiative and judgement to resolve routine administrative problems and recognise when escalation is required.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team
• Ability to maintain oversight of outstanding actions and follow them through to completion.

Desirable

• Awareness of SEND, autism, learning disability, reasonable adjustments and accessible information.
• Awareness of safeguarding, consent and mental capacity principles relevant to children and young people.
• Knowledge of NHS or dental administrative systems and terminology.

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 (Opens in a new tab).

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 (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust (Cambridge)

Address

Nash House Dental Clinic

17 Portman Road

Ipswich

IP1 2BP

United Kingdom

Employer's website

https://www.eastofenglandcommunityhealthandcare.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)