Quality Assurance Officer – SEND & Alternative Provision in Wigan

Salary: Grade 8, £36,363 - £40,777 per annum. 37 hours per week.

We're on a journey to build a workforce reflective of our Borough. We are committed to fostering diverse teams where everybody can bring their authentic selves to work and feel that they belong. If you want to work for a Council where everybody is encouraged to meet their full potential and make a difference in our neighbourhoods, we would love to hear from you!

Your role:

As the Quality Assurance Officer for SEND & Alternative Provision you will support the Commissioning Manager to implement the Council’s SEND and Alternative Provision Commissioning Strategy and Quality Assurance Framework which underpin our contracting arrangements with the independent specialist education and alternative provision market. You will be responsible for ensuring that commissioned alternative provision and SEND providers meet the Council’s expectations around the delivery of the quality of education and value for money, and provide assurance to the senior leadership team that children and young people have the support they need to access a suitable education and to achieve their potential in line with their education outcomes in their Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans.

You will ensure that commissioned providers are compliant with the Children and Families Act, Health and Safety legislation and safeguarding regulations and provide appropriate advice and guidance to providers where corrective action is needed, and seek assurance that providers implement any changes required to meet the council’s standards and expectations.

About you:

You will need a strong working knowledge of SEND legislation and statutory guidance, including:

• Children and Families Act 2014
• Education Act 1996
• Keeping Children Safe in Education
• Ofsted inspection frameworks

As well as a strong understanding of best practice in teaching and learning, particularly for children and young people with SEND. You will need to have robust quality assurance and evaluation skills within SEND and Alternative Provision, with the ability to assess teaching quality, compliance and outcomes. They will be highly analytical, able to interpret complex data and produce clear reports.

The role requires excellent communication, influencing and relationship building skills, confidence to challenge and support improvement, sound professional judgement, and the ability to work independently, manage competing priorities, and use IT systems effectively to drive continuous improvement.

Wigan Council has been voted ‘Overall Council of the Year’ at the APSE (Association for Public Service Excellence) Awards. We are signed up to the Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment ensuring that your service will be continuous or 'unbroken' between the supporting organisations.

The Progress with Unity plan is a place movement for change for next decade, bringing a new era for Wigan Borough. It draws on the strengths of our individual organisations, recognising that together we can achieve much more for our communities by delivering on our 2 place missions; create fair opportunities for all children, families, residents and businesses and make our towns and neighbourhoods flourish for those who live and work in them.

At Wigan, we are always striving to improve what we do, and pivotal to this are our amazing staff. It’s a really exciting time to be a part of Team Wigan in the education service and contribute to the transformation of our services and outcomes for children and families. Our culture supports staff to flourish, be skilled and motivated to make a positive impact on children’s lives. We want our staff to be happy, healthy and confident in helping our children and families to fulfil their aspirations.

The SEND team has an obligation to meet the statutory guidelines of the Special Educational Needs (SEN&D) Code of Practice. Our main responsibility is to focus on supporting families through the Education, Health and Care (EHC) process, writing EHC plans and attending review meetings with families. We work closely with a range of key partners and stakeholders’ professionals, which results in effective multiagency working. We provide support to families, schools and colleges and other educational settings to ensure children and young people are educated appropriately in the right setting to meet their needs.

We will provide you with a supportive working environment and give you the opportunity to learn and develop further within the organisation. Here at Wigan, we are proud to support flexible working patterns, when the service can accommodate this. We also take a blended approach to where we work, depending on the work we do. This may include working from home, the office, or the community. We like to thank our employees for their hard work and commitment by giving them the opportunity to access a range of exclusive rewards and benefits.