SEND Inclusion Partner in Basildon

Essex County Council is reforming services to improve outcomes and life experiences for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The SEND Inclusion Partner works with schools, settings, colleges, and partnerships to promote inclusive practice, improve outcomes, and build capacity to assess, plan, deliver, and review SEND provision in line with the SEND Code of Practice 2015.

Key responsibilities include:

• Influencing change, building strong relationships, and supporting senior leaders to develop inclusive provision for children and young people with SEND, including autism, language and communication, social emotional and mental health, and cognition and learning difficulties.
• Acting as the link inclusion partner for specific schools, settings, colleges or partnerships to review, assess and improve practice and consult on One-Planning, Education, Health and Care Needs Assessments (EHCNA) and Annual Review processes, aiming to improve outcomes for CYP with SEND.
• Providing high quality professional education advice and support to individual or clusters of schools, settings and colleges, delivering inclusive education for children and young people with SEND.
• Supporting the delivery of school/setting-led SEND, including peer‑to‑peer development and dissemination of up-to-date specialist knowledge within clusters.
• Working strategically with schools, settings and colleges, influencing leaders to evaluate the existing offer and build capacity through coaching, training and development to assess, plan, deliver and review suitable provision for children with SEND.
• Identifying and deploying targeted support within schools, settings, colleges and families, improving inclusion and successful transition for children and young people with severe and complex SEND, while ensuring efficient use of resources through effective monitoring and evaluation.
• Collaborating with internal and external partners to manage complex casework, maintain sustainability of placement, resolve breakdowns and prevent exclusion, including responding to and resolving complaints.
• Undertaking Annual Reviews of children and young people placed in out-of-authority independent special schools, ensuring placements are fit for purpose for Essex children and supporting transition back to Essex settings wherever possible.
• Meeting specific individual and shared targets and objectives set annually within the performance management framework.

The Experience You Will Bring:

• Educated to RQF level 6 (Bachelor’s degree), with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or equivalent.
• Evidence of continuing professional development and expert knowledge in a relevant area of SEND; a Master’s degree is highly desirable with a commitment to further training and development.
• Substantial, relevant teaching or early‑years’ experience, with strong evidence of working with children with SEND.
• In‑depth working knowledge of the SEND Code of Practice and other relevant national legislation.
• Experience of working in partnership with other services such as schools, health and social care, enhanced provisions and the voluntary sector, building strong collaborative relationships that drive delivery and influence leadership.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to deliver training and development to a range of professionals.
• Ability to drive cultural, strategic and operational change in a collaborative way.

Please note that the job role requires you to be mobile throughout an operational area. Therefore, the post holder will need to have a driving licence and access to a vehicle, or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs. Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader and is committed to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum requirements of the job. We also commit to interview all veterans and caring leavers who meet the minimum requirements for which they are applying. Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.