SEND Engagement Facilitator in Chelmsford

This is an exciting opportunity to support our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Operations team. Essex County Council has embarked upon a programme of change for provision and services with the ambition to profoundly improve the outcomes and life experience of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

Our vision is for a SEND system which identifies and assesses need at an earlier stage and which provides appropriate and impactful support without such high dependence on Essex County Council's statutory services. To allow us to properly support this program of change and respond to the additional demand, pressures and complexity created by the ongoing Covid19 pandemic, we are increasing our capacity in some critical areas on a fixed term basis.

The SEND Engagement Facilitator will support sustainable inclusion for children and young people with SEND, through targeted support to educational settings, families and partners. They will facilitate effective collaborative practice through One Planning and ensure a joined-up approach to the Assess, Plan, Do, Review Cycle, particularly at points of transition for CYP.

The postholder is responsible for:

• Provide targeted intervention, as part of a multi-disciplinary team, to families and professionals at points of change, challenge and transition to support longer term resilience and the dialogue essential to the success of educational placements and outcomes.
• Responsible for utilising and model enabling, collaborative and person-centred ways of working to ensure pupil and family voices are captured, valued and held at the heart of the 0-25 planning for CYP.
• Identify and facilitate effective ways of gathering, recording and sharing information about a CYP, their family, setting or situation, to inform the planning for them, through statutory or non-statutory plans.
• Support the partnership between educational setting staff, families and other stakeholders, to promote shared understanding of the aspirations, needs, outcomes and required provision for CYP.
• Work directly with CYP and their families to develop their understanding and participation in assessment, planning and decision-making processes, in order that their plans and implementation are fully co-produced and understood.
• Deliver targeted intervention to families and professionals, as part of a multi-disciplinary team, at points of change, challenge and transition, to support longer term resilience and the dialogue essential to the success of CYP educational placements and outcomes.
• Act as a model of good One Planning to LA colleagues and a conduit of information for targeted work with families and educational settings, allowing the Inclusion and SEND Operations teams in each quadrant, to work cohesively as part of early intervention approaches.
• Plan, deliver and evaluate a range of partnership and person-centred practice and its application, development opportunities for staff in educational settings, enabling educators to embed this approach within engagement with families.
• Build and maintain effective links across Education, including SENDIASS and the SEND Innovation and Strategy team, to identify, implement and evaluate good One Planning practice, with appropriate input from families and the community.

Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

The Experience You Will Bring:

• Possesses RQF Level 2 of the SEN awards, or equivalent by experience.
• Evidence of continuing professional development with knowledge in relevant professional area.
• Knowledge of the SEND Code of Practice and how it impacts on assessment, planning, provision and review for CYP on a day to day basis.
• Have significant experience of working successfully with children with SEND in a school and/or home setting.
• Significant experience of working effectively in partnership with families in a helping role and other professionals in a multi-agency environment.
• Demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills with an understanding of how to facilitate and mediate in situations which are perceived as challenging.
• Evidence of ability to develop skills, knowledge and experience within role, including a willingness to chair/facilitate meetings and plan/deliver training to small groups of adults.