SEND Operations Coordinator, Chelmsford

Fixed Term, Full Time

£29,512 to £34,720 per annum

Location: Chelmsford

Working Style: Community-based worker

Closing Date: 2nd August 2026

Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this role. Applicants must have a current, unrestricted right to work in the UK.

Please note this is a fixed term contract / secondment opportunity for up to 12 months.

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.

The SEND Operations Co-ordinator administers the Education Health and Care (EHC) Assessment process for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and coordinates school placement requests for children moving into Essex with an EHCP.

Accountabilities:

• Coordinate EHC assessments and EHCP review processes, efficiently and effectively, in line with the Children and Families Act 2014, the SEND Code of Practice 2015 and Essex local authority (LA) procedures. Ensuring all legal documents produced are of a sufficiently high quality to reduce the risk of legal challenge within Tribunal and High Court arenas.
• Act as the LA representative at formal and informal dispute resolution meetings relating to requests for EHC assessments.
• Maintain existing EHCPs to ensure compliance with statutory processes and continued delivery of special educational provision in accordance with Children and Young People's (CYP) EHCPs. Taking account of Annual Review timescales to appropriately prioritise work and attend priority Annual Reviews where necessary.
• Act as a single point of contact for families and partners during the EHC assessment process providing advice and information throughout the assessment. Ensure children, young people and their families are fully involved in the assessment and/or review process.
• Responsible for requesting and collating required statutory advice, advising on statutory process and timelines.
• Receive and interpret reports and advice, to draft and amend EHCPs which are accessible, outcome focused and of sufficiently high quality to reduce the risk of legal challenge and comply with the requirements of the legislation and SEND Code of Practice.
• Identify indicative budgets for the Operations Lead.
• Responsible for organising, chairing, and preparing paperwork for Statutory Annual Review Meetings for home educated children, ensuring that the young person and their family and relevant professionals are fully included.
• Responsible for ensuring data is accurately recorded, in a timely manner to enable the Council to report to stakeholders on a range of subjects including statutory timescales, out-of-authority placements and CYP with alternative education offers. The data will also be used to monitor and track pupil records.

The Experience You Will Bring:

• Educated to RQF level 3 (A level) as a minimum, or equivalent by experience.
• Evidence of continuing professional development and expert knowledge in relevant professional area.
• Knowledge or experience of working with young people with special educational needs and disabilities and with their families including families that services find hard to reach.
• Thorough working knowledge of SEND Code of Practice 2015 and the Children and Families Act 2014.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to communicate with a varied audience including professionals and parents/carers who may have additional needs.
• Effective time management and prioritisation skills with the ability to manage own workload and adapt quickly and effectively to changing circumstances/situations.
• Ability to chair meetings and liaise with other professionals within Education, Health, and Social Care.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We're committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We're also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

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.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

What you should do next:

If you are interested in finding out more about this role, we would love to hear from you. Please apply via the Working for Essex website.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained.

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.

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