Part Time SEND Operations Co-ordinator

The Opportunity

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 EHCNA 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.

Educated to RQF level 3 or equivalent by experience, thorough knowledge of the SEND Code of Practice 2015 and experience of working with young people with SEND.

Responsibilities

• Co-ordinate the EHCNA 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 procedures. This will require excellent drafting skills to ensure that the legal document produced is of a sufficiently high quality to reduce the risk of legal challenge within Tribunal and High Court arenas. However, there will be a requirement to act as the LA representative at formal and informal dispute resolution meetings relating to requests for EHC needs assessments.
• Maintain existing EHCP\’s to ensure compliance with statutory processes and continued delivery of special educational provision in accordance with CYP\’s EHCP\’s. This will involve consideration as to who is required to attend Annual Reviews so that work is appropriately prioritised and attending priority Annual Reviews were necessary.
• Act as a single point of contact for families and partners during the EHCNA providing advice and information throughout the assessment.
• Responsible for requesting and collating required statutory advice, advising on statutory process and timelines.
• Ensure children, young people and their families are fully involved in the EHCNA and/or review process.
• Receiving and interpreting reports and advice to prepare an EHCP which is of sufficiently high quality to reduce the risk of legal challenge and comply with the requirements of the legislation and SEND Code of Practice.
• Organising, preparing paperwork for and chairing Statutory Annual Review Meetings for home educated children, ensuring that the young person and their family and relevant professionals are fully included
• Taking responsibility for ensuring that data is recorded accurately and in a timely manner to enable the Local Authority to report to stakeholders on a range of subjects including statutory timescales, out-of-authority placements and CYP with alternative education offers.
• Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

The Experience You Will Bring

• Educated to RQF level 3 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.