Service Manager - SEND

Do you want to make the difference to the lives of children and young people across the Isle of Wight? Do you like a challenge, but want to live and work in a beautiful part of the country? If so, come and join us on the Isle of Wight, as we transform education on the Island.

An exciting opportunity has arisen to lead and transform our SEN Specialist services. The post is responsible for ensuring that the SEN Statutory team achieve all of their statutory duties in line with legislation, but also to ensure that the service is providing a high level of support to our school leaders. The post also has The Speech and Language and Specialist Teaching Advisory Services under its management.

The post is based at County Hall in Newport but will require the successful candidate to be able to travel across the island to visit schools and settings as well as hold meetings with parents as required. The successful candidate will need to have a high level of knowledge of the Children’s and families Act 2014 and SEND Code of Practice and will need to be able to provide strong leadership to the services they manage.

What will you be doing?

• Transforming the SEN service and improving SEN provision for children and young people across the Island.
• Work with external stakeholders to improve the opportunities for our children and young people.
• Developing and monitoring service planning, including KPI’s.
• Represent the department within various meetings and partnerships.
• Drive forward the Education Strategy.
• Improve SEN provision across the Island and contribute towards our Safety Valve work.
• Contribute towards our Area SEND preparation.
• Improve the outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

About you:

• An experienced SEND officer or manager.
• Able to work as part of a team, taking responsibility for areas they lead on.
• Ability to access face to face meetings locally.
• High quality verbal and written communication skills.
• A commitment to ensuring children and young people across the Isle of Wight achieve their best outcomes and develop into independent adults.

As a new department we are building our reputation and relationships with schools and across the council. We are ready to embark on a journey of development and growth and we are looking for enthusiastic and creative people to join a Senior Leadership Team which supports an ethos of distributed leadership across the Service, and who will help all our colleagues to be the best they can be. We look forward to hearing from applicants who have:

• A commitment to creativity and innovation.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• A passion for improving the life chances of others, and particularly those from vulnerable and/or marginalised groups.
• An ability to work collaboratively with different professionals.

Join #TeamIWC and you'll receive our staff benefits package, including:

• Annual leave entitlement of 32 days p/a PLUS public holidays!
• Local Government pension scheme
• Discounted Solent ferry travel
• Island bus network discount
• Cycle to work scheme
• Staff parking permit scheme
• Discounted island sports & leisure gym membership
• National and local discounts & benefits schemes
• Relocation scheme of up to £8,000 (subject to criteria)
• Travel allowance if commuting from the mainland (subject to criteria).

In line with the Council's Recruitment and Selection Policy, please note that we are unable to accept CVs. Any information provided on CVs will not be considered for short-listing purposes.