Autism Outreach Service Practitioner

Organisation: Leicestershire County Council

Work Location: County Hall, Glenfield, Leicester LE3 8RA

Salary: £28,605 – £31,029 per annum (pro‑rata for part‑time) (Pay award pending)

Working Hours: 22.2 hours Term time – 3 days per week

Contract Type: Permanent

Closing Date: 10th May 2026

Interview Date(s): 20th May 2026

About the Role

The Autism Outreach Team has an exciting and interesting opportunity for an enthusiastic and committed specialist practitioner teacher to join the Team.

The Autism Outreach Team is a well‑regarded and welcoming team, consisting of specialist teachers and practitioners with a wealth of knowledge and experience and a passion for Inclusion. We work with mainstream education settings across Leicestershire to support positive outcomes for autistic pupils in Key Stages 1-5.

We are committed to understanding autism as difference rather than deficit and, as part of the Specialist Teaching Service, we aim to improve opportunities, outcomes, and experiences for children and young people with SEND in partnership with families, educational settings and organisations.

The successful applicant will have casework responsibility, under the supervision and support of a specialist teacher, which will focus on enabling schools to implement a range of teaching and learning strategies to support the progress and inclusion of pupils with a diagnosis of autism or communication and interaction needs. You will provide support for educational settings through coaching, modelling of good practice, sharing knowledge, approaches, and resources as well as contributing to the APDR cycle of support.

The role involves maintaining thorough records of work undertaken and contributing to Education, Health and Care Plan assessments and annual reviews, when appropriate. In addition, you will engage with ongoing professional development to identify, develop and deliver resources that promote curriculum access for autistic learners.

An enhanced with barred list DBS check is required for this post.

About You

To apply for this post, you must:

• NVQ Level 3 qualification or equivalent in a study related to the role, with evidence of further training and development in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
• Substantial experience of working directly with pupils with a diagnosis of Autism or communication and interaction needs, including knowledge of effective teaching and learning approaches and resources to support the attainment and inclusion of autistic pupils.
• Good interpersonal skills, with the ability to relate positively to children, young people, parents and other professionals, and establish effective working relationships with colleagues, educational settings and partner agencies.
• Ability to manage a caseload effectively, prioritise work and demonstrate effective time management, using own initiative to plan and work in an organised manner.
• Significant experience of working appropriately in accordance with relevant statutory and local policies and procedures for SEND and the ability to carry out all duties in line with LCC Safeguarding policies and procedures and fulfil relevant safeguarding competencies.
• Ability to actively demonstrate the values of the authority: Positivity; Trust and respect; Flexibility; Openness and Transparency.
• Must be able to perform all duties and tasks with reasonable adjustment, where appropriate, in accordance with the provisions of the Equality Act 2010. This will include requirements to work flexibly around holiday periods in line with the service requirements and access to a vehicle with the ability to travel to temporary bases such as schools, touch‑down bases etc.

Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a disability. We are a Disability Confident Employer.

Interested in Flexible Working?

We are open to discussions about flexible working, which may include part time working, job sharing, term‑time working, flexible start and finish times, and hybrid working, depending on the requirements of the role and the service. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below.

Contact: Angela Shipley, Autism Outreach Team Manager
Telephone: 0116 3050673
Email: angela.shipley@leics.gov.uk