Assistant SEND Officer (Tribunals)

We are recruiting for an Assistant SEND Officer in the Resolutions and Tribunals Team who is committed to supporting all children and young people to learn, grow and to achieve their potential in education. This is your opportunity to make a lasting impact. We will help you to be at your best, so we can be at ours.

At Bracknell Forest, we pride ourselves on being a council which is stable and well-managed where our employees can thrive in a supportive environment. We understand the importance of a healthy work-life balance and offer a variety of flexible working practices, including options for remote working and arrangements that allow you to work from home, dependent on the needs of the service.

As an Assistant SEND Officer (Tribunals), you will be responsible for supporting the Resolutions and Tribunals Officers to deliver statutory assessments of children and young people. This will involve requesting and collating evidence, liaising with families and professionals, creating and updating electronic records using Capita ONE (our case management system), Microsoft Word and Excel and other software.

You will draw on your excellent written and spoken English as the work involves significant amounts of writing emails and letters and working with families and professionals in-person, in virtual meetings and on the telephone. You will have strong administrative skills as well as previous experience in similar posts. This is a diverse and busy role where no two days are ever the same. Whether working in the office, side by side with colleagues, or some days from home, you will be fully inducted and supported.

You will be enthusiastic, flexible, confident and reliable, whilst seeking a rewarding role. As a successful applicant you should have a ‘can-do’ approach, good organisational skills and the ability to multi-task with a high level of accuracy. Excellent communication skills and discretion are essential.

In the role as Assistant SEND Officer (Tribunals) you will provide dedicated support in response to increasing capacity within our Resolutions and Tribunals team and is an excellent opportunity for someone to develop their knowledge of SEND and the legal framework.

It is an exciting time to join Bracknell Forest. We continue to invest in our SEND and Specialist Support Service, reflecting the growing number of children and young people identified with additional needs. Bracknell Forest believe that every child and young person should have access to high quality education, with the right support at the right time, so that they can achieve the best outcomes possible as adults.

We are a small but growing team who work closely together to ensure we deliver the best support to families of children and young people with SEND. Sometimes the work is challenging, but our creative, solution-focused and collegiate approach means the work is highly rewarding. Many team members have worked in the SEND service for several years while others are new to the service. We are friendly and supportive and share a passion for enabling vulnerable children and young people the best opportunities to achieve great outcomes and secure futures.

Key responsibilities:

• You will be responsible for supporting the Resolutions and Tribunals Officer to collate and file fully indexed tribunal bundles: requesting and collating evidence, liaising with families and professionals, creating and updating electronic records using Capita ONE (our case management system), Microsoft Word and Excel and other software.
• Provide high quality confidential support in relation to coordination, administration, and implementation of all aspects of the SEND Team’s work.
• Ensure email and telephone communications are responded to swiftly, and that accurate records of all communications are maintained centrally, issuing high-quality written correspondence at all times.
• Making arrangements for meetings, workshops and other events.
• Collate the timely preparation and circulation of meeting papers, action notes and following up on action points.
• Coordinate and provide administrative support in delivery of the team’s response to Freedom of Information (FOI’s) and Subject Access Requests (SARs).

Our benefits:

• 25 days* annual leave increasing to 28 days after 3 years’ continuous service.
• The opportunity to buy up to 10 additional days* annual leave per year and sell 5.
• Hybrid working opportunities to support your wellbeing and work-life balance.
• Electric vehicle salary sacrifice for an electric car at a fixed monthly cost (subject to eligibility).
• An inclusive and social working environment with a variety of staff.
• Local government pension.
• Life insurance cover (linked to the pension scheme).
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and fostering leave.
• Recognition of continuous service attained within the NHS and UKHSA when calculating some benefits such as annual leave entitlements, occupational maternity/paternity leave.
• Career development through internal and external training.
• A great office location next to travel links and Bracknell Forest’s thriving town.
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support your health and wellbeing.
• Sports and Social activities.
• Discounted leisure centre and gym memberships.
• Supermarket discounts (*pro rata for part time).

Our values:

At Bracknell Forest Council our values define who we are and what is important to us. Our core values are inclusive, ambitious, and always learning. These values influence the way we work with each other and the way we serve our residents and engage with our communities. We make our values real by demonstrating them in how we behave every day.

If you are excited about joining a diverse team that celebrates learning and strives for excellence, we would love to hear from you.

Reasonable adjustments:

We are committed to ensuring an inclusive recruitment process for all applicants. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application or interview, please let us know by contacting us. We will work with you to support you throughout the process.

Interviews date:

Interviews will be held on 24th July 2025. Interviews will be conducted in person, providing candidates with the chance to personally meet the team and experience our work environment.

Applicants must be able to demonstrate in their application all essential requirements as listed in the job and person specification. Please indicate in your covering statement if you have a preference for which role you are applying for.

We will be reviewing applications regularly and reserve the right to close the advert early if suitable candidates are identified. To avoid disappointment, you are advised to submit your application as soon as possible.

Please note AI is prohibited during the interview; any candidate using AI will be withdrawn from consideration.

Want to ask us a question?

For an informal discussion or to ask any questions about this role, please contact Ayanda Larkin, Senior SEND Officer. Email: [email protected] Tel.: 01344 355496.

At Bracknell Forest we champion equality, diversity and inclusion. At Bracknell Forest Council, we are always learning, ambitious and inclusive. Please see our candidate pack for more details.

Bracknell Forest Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect everyone employed with us to share this commitment. All successful candidates for this role will be subject to a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check.