Chief Officer - SEND and Inclusion

Leading an inclusive system that works for every child. Leeds is a city with bold ambition for children and families. We are proud of our strong values, our commitment to inclusion and our relentless focus on improving outcomes. We are driven by Leeds Ambitions, prioritising the actions that will have the most impact for people in our city over the next decade.

Working together with partners, communities and families, our shared goal as Child Friendly Leeds is that every child and young person will have the best start in life and be supported to thrive. To help lead this next phase of improvement, we are recruiting three exceptional Chief Officers to join our Children and Families Directorate. These are influential, system-leading roles that will work collectively as part of a strong and values-driven senior leadership team, shaping the future of services across the city.

Reporting to the Director of Children and Families, the Chief Officer for SEND & Inclusion will provide strategic leadership for Leeds’ local area SEND system, ensuring children and young people with SEND receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time. As the council’s lead professional for SEND and Inclusion, you will shape inclusive education and provision across early years, schools and post-16, working in deep partnership with healthcare and education providers, families and the voluntary sector.

You will lead improvement and transformation across SEND services, champion co-production, and ensure Leeds continues to strengthen outcomes and experiences for children and young people with SEND.

Your impact

• You will lead the development, performance and transformation of SEND and inclusion services across the city – including SEND assessment and provision, inclusion services, alternative provision, SEND funding and educational psychology.
• You will ensure statutory responsibilities are met while driving improvement in outcomes and experience for children, young people and families.
• Working closely with schools, early years providers, academy trusts, health partners and the voluntary sector, you will provide system leadership that promotes shared accountability, inclusive practice and high standards across Leeds.
• You will champion co-production with children, young people and families, embedding meaningful participation at the heart of service design and delivery.
• You will lead the city’s SEND transformation and improvement programme, maintaining continuous readiness for Ofsted and CQC inspection and ensuring learning from feedback, complaints and inspection is translated into sustainable improvement.
• Alongside this, you’ll oversee significant budgets – including high needs funding – ensuring financial sustainability, strong governance and best value.

About you

You will be a confident, strategic leader with significant senior leadership experience in SEND, education or children’s services within a regulated environment. You will bring:

• A relevant degree qualification or substantial leadership and management experience in a related field of work.
• In-depth understanding of SEND legislation, policy and inspection frameworks.
• A strong track record of system leadership and partnership working across education, health and care.
• Experience of leading transformation and improvement at scale.
• Excellent influencing, political awareness and relationship-building skills.

Above all, you will share our commitment to inclusion, collaboration and continuous improvement – and to making Leeds a city where all children and young people can succeed.