SEND Officer

If you have experience of writing, reviewing or administering Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) for learners, age 13 and over, this is your opportunity to make a lasting impact. We will help you to be at your best, so we can be at ours.

Ideally, you will already have experience of post-16 education or Preparing for Adulthood (PfA), but if you have related knowledge, experience, and skills such as a SENCO, teacher, social worker, SEND casework assistant or therapist/assistant and can demonstrate your strong potential, we are ready to invest in your training and development.

What is it like working in our team…

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. Our purpose is to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities to achieve their outcomes so that they can live their best lives.

We are committed to work with our partners to develop processes around co-production and ensure this is embedded in everything that we do. You will promote listening to young people at every opportunity, ensuring their views are heard, recorded and acted upon in an appropriate and timely manner.

We are a small and committed team who work closely together. 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.

This is a diverse post which involves comprehensive knowledge of the SEND statutory framework. Whether working in the office, side by side with colleagues, or some days from home, you will be fully inducted and supported.

If you can prioritise independently and complete high-quality work within tight timescales, to meet statutory deadlines, we would really like to hear from you., On a day-to-day basis you will be working closely with families of young people with special educational needs and disabilities to ensure bespoke, holistic delivery plans are in place that best assist the young person and their family to meet their needs. Experience of SEND services for children, young people and families will be key in this role.

Your reflective nature and passionate approach will see you driving forward improvements which will be delivered through high quality work. You will be a clear and comprehensive communicator and through effective organisational skills, you will ensure that we meet and look to push beyond our obligations.

Skills in mediating and a solution focussed approach are essential.

Some of your role and responsibilities will be to:

Manage and oversee the EHC Needs Assessment and placement process for children and young people.
Ensure that each assessment is managed efficiently and within statutory deadlines.

Ensure that a young person's assessed needs are accurately described in their EHCPs.
Negotiate and secure educational provision and placements for children and young people across Berkshire.
Ensure that all learners with EHCPs have their needs reviewed annually and that any agreed amendments to the EHCP and/ or change in provision and placement are made in consultation with parents and all other parties.

When applying, please explain your knowledge and experience of PfA and post-16 education and evidence by way of examples in your current or most recent role.

Interview date

Interviews will be held on Tuesday 7 January 2025.

Interviews will be conducted in person, providing candidates with the chance to personally meet the team and experience our work environment.

Closing date is 29 December 2024 but 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.

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

Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.

Generous annual leave of 28 days increasing to 33 days after 3 years' service (pro rata for part time).
Annual leave purchase policy.
Opportunities for flexible and agile working, to support our employees' work-life balance.
An inclusive and social working environment with a variety of staff networks including sports and social clubs.
Enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and fostering leave.
Career development through internal and external training opportunities.
Local government pension scheme.
Life insurance cover (linked to the pension scheme).
A great office location next to travel links and the regenerated town centre.
Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support employees' health and wellbeing.
Staff dental and health plans.
Discounted leisure centre and gym membership.
Supermarket discount.