SEND Placement Support Worker

Portsmouth is a great waterfront city and a vibrant place to live and work. It is an island city with an "inner city" feel, a seaside location packed with attractions and events, and the advantage of fantastic countryside on its doorstep. With fast road and rail links to London, Brighton and major airports, and ferry links to Europe, it is the perfect place to live and work. Portsmouth has a strong history of partnership working and has successfully integrated several local services. The Service: Within the Children, Families and Education Directorate, the Sufficiency and Resources Service supports school organisation, school management and school improvement through liaison with senior school leaders and other council teams. It also works directly with children and young people to improve attainment / progress, deliver positive outcomes, and to improve social and emotional wellbeing. Your New Role: You will give support and information for families of children with SEND, providing factual information and options that will allow them to make decisions. You will put the child/young person at the centre of your work, fully considering the range of options available to prepare children with SEND for adulthood and for achieving their dreams, wishes and ambitions. You will meet parents/carers of children with SEND in person and virtually to discuss school placements, accompany them on school visits, and provide an impartial/mediatory role in meetings between families, the local authority and schools. You will attend and observe key decision-making processes, and ensure that your experiences with families inform strategic decisions for SEND provision.

You have a qualification in Education or Social Care or can demonstrate significant experience of working with children, young people and families in an education, health or social care environment. You have experience of statutory SEND processes, ideally achieved through your work in a SEND Assessment Team/Service, and experience of engagement with parent/carers of children with SEND and young people with SEND. You can manage challenging conversations and have the skills to show empathy, kindness and resilience in emotional situations. You can build trust, work impartially, and challenge poor practice. You can review and draft complex written documents and adapt your communication style to fit your audience. You have detailed knowledge of safeguarding and sound knowledge of equality and diversity. You can plan, organise and prioritise your own workload across competing agendas, and work under your own initiative. You are innovative and open to new ways of doing things, interested in best practice, and an excellent team player.

We really appreciate our employees and fully realise they are essential to our success and look to offer an inclusive, supportive working environment where employees can reach their potentials with a healthy work life balance, offering the following rewards:

• Generous annual leave (27 days per year rising to 31, pro rata for part time hours) with the potential to purchase additional leave.
• A fantastic pension which allows you the opportunity to pay in more for that greater return.
• Flexible working options including hybrid working with a minimum of two days office based per week pro rata, giving you the flexibility to work up to three days at home every week. Hybrid working is dependent on the role and service needs, exact details will be discussed with you at interview.
• Access to a wide range of training and development opportunities including apprenticeships.
• Extensive wellbeing support through the Employee Assistance Programme
• Discount on travel, travel loans and the bike loan scheme
• Discounts on a wide range of goods and services - access a range of discounts and offers from thousands of restaurants, shops and more.
Staff rewards: https://careers.portsmouth.gov.uk/working-for-the-council