Specialist Teacher - Vision Impairment

In this role you will work as part of the Solihull Specialist Inclusion Support Service (SISS) Sensory and Physical Impairment Team. SISS is a high quality, highly valued local service working closely with Solihull's families, schools, academies and settings to support children and young people with a range of Special Educational Needs. It will be your role to support the educational development and inclusion of the children referred to the team. In this peripatetic role you will work with schools, early year settings, and families to build the capacity to meet the needs of learners who have a vision impairment. The key tasks and activities you will be involved in are:

• Promoting the successful inclusion and learning opportunities of Children and Young Persons (CYP) with VI in settings.
• Providing advice and training to settings and their families to facilitate addressing the particular educational needs of CYP with a vision impairment and build in-house confidence and capacity by awareness training.
• To model good practice through interventions.
• Working closely with staff in settings and those around the CYP to effectively develop teaching strategies, adaptations, and successful inclusion in relation to individuals and groups of CYP with a vision impairment., You will be expected to travel around the Borough of Solihull supporting the schools, children and young people on your caseload.
This is an essential car user post as the demands of the job make it operationally essential and there is a contractual requirement to make a suitable vehicle available to ensure the requirements of the job can be carried out effectively. Applicants must be able to drive, have a driving licence and be a car owner, however for disabled applicants, reasonable adjustments will be made where required. This post will require an enhanced Disclosure and Barring check for regulated activity with children. This is a demanding role, and you will be joining a group of very committed practitioners. You will find that we are an exceptionally friendly supportive service to work for and working with us is both enjoyable and rewarding., The Fluency Duty is outlined in the Code of Practice on the English language requirements for public sector workers. The Fluency Duty for this role is required. Solihull Council is proud to be an Equal Opportunities Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees - a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed on merit.

We are looking to appoint enthusiastic, motivated professionals who are committed to working in partnership with all our stakeholders and who seeks to improve the outcomes for children with a vision impairment. We may also consider an outstanding teacher, with experience in working with pupils with SEND, who has recent classroom teaching experience and whom is willing to commit to the 2-year mandatory qualification (QTVI). You will have experience of multi-agency working and have confidence in advising, supporting, and making sound judgements on strategies to meet the needs of children. Highly organised you will be able to demonstrate effective and positive interpersonal and communication skills to ensure successful relationships are built and maintained with schools and partners. You will also have the ability to use specialist technology for vision impairment and work closely with the team around the child to ensure equipment is used effectively and outcomes achieved. As you will be required to monitor, deliver interventions, and advise on an allocated caseload, relevant experience and understanding with the statutory assessment and EHCP's would be advantageous. It would also be desirable to hold a Unified English Braille (UEB) qualification at grade 2.

We've implemented a new system from Monday 4th March which will improve your candidate experience! To access your candidate portal for our new system, head to https://solihull.wm-jobs.co.uk/members/ About Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council Solihull is regarded as a popular and vibrant place to live in the UK. As one of the most prosperous towns in the Midlands, almost two thirds of our borough is designated as green belt. We have over 1,500 acres of parks across the borough, with 16 Green Flag Awards. Solihull is very well connected, with great transport links such as the M40, M42 and M6 all close by, and an excellent rail network, plus, of course, an international airport. We are home to the award-winning Touchwood Shopping Centre, National Exhibition Centre, Resorts World Birmingham, and the Resorts World Arena. It is an exciting time for Solihull, although we are a relatively small local authority (c. 6000 employees), we still have ambitious plans including the development of UK Central and HS2. Here at Solihull Council, we want to ensure that all our citizens have an equal chance to share in Solihull's success. We do this by putting our customers at the heart of everything we do. We recognise that our employees are the key factor in achieving our vision and as such, we are always on the lookout for talented individuals, who want to make a real positive difference to people's lives and can help us to continue building on our success. Both Smarter Ways of Working and Employee Wellbeing are key Council Priorities. The transition to Smarter Ways of Working has presented us with the opportunity to re-think how and where we work. With the option to access portable technology, dependent upon the requirements of the role, a lot of our people are not bound to a single workplace or traditional ways of working, with many choosing to spend a good proportion of their week working from home. Our people told us that they value flexibility, and that choice enables them to have a better work-life balance, manage family responsibilities, enhance their personal wellbeing, and continue to deliver excellent outcomes for the residents of Solihull. Our people are our number one asset, and our aim is to have a healthy, happy engaged and thriving workforce. Wellbeing is at the heart of our employee offer and we are a bronze accredited West Midlands Combined Authority Thrive at Work employer. This recognises our commitment and action in support of employee wellbeing; we are currently working towards silver accreditation. Unpaid carers carry out a key role within our community and know that this can be challenging when combined with employment. Our Carer's Policy and the ongoing support we give to our employees has resulted in us winning Employer of the Year 2022 at the Carer Friendly Awards.

Salary: £35,674 - £49,084 MPS/UPS Plus SEN Allowance - £2,679 - £5,285 per annum, pro rata depending on qualifications and experience Hours - Part Time (0.6) 19.5 hours per week. Days/Hours can be flexible to meet the needs of the successful candidate and the service. Solihull Specialist Inclusion Service (SSIS) is seeking to appoint an outstanding qualified Teacher of the Vision Impaired to join the Sensory and Physical Impairment Team (SPI) to work across the Solihull Borough., In return, we offer the opportunity to develop your experience and skills within a supportive, professional working environment with a range of excellent benefits to include:
• Flexible working arrangements.
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme - a 24 hour independent, free and confidential advice and support service.
• Family and carer friendly policies.
• Access to the Teachers' Pension Scheme.
• Employee benefits including staff discounts, subsidised travel passes and Cycle 2 Work Scheme., Competitive salaries including, for those at the top of their scale, the opportunity to receive a non-consolidated lump sum;
• A range of flexible working options;
• Annual leave starting at 25 days and rising to 30 days after 5 years' service in addition to public holidays with an opportunity to purchase up to 10 additional days' holiday per year;
• A generous flexitime scheme (available for most roles);
• Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme;
• A wide range of learning and development opportunities;
• A range of family friendly policies;
• Employee benefits including subsidised travel passes, Cycle 2 Work Scheme, confidential Employee Assistance Programme and staff discounts.
Solihull Council is proud to be an Equal Opportunities Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees - a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed on merit. As users of the Disability Confident Scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who demonstrate they meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy. Solihull Council has a responsibility for, and is committed to, safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk, and requires all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. For roles eligible for a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check this will be indicated in the advert and supporting recruitment documents. Where the post involves working with children, other vulnerable groups or in a position of trust it is exempt from the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Further guidance is available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/945449/rehabilitation-of-offenders-guidance.pdf Please note, where sufficient numbers of applications are received, we reserve the right to close a vacancy before the advertised closing date. We therefore advise that you submit your application as soon as possible.