• This role offers hybrid working, allowing you to work either from home or from our offices at County Hall, Taunton. There is an expectation that you will be in the office a minimum of two days a week.
• 28 Days’ annual leave (plus Bank Holidays).
• This is a key role in ensuring effective provision is in place to meet the needs of young people with Education, Health, and Care Plans in Somerset.

As a member of the Statutory SEND team, your day-to-day work will involve supporting in the delivery of the statutory functions of the Local Authority in respect of the Education Health Care Plans (EHCPs); In addition, you will be required to use your knowledge and skills to support partners to meet the wider needs of children and young people with these processes.

You will be part of a strong and ambitious team, with inclusion at the heart of the service, as we support children and young people and their families. The role of the SEND Officer is to ensure that children and young people who have SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) in Somerset have their needs met in a holistic way within their local communities and live the lives they want to lead. You will be:

• Co-ordinating the EHC Assessment process including leading collaborative outcome meetings and drafting EHC plans.
• Processing EHC Annual Review reports and amending EHC plans.
• Attending early Annual Review Meetings and leading those for children and young people who are electively home educated or not in employment, education, or training.
• Working collaboratively with education settings and partners.
• Communicating with young people and families through EHC assessments and review processes.

Our team is expanding, and we are looking to have people with diverse backgrounds join our team to support young people in Somerset. Specifically we are interested in those with:

• Education experience (Teacher, Teaching Assistant, Parent Family Support Advisors),
• Social Care experience (Social Workers, Family Intervention Workers, Social Care Assistant, Residential Support Staff_
• Health Experience (Nurses, Health Care Assistants)

Or

• Professionals who work in a field related to education, health, or social care.

We are looking for someone who:

• Has excelled written and verbal communication skills.
• Has a working knowledge of Microsoft Office, Including Word, Excel and TEAMS.
• Has knowledge of SEND and a willingness to learn SEND Legislation. We are looking for people who are young people focussed and passionate about young people and outcomes.
• A Positive mindset with the ability to manage changing priorities – a confident and resilient approach to their workload.
• Has experience of managing a busy caseload or working to tight deadlines and shows excellent organisation and problem-solving skills.

We’re proud to be here for the people of Somerset and that means everyone in Somerset. An important part of this is ensuring that we are as diverse and inclusive as the people and communities we serve.

We welcome applications from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences to enrich our team. You can always contact the hiring manager for a chat if there’s anything you want to talk about before you apply.

We are proud to offer an environment that is supportive and rewarding, working as part of a team who are passionate about the work they do to improve the lives of people in Somerset.

We offer great training and development opportunities, with supportive management. As well as this, we have some fantastic employee benefits available:

• We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible, including working from home.
• Generous annual leave allowance, with the opportunity to purchase additional leave
• Staff discounts in gyms.
• Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee wellbeing services.
• Auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme and optional pension enhancement through our Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme.
• A Flexible Benefits Scheme via salary sacrifice to obtain a cycle for work and health screenings.
• My Staff Shop offering discounts in shops, online shopping, restaurants, cinema tickets, insurance benefits and more

The salary for the role is Grade 12, ranging from £27,711 to £31,067 per annum.

For an informal chat about the role, you can contact Claire Sweeney, Senior Assessment and Review Officer on 01823 355454 or claire.sweeney@somerset.gov.uk, Carly Bartlett, Senior Assessment and Review Officer, on 01823 355268 or carly.bartlett@somerset.gov.uk or Lianne Wadham, Senior Assessment and Review Officer, on 01823 357023 or lianne.wadham@somerset.gov.uk

Interviews will take place Monday 9th December 2024.

If you have everything you need, just hit the apply button. We can’t wait to hear from you.

This job requires a criminal background check (DBS) via the basic disclosure procedure.