SEND Engagement Facilitator

Do you have a desire to help and support young people? Are you able to organise and manage your workload, good at communicating and able to work as part of a team?  We are seeking a passionate and enthusiastic individual who is keen to make a difference and support SEND individuals in Essex.  This could be the opportunity you are looking for!

Please note that this is a fixed term contract/secondment opportunity until 31st March 2028. As an ‘Community Based Worker’ position, the role will involve a combination of remote, community and office based working. There will be an expectation for you to attend the office based at County Hall, Chelmsford 2-3 days per month in addition to ‘as and when’ there is a business need. There may also be a requirement to attend other Essex County Council offices during the fixed term contract.

Benefits:

• Healthy work life balance.
• Wide range of learning and development opportunities.
• IT equipment and home-working equipment supplied.
• 26 days annual leave + bank holidays + choice to buy extra.
• Generous Local Government Salary related pension scheme.
• Access to hundreds of discounts and benefits through Essex Rewards.
• Access to our health and wellbeing support platform with LifeWorks.
• Up to 4 days per year Volunteering leave.

Essex County Council is proud to offer an excellent benefits package to all its employees. More information can be found here pay and reward

The Role:

Essex County Council has embarked upon a programme of change for provision and services with the ambition to profoundly improve the outcomes and life experience of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Our vision is for a SEND system which identifies and assesses need at an earlier stage and which provides appropriate and impactful support without such high dependence on Essex County Council’s statutory services. 

The SEND Engagement Facilitator will support sustainable inclusion for children and young people with SEND, through targeted support to educational settings, families and partners. They enable collaborative practice in throughout One Planning and ensure a joined up approach to the Assess, Plan, Do, Review Cycle, particularly at points of transition for Children and Young People (CYP).

With an RQF level 3 qualification or equivalent by experience, thorough knowledge of the SEND Code of Practice 2015 and experience of working with young people with SEND and extensive stakeholder engagement and collaboration.

About You:

You will:

• Possesses a minimum of RQF Level 3, or equivalent by experience.
• Have the ability to work autonomously, with confidence to make key decisions regarding the appropriate next steps for a child/young person and their family.
• Have thorough knowledge and understanding of the SEND Code of Practice and how it impacts on assessment, planning, provision and review for CYP on a day to day basis.
• Have significant experience of working successfully with children with SEND in a school and/or home setting.
• Have significant experience of working effectively in partnership with families and professionals, including our partners, in a multi-agency environment.
• Demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills with an understanding of how to facilitate and mediate in situations which are perceived as challenging.
• Have evidence of ability to develop skills, knowledge and experience within role, including a willingness to chair/facilitate meetings and plan/deliver training to small groups of adults.

Essential Requirements for the role:

• As a SEND Engagement Facilitator, you are required to be mobile throughout an operational area. Therefore, you will need to have a driving licence and access to a vehicle, or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means.

What will you be doing?

• As part of a multi-disciplinary team, provide targeted intervention to families and professionals at points of change, challenge and transition to support longer term resilience and the dialogue essential to the success of CYP educational placements and outcomes.
• Utilise and model enabling, collaborative and person centred ways of working to ensure pupil and family voices are captured, valued and held at the heart of the 0-25 planning for CYP.
• Identify and facilitate effective ways of gathering, recording and sharing information about a CYP, their family, setting or situation to inform the planning for them, through statutory or non-statutory plans.
• Support the partnership between educational setting staff, families and other stakeholders to promote shared understanding of the aspirations, needs, outcomes and required provision for CYP.
• Work directly with CYP and their families to develop their understanding of and participation in assessment, planning and decision making processes in order that their plans and implementation are fully coproduced and understood.
• Act as a model of good One Planning to LA colleagues, and as a conduit of information for targeted work with families and educational settings, allowing the Inclusion and SEND Operations teams in each quadrant to work cohesively as part of early intervention approaches.
• Plan, deliver and evaluate a range of development opportunities for staff in educational settings in relation to partnership and person centred practice and its application, enabling educators to embed this approach within their engagement with families.
• Build and maintain effective links across Education, including SENDIASS and the SEND Innovation and Strategy team, in order that good One Planning practice and its impact is identified, implemented and evaluated with appropriate input from families and the community.
• Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

To read more about us please visit:

Education

Why Essex? 

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process.

We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

How to apply:

Start your journey within the SEND Team by clicking the APPLY button now!

If you are interested in finding out more about this role or require further information, we would love to hear from you. Please email: work.placements@essex.gov.uk.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service.

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

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Additional Information:

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email work.placements@essex.gov.uk

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