SEND Information Advice and Support Worker

The Role

Essex Special Educational Needs & Disability Information, Advice and Support Service (SEND IASS) are looking for a warm, enthusiastic person with excellent communication, interpersonal and organisational skills for this demanding busy post.

The role requires the post-holder to provide impartial, confidential, and accurate information, advice and support about education, health and social care to and for children, young people and their parents on matters relating to special educational needs and disabilities, as well as professionals working with the families.

The successful candidate will support families to understand their rights, roles, and responsibilities, empower them to give their views, and encourage them to be at the centre of making informed decisions related to education, health, and social care. The need for strong negotiation skills and the ability to manage situations of conflict is essential to ensure the best outcome is achieved for the children and young people concerned.

The Opportunity

The post requires an excellent knowledge of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, SEND legislation, and the additional support that can be provided to ensure best outcomes are achieved. Previous experience of supporting and working directly with parents and/or young people is required.

The need to work flexibly is essential due to the changing demands of the role and the need to respond to parents in crisis. The working environment is highly pressured consequently careful planning, organisation, and creative thinking skills are sought to ensure the Service meets its statutory requirements, as per the IASS Minimum Standards.

The post holder will be required to undertake an extensive range of duties, hold a live caseload, which can include complex casework such as matters relating to exclusions, and attending multi-agency meetings, as well as managing your own administrative duties. 

Flexible working: There is some opportunity to work from home. The postholder is required to meet with families and professionals in the community throughout the week. In addition, currently the office-based working is a minimum of 1 day a week. However, this increases as required by the IASS Manager, up to three days a week during the postholder’s 6-month induction.

To read more about our business area, please visit: https://essexsendiass.co.uk/

If you have any questions about the role, please contact Louise Bracci on 03330130330

Accountabilities

• Deliver impartial, technical and legal information and support to parents/carers, children and young people on all aspects of educational provision for children and young people with SEND
• Work closely with colleagues within the SEND IASS team to provide continuity in casework as well as from across education, social care and health and with education settings and a range of outside agencies to secure positive outcomes for families.
• Responsible for managing a defined caseload ensuring keeping up to date accurate records and data on a daily basis
• Provide information, advice and support to promote independence and self-advocacy for children, young people, parents and carers.

The Experience You Will Bring

• Possesses a professional qualification at RQF level 5 (foundation degree) or equivalent experience in a relevant area of work.

• Knowledge and experience of working with parents/carers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities with an understanding of the barriers to education and the issues affecting them within education.
• Awareness of the legislation and regulations for all aspects of SEND education provision (SEND legal training is a requirement of SEND IAS Services, which will be provided).
• Ability to advise and support parents/YP where challenge is required to generate options which are credible solutions to head teachers, parents, children and young people and professionals.
• Efficient use of ICT to input all case information and support the service in the development of reports to monitor and evaluate quality.

In your application, please make clear why you would like to apply for this post and include details of the relevant skills, knowledge and experience you will bring to the role.

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.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

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.

Please note that the job role requires you to be mobile throughout an operational area. Therefore, the post holder 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.

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.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

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

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