Senior Practitioner SO2 - REQ005612

Job title: Senior Practitioner

Hours: 37

Salary: SO2 £37,280 - £39,152

Contract: Permanent

Are you a skilled early years practitioner, passionate about securing an inclusive and enabling environment and have experience in identifying and meeting the needs of children with SEND?

Leeds is seeking to appoint a Senior Practitioner for the Inclusion Advisory Team (IAT). This role involves working with early years settings, children with SEN, their parents and other partners and undertaking targeted work across the city and fulfilling responsibilities under the 2015 SEND Code of Practice.

Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.

About you

The successful candidate will:

Have experience of working with young children with complex special educational needs and their families in early years settings and have excellent knowledge of early child development.

Be responsible for the development of good SEND practice through assessment of need, advice, training and empowerment of families and of professionals who teach and support CYP with SEND in mainstream settings.

Lead and/or oversee targeted or project based work.

Offer high challenge and high support that promotes a culture of inclusion of CYP with SEND in Leeds mainstream settings.

Work with a range of Early Years settings and with Health and other professionals to improve the outcomes of children with complex needs.

Have experience of evidence informed interventions and strategies for universal, targeted, personalised support in settings that enhance learning, engagement, and well-being of CYP with SEND.

Have good IT capabilities and excellent interpersonal and social skills.

Plan, deliver and evaluate the impact of staff training on a range of SEN issues for staff in early year’s settings.

About the role

The role is integral to our Inclusion Advisory Team (IAT) offer of training and building capacity within setting through direct targeted/project based work and consultation work with staff. You will support a wide range of EY settings and providers, developing staff skills, knowledge and confidence in the identification and meeting of needs and work with children and families. You will work alongside colleagues within EY, other professional areas within the Inclusion Advisory Team and wider SEND teams, and partners in Health and Social Care.

What we offer you

A full induction package; regular supervision, guidance and support and access to in-house training will be offered.

We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:

a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays

membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions

flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements

a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities

a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further

How to apply

Please complete the online application form.

Read our guidance for further advice on completing your application.

If you have any queries or would like an informal chat about the role please contact

Sharon Longman (Sharon.longman@leeds.gov.uk) IAT team leader, Early Years; or

Joan Kavanagh (joan.kavanagh@leeds.gov.uk), Service Delivery Manager, SEND Inclusion and Support Team

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check against the Children’s or Adults’ barred list as applicable will be carried out on preferred candidates. Read our recruitment of ex-offenders policy.

We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people.

This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.

If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visa route before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. Please ensure you are eligible before applying.

Job Description

Job Purpose Under the general direction of a Team Manager provide a high quality and comprehensive service to schools, settings and families in order to raise the achievement of children and young people (CYP) with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) within the most inclusive environment, in accordance with the organisational needs, policy and practices of the Directorate and within statutory guidelines.

Responsibilities

Responsible for the development of good SEND practice through assessment of need, advice, training and empowerment of families and of professionals who teach and support CYP with SEND in mainstream settings.
Undertake targeted work in line with team and service development plans, involving action planning, implementation and evaluation for impact and regular reporting back to the team leader.
Provide a prompt response to service requests on behalf of CYP with SEND, liaising with families and practitioners and developing a multi-professional approach.
Contribute to setting improvement through the implementation of the SEND Code of Practice.
Raise achievement and maximise the well-being, engagement, and inclusion of CYP with SEND through consultation, assessment of need, empowerment and through capacity building.
Be an advocate for the difference not deficit approach to understanding SEND needs and promote the social model for understanding disability.
Use evidence informed strategies to meet identified CYP needs to improve their social skills, communication and interaction skills, self-help, well-being, independence, self-awareness, self-advocacy, learning and inclusion.
Ensure that the views of CYP (appropriate to their age and development) and parent voice are sought and considered when planning provision.
Plan, deliver and promote training to settings, and parents as required, in order to build their knowledge, understanding and capacity in meeting the needs of CYP with SEND.
Manage an allocated caseload of SEN CYP and, with supervision, regularly monitor, review, and evaluate the impact of intervention and outcomes for CYP.
Assist the Team Manager in mentoring/peer supporting inclusion workers around casework.
Supervision and appraisal of staff in line with associated policies and procedures as required.
Maintain accurate manual and computerised records, case notes and other records, collating and preparing information from a variety of sources including preparing reports that are concise, timely, and informative in accordance with the requirements of GDPR.
Contribute to statutory processes such as EHCPs, Early Help etc. on request
Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade
Participate in appraisal, training, and development activities as necessary to ensure up to date knowledge and skills
Improve own practice through observation, evaluation, discussion with colleagues and appropriate CPD programmes.
Work collaboratively with colleagues, knowing when to seek help and advice.
Contribute to the overall ethos, work, and aims of the service by attending relevant meetings, training days/events as requested.
Be aware of and comply with Leeds City Council policies and procedures e.g., child protection, health, safety and security, confidentiality, and data protection, reporting all concerns to an appropriate person
Be aware of and support difference and ensure equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding, and promoting the values, standards, and equality & diversity policies of Leeds City Council.
Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimisation, and any form of abuse of equal opportunities, ensuring compliance with relevant policies and procedures.
The duties outlined are not meant as an exhaustive list and will also comprise any other duties within the spirit of the post commensurate with the job evaluation outcome for this post.
The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and this role will be expected to work within these parameters.

Qualifications

Relevant qualification relating to SEN, for example SEMH needs, autism, early childhood development: e.g., NNEB or NVQ level 3, or relevant experience around the inclusion of children and young people in schools, settings and evidence of ongoing professional development. Degree or professional level: e.g., SaLT, counselling, advocacy, or equivalent knowledge gained through experience.

Personal Specification

Method of Assessment will be through one or more of the following: application form, test, interview, and certificate.

Essential Requirements It is essential that the candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria for the post within the context of the specific role duties and responsibilities. Candidates will only be shortlisted for interview if they can demonstrate on the application form that they meet all the essential requirements.

Skills Required

Able to offer high challenge and high support that promotes a culture of inclusion of CYP with SEND in Leeds mainstream settings.
Able to communicate effectively, accurately, and concisely with a range of partners, parents/carers, CYP and colleagues and in a variety of contexts.
Able to work effectively as part of a team and to demonstrate excellent organisational and time management skills prioritising own and team’s work to meet conflicting deadlines
Able to undertake assessments and observations to identify, understand and meet needs.
Able to identify appropriate evidence informed strategies and interventions in order to promote positive change.
Able to lead and/or oversee targeted or project based work.
Able to plan, deliver and evaluate the impact of staff training.
Actively seek out areas for professional development, attend training and development activities to ensure up to date knowledge and skills and service improvement.
Able to identify and take account of the significance of diversity on the lives of people and show application of this understanding in practice.
Able to be an advocate for the difference not deficit approach to understanding SEND, work from a strengths based approach and promote the social model for understanding disability.
Able to keep detailed records of all working practice to support service monitoring and evaluation processes.
Able to make proactive use of Supervision to reflect critically on practice and explore different approaches to work and understand the boundaries of professional accountability.
Able to work flexibly across different work locations and areas as appropriate.

Knowledge Required

Knowledge and understanding of SEND and the impact on CYP.
Understanding of the SEND Code of Practice 2015 and its implementation in settings.
Of evidence informed interventions and strategies for universal, targeted, personalised support in settings that enhance learning, engagement, and well-being of CYP with SEND.
Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of confidentiality and the needs and wishes of individuals, families, and carers as appropriate.
Understanding of responsibilities in terms of Health and Safety, security, confidentiality, data protection and safeguarding issues associated with vulnerable people.

Experience Required

Of working in an educational setting and supporting CYP with SEND, demonstrating highly positive impact and intervention in their role.
Of producing records and reports to a high standard for a variety of purposes with language suited to function.

Behavioural and other Characteristics required

Committed to continuous improvement.
Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council equality and diversity policies.
Carry out all duties having regard to an employee’s responsibility under Health and Safety Policies.
Willingness to actively participate in training and development activities to ensure up to date knowledge, skills, and continuous professional development
Understand and embrace our values, behaviours and codes of conduct.

Desirable Requirements It is desirable that the candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria for the post within the context of the specific role duties and responsibilities: Candidates are not required to meet all the desirable requirements however these may be used to distinguish between acceptable candidates.

Knowledge Required

Specialist skills/training in curriculum or learning area: e.g. therapeutic work.

Experience Required

Of delivering training.
Of mentoring and supervising the work of others.
Previous experience of project management.

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