SEND Advisor - Portsmouth City Council

SEND Adviser

Full time: 37 hours per week

Reports to:  SEN Team Leader

Will need previous experience in an SEN role either in a Local Authority or school

There is no requirement for the SEND Adviser to spend a set number of days in the office.  You are welcome to work in the office if this is what they prefer.  You may need to attend some meetings in schools or civic offices

Portsmouth Local Authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and young people, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.  Every post is subject to PCC and Portsmouth Safeguarding Children’s Board safer recruitment procedures.

DBS Disclosure at Enhanced level will be required prior to any offer of employment and this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

The SEN Team is a specialist team within Education's Inclusion Service with links and positive working relationships with many other teams across the council. We are an established team with a strong commitment and drive to support children, young people and their families in the city.  We strive to work in partnership with our schools, early years settings and colleges and other agencies. Our approach is needs-led to ensure all children and young people are supported.  The council has been selected by the DfE to lead on the SEND and AP Change Programme for the South-East which provides a unique opportunity over the next two years to shape the future of special educational needs and alternative provision. The SEN Team will have an important role to play in the delivery of this programme. If this sounds like a team you would like to be part of, we are expanding and would welcome your application to join us.

The Team

The SEN team’s work is entirely statutory and involves co-ordinating and managing the statutory Education, Health and Care (EHC) Needs Assessment process including issuing, maintaining and reviewing EHC Plans; securing and monitoring appropriate educational placements and provision for children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities (aged 0 – 25) and co-ordinating and managing the response to appeals to the First Tier Tribunal (SEN & Disability) against decisions in relation to children's and young people’s EHC needs assessments and EHC plans; assessing eligibility for home to school travel assistance, free school meals (traded service) and SEN finance.

The team works with a wide range of professionals such as Educational Psychologists, Paediatricians, Social Workers, Speech & Language Therapists, Head Teachers, and Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (or SENCOs). The team regularly works with parents both in responding to their requests and supporting them through complex statutory processes.

What is the role?

The role of SEND Adviser is busy, challenging and requires the successful candidate to demonstrate and develop a wide range of skills, knowledge and abilities including the capacity to work under sustained periods of pressure.

The SEND Adviser will support the SEN Team through undertaking the assessment co-ordinator role for Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessments.  As assessment co-ordinator they will be involved in assessments at every stage from writing the presentation to determine if an EHC needs assessment should be carried out, to writing the Summary of Assessment (SoA) document and leading a co-production meeting with parents, carers, education settings and other professionals to discuss the SoA document which may lead to an EHC Plan being issued.