SEND Inclusion Officer
Do you believe in inclusive education? Are you committed to working in partnership with families and schools to achieve the best outcomes for the most vulnerable learners in Sheffield? Do you have experience of integrated working? We are seeking several Special Educational needs (SEN) Caseworkers (Inclusion officers) to join our team supporting the co-ordination and management of Education, Health and Care (EHC) Assessments and plans for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
We are a very busy and dynamic service working with families and across the education, health and care professional. We are seeking to appoint an Inclusion Officer who has a sensitive approach to the requirements of children with SEND and their families and will be confidence building relationships with families, colleagues and stakeholders. This is a challenging, responsible, and interesting role within a very busy working environment.
The SENDSARS team has responsibility for the statutory processes around children with SEN and for the placement of those children and young people into appropriate educational provision, often in partnership with other services such as Health and Social Care. The team works closely with a range of partners both internal and external to the Council to ensure the best outcomes for children and young people with SEN are achieved.
The Inclusion Officer is a key role within the team and is the main point of contact for parents, schools and other agencies that have involvement with a child/young person with SEN. The post-holder will be expected to provide information and advice on the statutory SEN processes to schools, parents, and other agencies. The post-holder will manage their own caseload and provide ongoing support to parents and schools to ensure that educational provision remains appropriate throughout the time the learner remains in educational provision.
The main purpose of this role is to coordinate, write and deliver high quality, holistic EHC plans for children and young people with SEND 0-25 years, in accordance with the requirements of the Children's & Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice. The post-holder will have responsibilities for a cohort of learners and schools within their designated area and will attend both multi-agency and statutory meetings such as Annual Reviews of a child/young person’s Education Health and Care Plan.
This is an exciting and challenging time for our service, which is currently undergoing transformational change to improve the service we offer and to deliver specific and focussed actions to address points highlighted within a CQC Local Area Inspection of SEND. This means at this current time the focus of the role will predominantly be the coordination and writing of high quality, person centred Educational, Health and Care Plans.
To be successful in this role you will require:
- an understanding of / experience of working with children and young people with Special Educational Needs and disabilities in an educational setting.
- You will understand the benefits of inclusive education; demonstrate strong communication skills and a proven ability to effectively manage large caseloads, to work within tight deadlines and legal timescales and to embrace change.
- You must be organised and have an excellent standard of written English.
- Due to the nature of this work you need to have the ability to remain calm and professional in stressful situations and will have experience of working in multi-agency settings.
- It would be desirable to have knowledge of the statutory assessment process and annual reviews.
For further information about the role responsibilities and the selection criteria, please refer to the job description and the detailed person specification attached with this advert.
Informal enquiries are very welcome, Please telephone the Team and speak to one of the Locality Managers to discuss the role further, on 0114 273 6394
We are investing in our workforce and are promoting opportunities to our under-represented groups. We value equality, diversity and inclusion and are focused on increasing the diversity of our workforce, particularly the number of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, Disabled and LGBTQ+ people, so that our teams reflect the communities in the city we serve. We are also supporting staff with unpaid caring responsibilities to work flexibly.
It is a great time to join us and we welcome your application.
Under the Guaranteed Interview scheme, applicants who are disabled, care leavers, or armed forces veterans will be guaranteed an interview if they meet the essential criteria and indicate their eligibility on the application form. Sometimes, if lots of people apply, we might not be able to interview everyone who qualifies for the Guarantee. In these cases, we’ll interview the candidates who best meet the essential criteria for the job.
Full-time employees work 37 hours for 52 weeks of the year and we offer a generous holiday entitlement. We are open to discussions about a wide range of flexible working opportunities which benefit you and the Council, including reduced hour contracts, working part time or as a job share.
If you are appointed to this role, your starting salary will be at the bottom of the grade. If you provide payslip evidence that your basic pay is greater than the bottom of the grade, we will consider starting you at the point of minimum advantage within the grade.
Equality of pay is extremely important to us. All roles at Sheffield City Council are going through an evaluation process which may result in changes to some pay arrangements from 2026. Find out more on our Sheff news page.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all individuals, ensuring a safe and supportive environment for everyone and where appropriate to the role the successful applicant will be required to undertake relevant safeguarding checks.
