Group Manager SEND and Vulnerable Learners

Group Manager SEND and Vulnerable Learners

35 hours / week

Salary: £57, 848 to £61, 388

Location: Worcester

Worcestershire Local Area:

• Is a beautiful place to live
• Is well supported with road and rail networks
• Is a brilliant place to be if you have strong personal determination to play your part as a local leader in ensuring our vulnerable children and those with SEND achieve the very best they can.

Our Vision is simple: It is that Worcestershire will be a wonderful place for all children and young people to grow up.

In March 2018 Ofsted told us we needed to do better in our work to improve outcomes for children and young adults with SEND.  Our post inspection re-visit is due. Out latest Children’s Social Care Inspection recognised the progress that had been made in many areas of the service. 

On 1 October, Worcestershire Children First will assume responsibility for delivering Education and Early Help services as well as Children’s Social Care and Fostering.  Worcestershire Children First is not for profit company, wholly owned by Worcestershire County Council and provides a platform for sustaining the improvements that have been made as well as driving forward towards further improvements.

We believe that bringing our Children’s Services together will strengthen the cross service collaborative work that has been a feature of our improvement journey and provide children and young people and their families with a more coherent and connected  service offer.

We only want you if you really believe that working closely with parent carers, planning carefully with different professionals and parents, and strengthening mainstream educational provision will achieve better outcomes for our children and young people with SEND.

We would be really interested to meet you if you:

• Have a track record of improving provision and systems for SEND
• Have successful management experience in a local authority SEND service
• Have the energy, skills, insight and commitment to lead people and improvement activity towards ongoing improvement for vulnerable learners and those with SEND
• Have expert knowledge and understanding of how the statutory SEND system works alongside the HN funding system as well as other aspects of education law and guidance.
• Are at your best when faced with a challenge

There are two Group Manager posts. We want to cover these areas through their collaborative leadership:

• The operation of the central assessment and planning services
• Post 16 SEND – service delivery and development
• Policy development and practical engagement in the area of Vulnerable Learners
• Co-production and participation activities with parent carers and young people with SEND.

If you are really committed to improving the life chances of children and young people with SEND, then Worcestershire is the place to be. Foundation stones for continuing improvement are in place.  Now we need you, if you think what you can offer is a good match to what we need.

Because Worcestershire is so beautiful and varied, we hope that some of you readers may decide this is the job that may lead you to a different part of the country for a better life.  We are able to offer relocation incentives and benefits. Please contact socialworkopps@worcestershire.gov.uk for details of this.

Closing date: 15^th September 2019

Interview date: 3^rd October 2019