SEND Officer

Economy Skills and Neighbourhoods

Education and Early Years/SEND Team

SEND Officer

Ref: 001368

Contract: Fixed Term (12 months)

Salary: £39,152 - £42,839 per annum (Grade7)

Hours: 36.66 per week

Based: Oldham Council Offices, Spindles Shopping Centre, George St, Oldham, OL1 1HD

Closing Date: Wednesday 25th March 2026

Interview Dates: TBC.

Role Overview:

Are you passionate and motivated? Are you looking to join the right Local Authority and team with a proven record of integrating people into a career in SEND? If so, come to Oldham and help us to affect positive change for children and young people and their families. We consider enthusiasm as important as experience and seek candidates who can demonstrate our values and behaviours.

We have high aspirations to achieve the very best outcomes for children and their families and put the needs of children at the heart of everything we do. This requires professionals like you who share our determination to meet the diverse needs of our children and young people.

Key Responsibilities:

• To manage a caseload of Children or Young People with SEND where they are undergoing an Education and Care Plan Needs Assessment, have an Education, Health and Care Plan, or where they are referred to the SEND Team.
  
• To lead on the drafting and issuing of Education, Health and Care Plans, the reviewing and maintaining of EHCP’s following annual reviews and to manage the complex cases of vulnerable pupils.
  
• To lead in the EHC assessment process, with responsibility for preparing and presenting information about individual pupils and participation in decision making, about the provision required to meet the special educational needs and disabilities of pupils whose needs have been assessed.
  
• To be responsible for the production of high quality and person-centered Education, Health and Care Plans that are produced and reviewed in accordance with the Section 19 principles of the children and Families Act 2014, within statutory timescales and in accordance with the SEND Regulations 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice: 0-25.
  
• To have a significant knowledge of the Children and Families Act and Special Educational Needs and Disability, Code of Practice 0 25 years, and all associated legislation and guidance, in relation to working with and supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and their families.
  
• To prepare reports, present information and make recommendations at decision making panels for potentially high-cost placements, independent special schools and commissioned bespoke provision where appropriate.
  
• To ensure children, young people and their parents or carers are central to the assessment process and meet with them regularly to ensure that provision is being delivered in accordance with their SEND.
  
• Where appropriate to lead and manage person centered meetings, ensuring that the child, young person and their parents or carers are central to the discussion. To lead on training SENCOs on the principles of coproduction and how to undertake a person-centred planning or review meeting.
  
• To lead on the communication with parents and school SENCO’s and to manage the expectations of parents/ carers, children and young people, all stakeholders undergoing an Education, Health and Care Plan Needs Assessment, and where and EHC Plan is in place.
  
• To work in partnership with schools, support staff, parents/carers, health and social care and gather quality information in line with need and ensure the provision and placement is able to meet need and resolve issues relating to placement and provision.
  
• To lead on complex cases where vulnerable children and young people are on a Child Protection Plan or Looked After, coordinating educational provision and educational placements and being the key lead on all cases where children and young people are known to Social Care.
  
• To monitor the progress of children and young people against the objectives of their EHC Plan.
  
• Attend annual review meetings and offer appropriate challenge regarding progress towards the objectives of the Education, Health and Care Plan.
  
• Lead on the decision making within the legislation as to whether an EHCP needs to be amended or ceased and to make amendments to the Education Health and Care Plan following receipt of the Annual Review summary.
  
• Support parents of children and young people with an EHCP at transition points ensuring the law is followed.
  
• To represent the council and be an active participant at statutory annual review meetings to ensure the EHC plan continues to be up to date, and the provision continues to be appropriate.
  
• To challenge education settings where appropriate, to ensure support is being provided in line with the SEND Code of Practice.
  
• To prepare and present requests to the SEND Resource panel for changes in provision where appropriate.
  
• To prepare cases for, represent and make decisions on behalf of the council at mediations relating to, refusal to undertake an Education, Health and Care plans needs assessment, issue an Education, Health and Care Plan, Part I of the Plan or the provision named within plan.
  
• To be responsible for writing reports, providing information and data and undertaking project work where required.
  
• To undertake other duties as reasonably required and which correspond to the general character of the post and its level of responsibility.

Key Requirements:

To succeed in this role, you will need as a minimum:

• The ability and experience to analyse and interpret data and present it effectively to various audiences to inform decision-making.
  
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills are required to effectively advise and support senior officers, with confidence to challenge where appropriate based on evidence.
  
• Excellent organisational skills will be needed to agree, develop and manage the provision of appropriate business intelligence; ensuring managers have access to appropriate and timely information about their service and Oldham.

For an informal discussion regarding this role please contact Eleanor.Mason@oldham.gov.uk or Vicky.Brennan@oldham.gov.uk

About Us:

We want Oldham to have vibrant, safe neighbourhoods where people are proud to live with opportunities for healthier, more fulfilled lives; and a sustainable, thriving economy. As we look to the future, the challenges may be significant, but so are the opportunities. We’ve identified three missions with our residents and partners, focusing on what will deliver the biggest impact:

A Great Place to Live, Healthier, Happier Lives, and Green and Growing.

We’re looking for candidates who will support us to achieve our ambitions and we encourage you to download our Corporate Plan: Ready for the Future and our Oldham Plan for further information.

Our Values and Behaviours:

By driving innovation, investing in our people, and championing our communities, we will ensure that Oldham continues to be a place where everyone can live their best life. To support this, we have three core values which define who we are and how we operate. These are ‘Proud, Ambitious, and Together’, and they shape our culture, inform our decisions, and inspire us to deliver on our commitments to the people of Oldham.

We have translated these values into five behaviours which guide our actions and are the standards we hold ourselves to, day in and day out:

• Work with a resident focus
• Support local leaders
• Committed to the borough
• Delivery high performance
• Take ownership and drive change

You can find out more about our values and behaviours on our greater.jobs Oldham page

Our Benefits Package:

At Oldham Council we offer a great benefits package for our employees, which includes the following:

• 25 days annual leave which increases after 5 and 10-years’ service
• The option to purchase additional annual leave.
• An attractive LGPS benefit pension scheme with the option to make shared cost additional voluntary contributions.
• Discounted gym membership with Oldham Active.
• Staff discount scheme for shopping, entertainment, eating-out, eating-in, travel, motoring and more.
• Salary sacrifice scheme for home and electronics and Cycle to Work.
• Wellbeing support, including a Mental Health First Aider network and an Employment Assistance Programme that provides 24 hours access to advice and support.
• Staff recognition and celebration events.
• Peer support groups

Inclusive Recruitment:

We work closely with employees to help them work at their best, including making adjustments such as flexible working, describing available working patterns, providing equipment or making changes to the workplace.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and therefore expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you have lived or worked abroad for 3 months or more in the last 5 years or 12 months or more (whether continuously or in total) in the last 10 years whilst aged 18 or over, please refer to the link below for details for how to obtain your Certificates of Good Character. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants

Unfortunately, at this time we are not able to offer sponsorship.

If you have completed the GM Elevate (Leadership Development) Programme please indicate this within the ‘About You’ or ‘Supporting Statement’ section of your application.

If you’re an applicant with disabilities and have previously been in or currently in care, a carer, someone who has served in the Armed Forces, or you’ve participated in the GM Elevate Programme, and you meet the essential criteria of the role, you are guaranteed to reach the first stage of assessment under our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme.

Data and Privacy:

For details of how we use your data please see our privacy notice.

Important Information:

Please note that should a vacancy that has been released for internal or external recruitment be deemed suitable for a current employee at risk of redundancy, it can be pulled back at any point, up to the post being formally offered to a candidate who is not at risk of redundancy.

Right to Work in the UK from 1st July 2021.doc