Salary: Band 5, £25,652 to £27,363 per annum
Contract: Fixed Term maternity cover to October 2025 or sooner
Hours: Full time (37 hours per week)
Closing date: Wednesday 27 November 2024, 23:59
Interview date: Friday 6 December 2024
Portsmouth City Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and young people, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. It is also committed to promoting quality childcare across the city that works to improve outcomes for children.
Every post is subject to PCC and Portsmouth Safeguarding Children’s Board safer recruitment procedures.
Why come to live and work in Portsmouth?
Portsmouth is a great waterfront city and a vibrant place to live and work. It is an island city with an “inner city” feel, a seaside location packed with attractions and events, and the advantage of fantastic countryside on its doorstep. With fast road and rail links to London, Brighton and major airports, and ferry links to Europe, it is the perfect place to live and work. Portsmouth has a strong history of partnership working and has successfully integrated several local services.
The Service:
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. 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 until July 2025 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.
Your New Role:
You will support the SEN Team through undertaking the administration of the statutory process in identifying, assessing, issuing and reviewing the education, health & care planning arrangements of children and young people's special educational needs and disabilities. You will routinely request, receive and distribute reports from education, health and social care professionals. You will work with vulnerable families who might feel overwhelmed by their circumstances and their concerns for their child’s education. This role 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.
Please read the job profile for the full details of this role.
What you'll need to succeed:
You have experience of supporting work with children and families (e.g. in a school, a local authority such as an education or social care department, a hospital or community health setting etc.). You have higher-level administrative experience of statutory or time bound processes, and knowledge of Special Educational Needs and Disability current legislative and on-going developments and the role of the Local Authority. You can work inclusively and in a people-focused way with people in challenging and / or sensitive circumstances, showing respect and empathy. You can communicate effectively, work to tight deadlines, and work in a team or on your own initiative.
Please read the job profile for the full details of this role.
You will need to demonstrate that you have the Right to Work in the UK. No post will be offered without it.
What you'll get in return:
We really appreciate our employees and fully realise they are essential to our success and look to offer an inclusive, supportive working environment where employees can reach their potentials with a healthy work life balance, offering the following rewards:
- Generous annual leave (27 days per year rising to 31, pro rata for part time hours) with the potential to purchase additional leave.
- A fantastic pension which allows you the opportunity to pay in more for that greater return.
- Flexible working options including hybrid working with a minimum of two days office based per week pro rata, giving you the flexibility to work up to three days at home every week. Hybrid working is dependent on the role and service needs, exact details will be discussed with you at interview.
- Access to a wide range of training and development opportunities including apprenticeships.
- Extensive wellbeing support through the Employee Assistance Programme
- Discount on travel, travel loans and the bike loan scheme
- Discounts on a wide range of goods and services – access a range of discounts and offers from thousands of restaurants, shops and more.
Staff rewards: https://careers.portsmouth.gov.uk/working-for-the-council/
Additional Information:
The full job profile is attached here.
Contact Details for an Informal Discussion:
Sharon Willis, Service Manager, sharon.willis@portsmouthcc.gov.uk, 023 92 841 987
A commitment to our values:
We are committed to our values of respect, integrity, collaboration, inclusivity and being people-focussed. These values set out how we can contribute to the success of the council and our own success as individuals. Learn more about our values and behaviours.
Application process:
How to complete your application: https://careers.portsmouth.gov.uk/how-to-apply/
We are a disability confident employer - committed to ensuring that our recruitment and selection process is inclusive and accessible and welcome applications from all areas of society.
Please submit both a CV and a cover letter/personal statement. Remember to demonstrate in your cover letter/personal statement why you are suitable against each of the points described in the 'Who is the Person' points on the Job Profile, using examples from your experience or transferable skills. This might be through qualifications or descriptive examples from your work / personal experience, which clearly illustrates what you did and the effect it had.
If you upload a CV without a cover letter/personal statement, it is unlikely that your application will be successful.
Please ensure you provide your full education history from secondary school, include name/address of establishment, details of relevant qualifications & awarding body. Please explain any gaps - this is essential for all safeguarding children's roles.
We will email applicants from time to time; please ensure you check e-mail folders as sometimes our e-mails may go into spam/junk folders.
We look forward to speaking with you soon.
Should you require any support in completing the application form please contact recruit@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.