Job description

Job purpose

The role covers a wide range of strategic responsibilities to enhance outcomes for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in the county. This will be achieved through leadership of the designated area, as well as responsibility for influencing improvements and changes to the Norfolk SEND system as a whole.

The role will:

Lead the co-ordination of the delivery of a number of key operational services that support young people with complex Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), including the Local Authority's statutory duties for Education Health Care Plans (EHCPs) across Norfolk, as well our Educational Psychology and Specialist Support Service, ensuring that children and their families receive the right support and provision at the right time.
Embed relationship-based practice across SEND services, ensuring that children and families' voices are central to the delivery of services in order to build parental confidence, and develop system-wide integrated solutions to meeting need through the development of strong partnership relationships with schools and other partners to enhance outcomes for children and young people in the county.
Act as the strategic lead for SEND Operations within Local First Inclusion workstreams, ensuring the alignment of operational delivery with the aims of the programme

As a member of the Children's Services Extended Leadership Team, the role will share responsibility for the overall leadership, management, delivery and continued development of services, as well as formulating responses and implementing changes in light of national policy direction, inspection frameworks and the Local First Inclusion and Norfolk Area Strategy agendas. This will require outward facing leadership at a regional and national level.

Context

We want Norfolk to be a county where every child and young person can flourish. To achieve this, we strive to work as a whole system and with the whole family using a practice approach that is:

Relationship based - working to build consistent and trusted relationships with families
Strengths oriented - identifying the strengths of families and building on them to create positive change
Outcome focused - doing whatever it takes to achieve the best outcome for families

We believe it is vital that children are prepared and able to learn; build positive, long-term relationships and receive family-based care.

This role will report directly to the Director for SEND. The role leads a management team responsible for delivering high quality practice, interventions and services that are high risk, highly regulated and subject to frequent internal and external inspection, scrutiny and inspection. As such it carries a high level of reputational responsibility and requires liaison with government departments (DfE), the inspectorate (Ofsted) and other Local Authorities as and when required.

In addition to the responsibilities set out below, there will be an expectation that the role will work closely with, and influence, a number of colleagues across Children's Services in order to improve outcomes for young people with SEND. This would include (but is not limited to) close liaison with:

Children With Disabilities teams within Family Help and High Needs to ensure join up in approaches to supporting young people with disabilities.
Specialist SEND commissioning functions (predominantly under AD SEND and AP Strategy and Sufficiency) to ensure children's needs are matched to appropriate provision
SENDIASS
Colleagues within Adult Services to develop improved proactive approaches to transitions between Children's and Adult Services.

The role will also lead and influence the Norfolk system, including schools, Schools Forum, Local Inclusion Partnership and SEND regional improvement groups, to support the reform of the wider SEND landscape, particularly as part of the Council's Local First Inclusion programme, aimed at keeping young people in local mainstream provision wherever possible.

Accountabilities

Lead, uphold and exemplify the principles of relationship-based practice, providing role modelling and guidance to teams, colleagues and partners to ensure an organisational culture which reduces disagreement and promotes true partnership with parents, carers and young people.
Work in close collaboration with other Children's Services teams and with the wider SEND system, ensuring that opportunities for collaborative working and joint pathways to support are maximised, leading to SEND need being met earlier and preventing needs escalating and the need for specialist provision wherever possible.
Oversee the delivery of Local Authority's statutory duties for Education Health Care Plans (EHCPs) across Norfolk, undertaking significant work to develop the relationship-based culture of the service and to drive up quality. This to be achieved by ensuring that key stakeholders are involved in the EHCP process, and that children and families' views are reflected in this, so families experience timely, coherent support that achieves the right outcomes for children and young people.
Oversee the Education Psychology and Specialist Support Service to ensure the service has a positive impact on outcomes for children through the right mix of preventative and targeted intervention, statutory advice and traded work.
Oversee the Virtual School Sensory Support Service to champion the education of children and young people with a sensory loss, ensuring all professionals have high aspirations for their learning and achievement.
Work with colleagues in Adult Social Services to transform the Council's approach to transitions for young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
Develop increased parental confidence in SEND services, leading to a reduction in complaints, mediation and tribunal, and transform our approach to the tribunal process to ensure it works as smoothly as possible for all parties where it remains necessary.
Have strategic oversight of complaints relating to the service, as well as responding to the most complex, contencious and high profile complaints, ensuring they are responded to restoratively and that relationships with families are rebuilt wherever possible.
Drive high performance, leading regular senior performance forums to hold services to account for quality, including development of relevant data dashboards and robust quality assurance approaches.
Act as a key individual in ensuring the authority is prepared for any inspecton of SEND services and represent SEND services services during an inspection.
Act on behalf of the Director of SEND, deputising where necessary, ensuring the priorities and actions of the department and the directorate are promoted, and the best interests of children and families are central to any decision-making.
Be a member of the extended leadership team for Children's Services contributing to the system wide development of services to children and their families.
Provide effective service leadership, focusing on service and staff development, performance management and effective delivery within budget that achieves Council objectives, responds to local and national policy, maximises uses of resources, drives improvement and transformation of services, and delivers successful inspection outcomes.

Person specification

Essential skills and abilities

Excellent communication and diplomacy skills with the ability to build strong networks and influence and persuade senior partners and strategic stakeholders to effect change.
Ability to advocate on behalf of, and champion the needs of, children and young people with SEND Evidence of clear commercial and financial acumen to find novel solutions to emerging and complex issues.
Analytical skills to understand and use data and intelligence to build an accurate picture of service delivery and a sound evidence base for decision making, based on results and outcomes/impact.
Ability to understand, interpret accurately and utilise the view of other stakeholders and service users to act in the best interests of children and young people.
Excellent ability to engage and work effectively with Elected Members, directors and senior decision makers across agencies, whilst providing appropriate challenge.
Ability to think strategically, look at problems creatively and/or develop or encourage others to develop new or innovative solutions to deliver services and achieve outcomes.
Ability to lead and drive change effectively whilst keeping staff and stakeholders engaged.
Ability to provide a clear overview of complex issues and provide sound, professional and reliable advice in an engaging, accessible and non-technical manner orally and in writing.
Able to talk confidently, passionately and articulately to small and large audiences and adapt style to meet audience needs.
Celebrating and considering equality and diversity as part of all decisions taken.

Essential knowledge and experience

Significant experience of senior leadership in the field of SEND with experience of influencing and leading cultural change across a range of different strategic partners
Significant experience of developing solutions to deliver outstanding services in a relevant service/functional area.
Evidence of having developed highly effective relationships, in complex circumstances, through partnership working across organisation and professional boundaries.
Using sound business acumen and commercial judgement to find novel solutions to emerging and complex issues.
Experience of working with politicians, stakeholders, providers and partners to shape approaches that ensure outcomes for children and value for money.
In depth knowledge of the current local landscape in Norfolk and of government policy in relation to SEND, SEN reform agenda, SEND inspection.
Using professional expertise to translate the vision and strategy into strategies, goals and plans for the functional area.
Experience of creating and proactively leading change initiatives in a complex environment.
Experience of embedding quality assurance frameworks including evaluation of audit, data, user voice and complaints to ensure continuous improvement
Experience of responding to complaints restoratively
Significant experience of using data, intelligence and management information to undertake root cause analysis and identify effective action.
Evidence of managing complex budgets, where there is a need to reduce costs, hit savings targets and manage risk effectively.
Evidence of successfully building diverse teams that are focused on results and performance.

Desirable knowledge and experience

Maximising digital technologies and innovation with stakeholders and partners.

Mandatory qualifications

Relevant professional qualification or equivalent to demonstrate strong knowledge and understanding of the professional field (e.g. teaching, psychology, social work or equivalent)
Evidence of continuing professional development and expert knowledge in relevant professional area.

Indicative qualifications

Hold membership of appropriate professional body

Our core values are

Accountable - We are honest and accountable.
Inclusive - We champion inclusivity and equity.
Ambitious - We want a better future for Norfolk.
Trusted - We build and maintain trust.

General information

The job description details the main outcomes of the job and will be updated if these outcomes change.
All work performed/duties undertaken must be carried out in accordance with relevant County Council and Departmental policies and procedures, within legislation, and with regards to the needs of our customers and the diverse community we serve.
Job holders will be expected to understand what is meant by safeguarding vulnerable groups (children, young people and adults) and how to raise concerns.
Job holders will be expected to be flexible in their duties and carry out any other duties commensurate with the grade and falling within the general scope of the job, as requested by management.