Senior SEND Officer

• Make an Impact: Play a vital role in ensuring effective provision is in place for young people with Education, Health, and Care Plans (EHCPs) across Somerset.
• Be Part of Something Bigger: Work with a multi-agency team to deliver high-quality services that improve lives and meet statutory requirements.
• Hybrid Working: Enjoy the flexibility of working from home and our County Hall office in Taunton—with a minimum of two office days per week to collaborate with colleagues.
• 30 Days’ annual leave (plus Bank Holidays).
• Permanent contract - 37 hours per week

As a Senior SEND Officer, in your day-to-day work you will:

• Lead and Inspire: Manage a team of officers who oversee EHCP processes, ensuring a family-focused service that meets legal requirements.
• Drive Excellence: Monitor performance, hold teams accountable, and foster a culture of continuous improvement.
• Collaborate Across Sectors: Chair multi-agency meetings, liaise with educational professionals, healthcare colleagues, social workers, and families to resolve complex challenges and deliver the best possible support.
• Shape Policy and Practice: Apply your deep understanding of the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice to guide decision-making and strategy.

We are seeking motivated, skilled professionals with diverse backgrounds who are ready to make a difference. Whether you come from education, social care, or healthcare, your expertise will be invaluable.

You’ll thrive in this role if you:

•    Have experience in education leadership, SENCO, teaching, pastoral care, social care, family support or healthcare.
•    Possess strong communication skills, with the ability to adapt when engaging with a wide range of stakeholders.
•    Hold a degree qualification or equivalent relevant qualification and bring management or leadership experience
•    Are an independent problem-solver, taking ownership of complex situations with confidence and accountability at a multi-agency level.
•    Have a positive mindset, eager to grasp and apply complex policy and processes effectively.
•    Are comfortable using Microsoft Office packages including Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook.

We’re proud to be here for the people of Somerset and that means everyone in Somerset. An important part of this is ensuring that we are as diverse and inclusive as the people and communities we serve.

We welcome applications from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences to enrich our team. You can always contact the hiring manager for a chat if there’s anything you want to talk about before you apply.

We are proud to offer an environment that is supportive and rewarding, working as part of a team who are passionate about the work they do to improve the lives of people in Somerset.

We offer great training and development opportunities, with supportive management. As well as this, we have some fantastic employee benefits available:

•    We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible, including working from home.
•    Generous annual leave allowance, with the opportunity to purchase additional leave
•    Staff discounts in gyms.
•    Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee wellbeing services.
•    Auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme and optional pension enhancement through our Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme.
•    A Flexible Benefits Scheme via salary sacrifice to obtain a cycle for work and health screenings.
•    My Staff Shop offering discounts in shops, online shopping, restaurants, cinema tickets, insurance benefits and more

The salary for the role is Grade 10, ranging from £36,124 to £40,476 per annum

For an informal chat about the role, you can contact Sarah Stabback, Senior Expert Advisor at sarah.stabback@somerset.gov.uk or Katie Knight, Inclusion Senior Lead at katie.knight@somerset.gov.uk

Interviews will be held w/c 30th June 2025

If you have everything you need, just hit the apply button. We can’t wait to hear from you.

This job requires a criminal background check (DBS) via the basic disclosure procedure.