Head of SEND Strategic

Job Introduction

BCP Council - Head of SEND Strategic

We are looking to recruit a dynamic Head of SEND Strategic to join our BCP Council Children’s Services Department.  You will play a central role in our SEND transformation and improvement journey, which has significantly improved over the last 12 months. The position is based in BCP Council and you will be responsible for aspects of the Strategic SEND services across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. 

About the service Significant improvements have been made within BCP’s SEND Service over the last year; it is an exciting time to join and contribute to our improvement journey.  Over the last year we have been working closely with our staff and listening to partners, parents and carers and have created and launched a new SEND Service Structure. Through our new service structure, we have separated out the statutory operational aspects of SEND and require a Head of SEND Strategic to lead our improvement work.   A key focus will be to lead and support our drive for greater inclusion in mainstream settings in BCP place for our statutory 0-25 provision.

Locally we provide support to over 4,000 children and young people with Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans and with a further 7,552 accessing SEN Support. A key element of our development will be to develop and improve our relationships with the 98 schools in BCP alongside our ability to listen to and design SEN improvements meeting the needs of parents and carers. The ongoing co-production with early years settings. children, parents, carers and schools is at the heart of our work, as we need to make further improvements on our Inclusion work with schools and wider settings.  Finally, a key focus is our new Belonging and Inclusion strategy, which at its heart is the development of the Educational Psychology Service which will deliver a number of changes through traded work.

About the role The role will focus on introducing our system wide inclusion approach with expertise in integrated pathways with early prevention being at the heart of the system.  You will be responsible for the wider governance arrangements for SEND including implementation of our new robust quality assurance framework.  

You will be a systems leader, working in partnership with health commissioners and providers to address key areas of demand and earlier support. You will be responsible for managing key service budgets.   You must be able to work collaboratively across the Children’s Services department and in wider partnership with EY, schools, SEN provision and of course, our parents and carers. You will be responsible for driving forward further improvements and partnership working and leading co-production projects with a distinct focus on the development of our Local Offer. Relevant experience in similar roles is essential.  You will need to have significant experience of leading Education Psychology Services and hold BPS accreditation.

Essential requirements of this position include:

• The position requires a degree in a relevant subject, a BPS accredited degree in psychology.
• Post-graduate management qualification or equivalent experience, and substantial senior leadership experience.
• Experience and capability to plan, strategically implement and manage service transformation, policy change and quality assurance frameworks.
• Solid knowledge of SEN related legislation predominantly focusing on the Children and Families Act 2014 and its code of practice.
• Significant experience leading at a strategic level SEND Services, Education Psychology and Early Years Services.
• Act as the operational lead for Educational Psychology with clinical knowledge of guidelines and framework. 
• Experience and capability to plan and strategically implement policy change and quality assurance frameworks
• Proven ability to develop and maintain positive working relationships with a wide range of partners.

Closing date: Wednesday 20 November 

Interview date: Monday 2 December

Useful Information: SEND Improvement Plan 

You will be expected to work from the office two to three days per week, depending on business requirements.

For an informal discussion about the role please contact the Interim Director, Education & Skills Sharon.muldoon@bcpcouncil.gov.uk 

About BCP Council

BCP Council provides services to a diverse community of 400,000 residents and employs more than 5,000 people.  Our area includes over 15 miles of beautiful world-renowned coastline.  We can offer career defining roles to transform and improve services.  By working with us, you can help deliver a vision of a thriving, word-class, prosperous and inclusive place for generations to come.

Our Benefits

We offer an excellent benefits package for further details see our website.

As a result of the creation of BCP Council in 2019, we are working on simplifying our terms and conditions of service and will be creating a single pay structure which is to be applicable for all employees. It is important to us that we offer benefits that our colleagues value as part of their total employment package and we are reviewing these to make sure we have it right. We are in the process of establishing a timescale for implementation and colleagues joining us will be included in these changes. Expected to be in place 2024 or early 2025..

DBS

BCP Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the community and expects all staff and volunteers to share the same commitment.  Applicants to this post will be required to complete the appropriate level of Disclosure & Barring Service Check. Please refer to the Job Description or Role Profile for more details.