SEND Assistant Team Manager

Job Introduction

Job Title: SEND Assistant Team Manager

Location: Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

Service/Team: SEND Service, Education and Skills 

Reports to: SEND Team Manager

Job Overview: We are seeking a dedicated and experienced Assistant Team Manager to join our SEND Assessment and Review team. The successful candidate will assist the Team Manager in the effective management of the statutory SEND function, supporting practice improvement through delegated management tasks. BCP Council SEND team is made up of 3 pods; early years and primary, secondary and post-16.  This post is for the Assistant Team manager of the secondary pod.

Key Responsibilities:

• Assist the Team Manager in work allocation, performance management, and staffing issues.
• Provide guidance and coaching to staff through supervisions and informal mentoring.
• Ensure the quality of work undertaken by direct reports and monitor performance standards.
• Identify and mitigate risks to the education of vulnerable children and young people.
• Mentor newly appointed or inexperienced staff to meet high expectations and compliance standards.
• Engage positively with workforce development activities and contribute to a learning and improving organization.
• Ensure the child is at the centre of all work and conduct regular reviews in accordance with the statutory Code of Practice for SEND.
• Organise and implement training sessions to improve caseload or diary management.
• Represent Children’s Services at various meetings and provide advice and information as required.
• Embed best practice principles and a positive, open, and trusted learning culture.
• Contribute to reducing risks to the health, safety, and wellbeing of staff.

Qualifications and Experience:

• Educated to degree level or equivalent relevant experience in education, social care, or other child-centred services.
• Commitment to undertake management training.
• Proven relevant post-qualifying experience of direct work within a Local Authority fieldwork team.
• Ability to deputise in the absence of the Manager and supervise staff.
• Participation in recruitment, selection, and retention of staff.
• Ability to motivate staff, promote performance management, and work as a team member.
• Professional registration.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
• Basic computer literacy.
• Knowledge in Child Protection, relevant SEND legislation, Assessment Framework, Performance Management, Quality Assurance Systems, Evidence-Based Practice, Anti-discriminatory Practice, and Best Value Principles.

Personal Qualities & Attributes:

• Confidence in attending professional meetings and reviews.
• High standard of recorded and written work.
• Tact, ability to counsel, negotiate, mediate, and maintain confidentiality.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to travel using public or other forms of transport or holding a valid UK driving license with access to own or pool car.

 Job Requirements:

• DBS check and ability to speak fluent English.

For an informal discussion about this role, please contact chris.lee@bcpcouncil.gov.uk or teresa.hegarty@bcpcouncil.gov.uk

Proposed interview date: Tuesday 4th March 2025

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 here

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 have been in a process of collective bargaining since 2019 and have positively worked forward to reach an agreed position with the unions for the new contractual offer. This has taken longer than we hoped and therefore we are having to consider all alternative avenues available to enable us to remove inequality in the organisation as a result of bringing together 3 councils. 

We are in the process of establishing a timescale for implementation, and all colleagues joining us will be included in these changes. We want to reassure everyone that whichever route is taken to reach the new terms and conditions, we can honour continuous service and there will not be any job reduction as a result of the implementation of Pay and Reward.  If you have any questions at all about this process, please feel free to raise this with the hiring manager.

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.