Job Description
3 months contracts with local authority
Main Purpose
* Strategic Role: Accountable for developing strategies, action plans, and processes that support and enable the SEND reforms agenda to become embedded within social care operations and practice.
* Resource Role: Act as a resource to social care teams, improving their understanding of the SEND Local Offer, the EHC needs assessment, and planning processes for disabled children, young people, and those with SEND.
This role will work across Education and Children’s Social Care, with accountability and scrutiny overseen by the Children, Education and Families Senior Leadership Team. Professional supervision will be provided by a senior Children’s Social Care Manager.
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Summary of Responsibilities and Duties
1. Inform and Influence: Inform and influence the direction of wider SEND services through intelligence and insight.
2. Knowledge and Solutions: Have in-depth knowledge and understanding of both social care processes and the SEND reforms agenda, strengthening practice and generating solutions.
3. Partnerships: Negotiate with and influence others, build and nurture effective partnerships, working collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders across the LA, and exploit opportunities for co-production with partners within and outside of the LA, including health partners.
4. Representation: Represent Bromley Council at key regional and national events and be a source of expert professional advice on SEND reforms relating to social care within Bromley, seeking to learn nationally from the evidence base of best practice.
5. Resource to Social Care Teams: Improve social care teams' understanding of the SEND Local Offer, the EHC needs assessment, and planning processes for disabled children, young people, and those with SEND.
o Identify needs early and develop social care pathways for those not currently known to social care.
o Ensure timely contributions to EHC needs assessment and planning processes; provide information and advice.
o Display good knowledge of the local offer.
o Embed a culture of co-production in support of children’s needs assessments and EHCPs.
o Raise the quality of EHCPs sections relevant to social care.
o Deliver training on SEND topics to social care colleagues and vice-versa, training SEND colleagues on social care issues.
o Attend decision-making panels relating to children and young people with SEND.
6. Understanding of Social Care Processes: Improve understanding of social care processes by professionals in Education and Health.
7. Advice on Tribunal and Mediation: Advise on social care aspects in relation to SEND Tribunal and mediation.
8. Organisational Design: Contribute to and influence SEND organisational design, and assist in the development of the 0-25 Children & Young People with Disabilities Service and its policies.
9. Network Leadership: Establish and lead a network of social care SEND ‘champions’ and link workers.
10. Implementation: Facilitate and oversee the implementation of the SEND agenda within social care through this network, gathering insight and intelligence from them and other groups such as the parent carer forum to inform future planning. Align with the Virtual School to promote the education of children with a social worker.
11. Local Offer Development: Develop social care aspects of the Local Offer that provide relevant advice and information and meet all legislative requirements.
12. Collaboration: Work collaboratively with senior managers and service leads to ensure social care meets statutory responsibilities under the Children & Families Act (2014) and Care Act (2014), driving forward organisational culture change aligned to the SEND reforms.
13. Practice Enhancement: Constructively challenge practice, systems, processes, and protocols to enhance SEND reform compliance as part of this collaboration.
14. Inspection Preparation: Lead social care elements of the local area’s preparation to ensure readiness for regulatory inspections, including self-evaluation.