Head of SEND and Vulnerable Pupils

Thank you for considering the opportunity presented by making an application for this critical role. Nottingham has built a strong reputation for championing the best outcomes for children with SEND. Alongside our partners in early year’s settings, schools, further education, health and social care Nottingham’s vision is to ensure the rights and needs of SEND children are at heart of all that we do. Ensuring the voice of parents and carers, and most importantly that of children, is genuinely co-creating our services, is a foundational principle of our approach. A principle that the holder of this post will continuously demonstrate through their approach to developing effective and responsive partnership delivery.

Please take the time to read through the information presented. If you believe that you have the values, skills and commitment to make a real difference in improving the education outcomes and transition into employment, further education and training for our growing number of children with SEND please do apply, details on how to do so are at the bottom of this page.

The Role

As Head of SEND and Vulnerable Pupils you will be a key member of the Education Division senior leadership team. We are a team of leaders committed to inclusive practice, who champion the often complex needs of our diverse and economically disadvantaged population. We believe that an inclusive and creative education is the critical key to the unlocking of opportunities that will enable children to access successful whole life opportunities.

Your role will be to ensure the Division delivers its statutory duties for assessing the needs of children with special educational needs and disabilities along with improving education, training and employment outcomes for vulnerable post-16 young people. Championing our most vulnerable learners the role will involve developing and implementing our SEND Strategy and supporting our work on building quality alternative provision pathways to meet identified needs. We have an ambitious sufficiency strategy, seeking to grow over the next four years provision of specialist support places in mainstream schools alongside developing additional capacity within our high quality special schools in the city.

Our previous Local Area Review highlighted the strong partnership with schools and early years settings, built upon a shared commitment to a genuinely inclusive system. The post Covid period and cost of living impact has placed significant pressures on the lived experience of facing many of our children and families. Ensuring that we are able to support education providers to meet growing demands around mental health and anxiety, alongside increased diagnosis of ASD is a critical element of the role. The post holder will require strong leadership skills to further develop and maintain partnership delivery across the education sector as well as health partners, social care, voluntary and community providers, parents/carers and children.

To support that delivery Nottingham benefits from highly skilled, innovative and committed teaching and learning support teams, education psychology service, early years SEND team and many school leaders who value and champion genuinely inclusive practice in their schools.

The Person

This is a role for a candidate with a proven record of leadership and working with partners to improve outcomes through an inclusive and co-produced approach. You will be skilled at understanding safeguarding, managing and improving education and inclusion outcomes for all children, as well as the management of financial and enabling resources. Bringing a genuine understanding of equality and diversity together with the inclusion agenda and learning and achievement, you will demonstrate experience of working in a complex system and the ability to lead and develop teams and others to deliver outstanding outcomes for children.

Nottingham City Council is currently in a government intervention programme. The commissioner team leading this process are seeking to engage all senior leaders to be actively contributing to building transformed, effective and sustainable Council services. It provides an opportunity for the right candidate to bring fresh ideas, creative solutions and to grow their own leadership skills.

This is an exciting opportunity to lead in a system built upon a foundation of strong practice based on values of inclusion, equality and diversity – but at a time when innovation and building authentic partnerships has never been more important. If you have the skills, abilities and desire to lead in a complex environment you will be rewarded through working in a supportive system of peers and partners committed to the values you will share.

To Apply

Please send your CV and a supporting letter to Nick Lee, Director of Education, at nicholas.lee@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

Closing date: Friday 21^st June 2024

Please note there may be occasions where we close the advert before the closing date and we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

Interviews will be held: w/c 1^st July 2024

If you would like further information on this role prior to applying please contact Nick Lee, Director of Education, on 0115 87 64618.

Further Information

• Head of Special Education Needs and Disabilities Job Description and and Person Specification
• Nottingham Local Area Report
• SEND Sufficiency Strategy 23-28
• JSNA - Special Educational Needs and Disability 0 to 25 years

Nottingham’s partnership SEND strategy document is currently being drafted ahead of consultation during the course of 2024.