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Early Years SEND and Inclusion Mentor

Job details
Posting date: 03 June 2024
Salary: £27,334 to £29,777 per year
Additional salary information: local goverment pension scheme
Hours: Full time
Closing date: 10 June 2024
Location: Countywide, West Sussex, PO19 1RQ
Company: West Sussex County Council
Job type: Permanent
Job reference: CAFHE05183_1717431949

Summary

The Opportunity

Salary: £27,334 to £29,777 per annum (pro rata for part time opportunities)

Contract Type: Permanent

Working Pattern: Full time and part time opportunities available.

Location: Opportunities available across West Sussex

Closing date: 07 June 2024

Interview date: Tuesday 18 or Wednesday 19 June 2024

An exciting opportunity has arisen to work as part of our Education and Skills Service as an Early Years SEND and Inclusion Mentor.

You will work closely with Early Years and Childcare Advisors to put children first and improve outcomes for children and families across West Sussex.

We are seeking an Early Years SEND and Inclusion Mentor who will use their skills and knowledge to identify and support appropriate provision is in place to secure the best outcomes for children with SEND. You will support practitioners to follow a graduated approach in line with the SEN Code of Practice.

A key part of the role will be to ensure that all children with SEND have their needs met in an early years setting alongside their peers, enabling them to fulfil their potential before they start school. You will support settings to use a person-centred approach.

You'll need to be able to travel independently to various locations around the county. You will cover an allocated geographical area (North or South of West Sussex) and work across all settings in that geographical area, however you may occasionally be required to travel countywide.

You will provide practical support, advice and guidance to early years settings in your allocated locality to enable effective inclusion of learners with a broad range of identified SEND needs, including children with complex needs. You will provide targeted support to individual children where necessary, and support settings with a Quality First teaching approach to support inclusive practice.

Skills and Experience

Key Skills:

  1. Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
  2. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to build effective relationships with children and practitioners.
  3. Excellent time management and personal organisational skills to organise own workload and meet deadlines. Ability to work flexibly and creatively.
  4. Good analytical and judgemental skills to interpret information and situations, make assessments and input into creative solutions and plans.
  5. Ability to understand, keep up to date with and follow service policy, procedures and professional codes of conduct. Ability to reflect and evaluate performance.
  6. A good level of IT skills that will enable you to use a range of tools effectively and efficiently to complete work tasks using Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams) and bespoke databases to comply with General Data Protection Regulations.

Qualifications and/or experience:

  • Full and relevant Early Years Qualification to at least Level 3.
  • Proven experience of working in the Early Years sector.
  • Proven relevant experience supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities, including complex, high-level needs.
  • Knowledge of child development, SEND legislation, early years pedagogy and effective practice to improve outcomes for children with SEND.
  • Secure knowledge and evidence of implementing the Early Years Framework and related pedagogical issues.
  • Secure knowledge and evidence of implementing the SEND Code of Practice.
  • An understanding of how children learn in and through a broad curriculum in the early years and beyond.
  • Knowledge of the characteristics of effective settings and schools and the Ofsted Framework.

For more information on the role and skills required, please refer to the Job Description attached.

About Us

The Early Years SEND and Inclusion Mentors work with Early Years and Childcare Advisors (EYCAs) SEND and Inclusion. Both roles sit within Children's Services which groups together all services, including Early Help, Children's Social Care and Education and Skills, that work together to put children first and improve outcomes for children and families across West Sussex.

The West Sussex Early Years Team operate within our "Right from the Start: West Sussex Early Years and Childcare Strategy 2024-2027". Our Vision is that "From birth every child is nurtured, supported, and given the opportunity to develop well and achieve their full potential in inclusive, safe, inspiring environments. The voice and needs of children and their families is sought and acted upon with holistic needs being identified early and effectively met, enabling children and families to be healthy and thrive."

For more information, please visit our Education, Children and Families page on our WSCC website.

Benefits

For a full list this can be found at our Rewards and Benefits page.

Further Information

The reference number for this role is CAFHE05183.

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Grace Hall at .

To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and cover letter.

In your cover letter, please outline your motivations for applying and explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check and 5 years referencing.

Equity, inclusion, and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.