Senior SEND Officer
| Posting date: | 11 September 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £39,152 to £41,771 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 03 October 2025 |
| Location: | Weston-Super-Mare |
| Remote working: | Hybrid - work remotely up to 3 days per week |
| Company: | North Somerset Council |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | SCHA0894 |
Summary
About Us
North Somerset Council is committed to providing high-quality services to our community. We are committed to creating a fair, green, and more inclusive environment for all our residents. Join us and contribute to making a positive impact on our community.
The Role
We are seeking a dedicated and experienced Senior SEND Officer to join our SEND Team. The SEND Team are responsible for ensuring that the LA’s statutory duties towards individual children and young people with SEND are met.
We are a busy team and deal with sensitive, and at times, difficult situations. The successful candidate will have good organisational and interpersonal skills, have experience of similar work within a public sector and will need to be able to travel within North Somerset and further afield to support out of area placements
In this role, you will
Key Responsibilities:
• Coordinate and manage the Local Authority’s Tribunals, while holding a tribunals caseload. This will involve negotiations with schools, parents and other relevant professionals to resolve appeals to the tribunal where possible and to represent the Local Authority at case management hearings and final hearings when early resolution is not possible.
• Prepare documents/reports in accordance with legislation to provide information for use in meetings and formal proceedings, and to support developments within the SEND Team.
• Take a supporting role in developing a range of interventions/processes, specific service or projects with clearly identified outcomes within an overall team plan.
• To represent the LA at mediation in relation to all statutory decisions.
• To support the improvement in quality of EHC plans by proof reading and quality assurance.
• Work in partnership with service users and other agencies to develop and implement multi agency services and initiatives. Establish & maintain appropriate links between service users and other professionals to encourage a clear understanding of each other’s priorities and ways of working.
• Using enhanced knowledge and experience of SEND legislation and processes to support SEND Officers in the absence of line managers.
• Line management and development of SEND team members, to improve service standards and achieve service delivery.
• In conjunction with other SEND Managers, to develop and deliver training packages for all SEND staff.
• Communicate effectively with parents, schools and other professionals (including parent representatives, e.g. solicitors) within mediation, tribunals and TUF processes.
• To support the admissions process for special school places and to implement appropriate tracking mechanisms for these in liaison with relevant SEND officers.
This position is exempt under the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions) Order 1975 and is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check.
Valid driving licence and own transport, or be able to provide alternative, suitable method of travel is an essential condition for this role.
North Somerset Council is committed to providing high-quality services to our community. We are committed to creating a fair, green, and more inclusive environment for all our residents. Join us and contribute to making a positive impact on our community.
The Role
We are seeking a dedicated and experienced Senior SEND Officer to join our SEND Team. The SEND Team are responsible for ensuring that the LA’s statutory duties towards individual children and young people with SEND are met.
We are a busy team and deal with sensitive, and at times, difficult situations. The successful candidate will have good organisational and interpersonal skills, have experience of similar work within a public sector and will need to be able to travel within North Somerset and further afield to support out of area placements
In this role, you will
Key Responsibilities:
• Coordinate and manage the Local Authority’s Tribunals, while holding a tribunals caseload. This will involve negotiations with schools, parents and other relevant professionals to resolve appeals to the tribunal where possible and to represent the Local Authority at case management hearings and final hearings when early resolution is not possible.
• Prepare documents/reports in accordance with legislation to provide information for use in meetings and formal proceedings, and to support developments within the SEND Team.
• Take a supporting role in developing a range of interventions/processes, specific service or projects with clearly identified outcomes within an overall team plan.
• To represent the LA at mediation in relation to all statutory decisions.
• To support the improvement in quality of EHC plans by proof reading and quality assurance.
• Work in partnership with service users and other agencies to develop and implement multi agency services and initiatives. Establish & maintain appropriate links between service users and other professionals to encourage a clear understanding of each other’s priorities and ways of working.
• Using enhanced knowledge and experience of SEND legislation and processes to support SEND Officers in the absence of line managers.
• Line management and development of SEND team members, to improve service standards and achieve service delivery.
• In conjunction with other SEND Managers, to develop and deliver training packages for all SEND staff.
• Communicate effectively with parents, schools and other professionals (including parent representatives, e.g. solicitors) within mediation, tribunals and TUF processes.
• To support the admissions process for special school places and to implement appropriate tracking mechanisms for these in liaison with relevant SEND officers.
This position is exempt under the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions) Order 1975 and is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check.
Valid driving licence and own transport, or be able to provide alternative, suitable method of travel is an essential condition for this role.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.