Practice and Development Practitioner

Are you passionate about improving the lives of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)?

Join our team as a Practice and Development Practitioner and help us make a difference

As a Practice and Development Practitioner, you will work alongside the SEND Improvement Team within Buckinghamshire Council to design and deliver a workforce development programme as well as including identifying training needs and working to address these as part of a continuous cycle of improvement with a particular focus on EHCP Annual Reviews.

Contract: This is a fixed term post for the duration of 18 months.

Buckinghamshire Council is a relatively neworganisation that combines the strengths and expertiseof the previousfive councils in the countytocreate positive change for local people, communities, and businesses. We are firmly focused on the future and have made a clear commitment to serve residents better and to providestronger representation for Buckinghamshire, both locally and nationally.

Buckinghamshire is an ambitious, rapidly growing county, and our economy is one of the strongest in the country. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty and ranks as one of the top rural areas to live in the UK and yet it is incredibly well connected– only an hour from London on the train. The county has a rich history and heritage and is the birthplace of the international Paralympic movement.

We are looking for motivated, ambitious and inspiring people to join us on our journey. You will be entitled to a range of different benefits to make sure you are happy both at work and at home.

As a Practice and Development Practitioner, you will have the opportunity to work closely with local area partners across Buckinghamshire to support the development of high-quality Education Health Care Plans (EHCPs) through the annual review cycle. You will ensure that a holistic picture of need is represented within the plan, planning for transition stages is robust and that the outcomes and subsequent provision within the plan facilitate success for all children and young people with SEND in Buckinghamshire. Ultimately, you will be responsible for leading on best practice across Buckinghamshire for children and young people with an EHCP.

Some of your day-to-day tasks will include:

• Implementing a workforce development programme for all local area partners within SEND in Buckinghamshire.
• Identifying and delivering practice development opportunities to improve skills, knowledge and understanding within local area partners in relation to supporting SEND children and young people within education settings.
• Delivering training across a range of settings with a wide range of partners across the local area.
• Developing and promoting tools to support and aid local area partner's skills, knowledge, and understanding of supporting children and young people with SEND alongside the EHCP process.

We are looking for a dedicated and passionate individual with substantial experience of working with children and young people with a range of special educational needs within educational settings. You should have excellent planning and organisational skills, with proven ability to prioritise workloads, monitor and evaluate work, to ensure deadlines are achieved. You should also have experience of designing and delivering training and development opportunities.

The successful candidate will have a relevant professional qualification and be educated to degree level within a relevant field. You must have a valid driving licence, own transport, and be willing to travel to meet service delivery requirements. You should also have excellent ICT skills, including the use of Microsoft applications and specialist systems.

For more information, please refer to the job summary attached.

Interviews will take place from the 20th May onwards

Location: Aylesbury, specific location to be confirmed upon completion of shortlisting.

Candidates shortlisted for interview will be required to complete a pre task prior to interview, and deliver a presentation on the day.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent convictions and conditional cautions
• All spent convictions and adult cautions that are not protected (i.e. that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020).

For further information on filtering please refer to Nacro guidance and the guidance published by the Ministry of Justice (see, in particular, the section titled ‘Exceptions Order’).

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious , Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

Ensuring that children and young people in Buckinghamshire reach their potential is a primary focus within our Education service. It’s essential that we provide inclusive and life-long learning opportunities for all of our young people - so we look to raise standards, attainment and aspirations in a number of ways.

Our key priorities include: improving the quality and timeliness of Education, Health and Care Plans and the support families of children with SEND receive; reducing the number of exclusions both permanent and fixed term; and providing the children of Buckinghamshire with the highest quality education possible.

We aim to provide the right support, at the right time for families requiring non-statutory intervention, and provide sufficient, high quality early years and school places for children in Buckinghamshire. Despite Buckinghamshire having a higher percentage of good or outstanding Early Years providers and schools than national averages, we are not complacent.

We are keen to strengthen the services we deliver to provide the children of Buckinghamshire the highest quality education possible.

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. We also offer a salary sacrifice personal car lease scheme to those who are eligible and have passed their probation period. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.