Assistant Director Inclusion and Additional Needs

**Role Purpose**

Lead the delivery of frontline services supporting learners through a quadrant

management structure to ensure all learners achieve their potential through a flexible

team around the child approach.

Embed new models of working to ensure services are integrated and aligned with

Family Resilience and Safeguarding to improve outcomes particularly for vulnerable

and disadvantaged learners across Surrey.

Contribute to collective leadership of the council, working collaboratively across the

organisation and with partners and stakeholders to support delivery of great services

to residents.

Leadership

To build strong relationships with key stakeholders in the geographical area including school leaders, MAT CEOs and with Assistant Directors across the Directorate to ensure we achieve our ambitions for children.

Work collaboratively with Directors to develop the directorate’s strategic approach to service delivery and business improvement to deliver the council’s priorities.

Make a significant contribution to the development of policy in the relevant service or functional area to support continuous improvement and meet quality and legislative requirements.

Lead on developing and managing key strategic initiatives or programmes of work working collaboratively internally and externally to deliver key council priorities.

Plan, organise and manage a complex operational or functional area through managing teams to deliver a professional service within the overall business plan.

Provide professional leadership to the team/s and/or colleagues, strengthening skills and competence and fostering a strong culture of standards, performance and accountability.

Role model the council’s behaviours and leadership expectations, and ensure that all approaches and outcomes are consistent with organisational and public service values.

Champion and manage transformational change and embed new ways of working to ensure high quality service delivery, value for money and sustainable services.

Work collaboratively internally and externally to ensure that issues are effectively managed and foster partnership working to promote sustainable service improvements and generate efficiencies.

Maintain effective budgetary control, while ensuring legal, regulatory and policy compliance within area of responsibility and that effective systems operate to manage performance and risk.

Work inclusively with a diverse range of stakeholders and provide leadership on equality issues to promote equality of opportunity.

**Key Functional/Service Accountabilities**

Develop, lead and manage specialist teams providing a range of educational services supporting learners through a quadrant management structure, ensuring children can go to school locally, stay in school and succeed in school by accessing the right support at the right time.

Drive delivery of effective early identification, support and early help services to secure positive outcomes for children and young people and their families. Embed early identification and support principles, through integration with the family hub and early help teams to ensure that outcomes for children improve whilst achieving best value with the resources available.

Ensure delivery of the statutory obligations relating to safeguarding and SEND ensuring that children, young people and their families receive timely, customer focussed support, and experience high quality planning that drives evidenced improvement in outcomes.

Ensure that all services for looked after children in each quadrant, including those in residential, fostering, adoption, and for children with special educational needs and disability, meet user needs and are compliant with regulations and inspection requirements.

Work closely with the Assistant Directors the directorate in particular to provide operational leadership across Children’s services on preventative and early help services for education and to ensure delivery of statutory and non-statutory responsibilities and continuous improvement.

Manage efficient responses to service inspections, legislative changes and national policy developments to support improvement.

Manage efficient and timely reporting of key areas of operational delivery and performance indicators, and report to elected councillors and committees as and when required.

Contribute to the operational management and strategic development of the service as a member of the services Management Team to improve the performance and quality of services.

Implement a new model of working consisting of blended professional teams, graduated pathways and multi-agency team working around the child, to ensure all children can achieve their potential.

**Dimensions**
- Financial direct control: £50m-£60m including High Needs block expenditure and external placements
- Financial indirect influence: £30m including SEN Transport and alternative provision
- Line management: Team of up to 6, Service