Head of Service for Special Educational Needs and Vulnerable Pupils

Newcastle is a great place to work. We have high aspirations for the educational services that we offer to children and young people in the city and our schools and academies have high expectations of us. Together, we are designing a new, sector-led approach to education in the city where all of our schools and academies will have a voice in deciding how we raise standards, improve attendance and work towards our 2020 target of every child and young person in Newcastle attending a good or outstanding school.

To achieve this, we need to improve our offer to those children and young people who are facing difficult educational and personal challenges in their lives. To ensure that it happens, we have created this important new post of Head of Service for Special Educational Needs and Vulnerable Pupils.

You will lead on shaping and implementing our strategy for special educational needs and vulnerable pupils. As the number of school-age children and young people continues to increase in Newcastle, we are trying to meet the demands of a growing number of pupils who exhibit the full range of vulnerabilities and needs that you would expect to meet in a major city. As a consequence, we are looking for a champion of vulnerable children and those with special educational needs who will ensure that their voice is heard loudly at the Civic Centre and who will raise awareness of their needs and ambitions with our partners.

You will be a key decision maker in the Education Division and you will play a key role in designing and supporting the strategic direction of the service. You will ensure the effective co-ordination and leadership of the council’s statutory and strategic responsibilities for vulnerable learners, including those with SEND, as well as playing an active role in senior strategic and commissioning boards with health and children’s and adults’ social care services. You will be responsible for the effective delivery of the council’s education service responsibilities for vulnerable and SEND learners by holding directly and indirectly managed services to account for their performance. In addition, you will be working closely with the Schools Forum and supporting officers to ensure the effective oversight and management of the High Needs budget so that it effectively discharges the council’s related statutory duties and enables the delivery of strategic priorities whilst remaining within budget.

It’s a tough role within the current educational financial climate but you will have the support of all the senior leaders and elected members of the council who have highlighted improvement in the educational achievement of vulnerable pupils’ education as one the key priority areas for the council over the next five years in order to ensure that Newcastle is:

‘The best place in the UK to live, with communities that are attractive and safe and where people, particularly the most vulnerable, get the help they need.’ - (Newcastle City Council Plan, 2017)

Apply online at: www.northeastjobs.org.uk/job/Head_of_SEND_and_Vulnerable_Pupils/164566

Closing date: 6 July 2017