Strategic SEND and Inclusion Lead

The post holder will report to the Executive Director – Children’s Services with matrix management from the Director of Strong Start, Family Help and Integration. The post holder will work within an ambitious and evolving multi-agency partnership and a strong and dedicated senior leadership team. The post holder will strategically lead and be responsible for driving the delivery of high-quality SEND and Inclusion Service for the children and families in Cheshire East. The post holder will provide strategic leadership to deliver improved educational and life outcomes for children and young people 0-25 with special educational needs and/or disabilities and inform and support the commissioning function both in respect of effectiveness of current practice and services and in identifying gaps and driving improvement.

Job Details
1. To provide strategic leadership for all aspects of SEND and inclusion with responsibility for: SEND Provision of Statutory Assessment, Educational Psychology Specialist Services, including but not limited to: IQT Team, sensory support; specialist teaching services; autism services and Behaviour Support
2. Strategically lead the development and delivery of the SEND strategy and ensure that, through a robust Local Offer, the local authority complies with its statutory responsibilities for the identification of assessment, review and decision, including supporting the timely delivery of high quality education, health and care plans.
3. Have strategic oversight of the implementation of the Delivering Better Value (DBV) programme to ensure we embrace and embed transformational change to improve the way we deliver services.
4. Embed a performance culture that delivers results through rigorous open challenge, personal accountability, disciplined execution and continual improvement to improve outcomes for SEND and vulnerable children.
5. Strategically lead coproduction of all strategies, polices and development with parents, carers, children and young people to ensure services are designed that effectively meet their needs and provide positive impact on the experience of families.
6. Take the strategic lead to understand and implement any SEND inspection frameworks, have a systemic approach to be inspection ready and lead any inspection to evidence a strong understanding of the system and improved educational and life outcomes for the children, young people and vulnerable adults of Cheshire East.
7. Shape and be an ambassador for a single strategic vision across Cheshire East for inclusion across the Children Directorate, and wider Directorates of the local authority and Partnership to ensure a collaborating, joint partnership approach to deliver the best possible services to children and young people in the area.
8. Ensure a strategic relationship and connection between children’s and adult’s directorates and related services to ensure we break down organisational silos and facilitate any necessary collaboration to ensure the delivery of the necessary support for our vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people. 
9. Communicate proactively with the senior management team, Executive Director, Chief Executive and lead elected members with any information they may require to undertake their roles and effectively discharge responsibilities.
10.To champion the best possible educational outcomes for children and young people at every level within the organisation and within partnership arrangements.
11.Lead the delivery of all relevant statutory duties of the local authorities, meeting all outlined performance requirements including the development of EHC plans within local and national timescales.
12. Lead the development of all strategies and policies relevant to the role, ensuring they deliver high quality services delivered and reviewed in a robust and transparent way

You must be able to demonstrate the following essential requirements:
• Degree qualification or equivalent,
• Formal management training / structured management development programme.
• Relevant experience of leading SEND in school and/or Local Authority senior leadership role.
• Strong knowledge of the legislative and/or operation requirements associated with: SEND, particularly statutory assessment of needs and provision of support; Behaviour Support; Educational Psychology
• Knowledge and understanding of the wider system involved in meeting the needs of children and young people with SEN and vulnerable pupils more widely; particularly, understanding key partnerships and processes involved in the system, with a strong sense of the role of the local authority in the system. An understanding of the funding mechanism for high needs block services.
• Knowledge and understanding of inclusion and removing barriers to achievement, particularly for those children and young people with additional and/or special educational needs.
• An ability to define what local authority behaviour support is, and understand the various aspects of behaviour support.
• Effective capacity to understand the variety of agencies and partners involved in supporting vulnerable pupils, and to effectively engage all relevant partners with the children and families involved to reach well-rounded, co-produced solutions to support vulnerable pupils.
• Understanding of effective practice relating to the post holder’s portfolio of services specifically within schools and settings