SEND Engagement and Participation Officer Job Slough area,England UK,Education / Teaching

JOB TITLE: SEND Engagement and Participation Officer
LOCATION: Slough
HOST ORGANISATION: Together As One
RESPONSIBLE TO: Senior Manager – Together As One

Purpose of the Role:
To work across Slough to develop and embed processes that enable the participation of children and young people (CYP) with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in decision-making and service planning, delivery, and evaluation.

This role involves empowering CYP with SEND to make a difference, helping them develop their(tool Strip) skills, abilities, and confidence to contribute positively to outcomes for other children and young people. The postholder will work collaboratively with partners across education, health, social care, and the voluntary sector to ensure best practice in participation, and that SEND CYP have a strong voice in shaping local services.

This is a specialist role requiring a senior participation officer with knowledge of reasonable adjustments, safeguarding, service design, and co-production, as well as experience of working with CYP with SEND. Creative, enthusiastic candidates with a desire to learn are encouraged to apply.

The post links directly to Slough’s SEND improvement outcomes, particularly empowering CYP with SEND to influence local policy, service design, and review services to better meet their needs.

Interview Process

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to deliver a presentation or lead a short activity with a small group of young people with SEND as part of the interview process. Interviews are scheduled to take place in the afternoon and early evening of Wednesday 11th February
.

Key Tasks

Work collaboratively with relevant partners (education, health, social care, voluntary sector, parents/carers) to promote an ethos of inclusive participation.

Build and coordinate a network of participation and co-production across Slough to enable CYP with SEND to give their views and contribute meaningfully to service development.

Co-produce a range of additional participation opportunities with CYP and partners to ensure their input informs services, policy, and decision-making.

Apply a range of participation and engagement methodologies, including face-to-face, digital, and social media, to engage CYP with SEND.Identify and support CYP with SEND to participate, providing appropriate mechanisms and support for diverse communication needs.

Collaborate with other ‘Youth Voice’ workers and youth participation initiatives to share best practice and develop training/resources for authentic inclusion.

Act as an advocate for SEND CYP’s rights to be heard in decision-making, recruitment, training, and policy development.

Promote accessibility and inclusivity, championing diversity across age, gender, gender orientation, sexual orientation, race, religion or belief, socio-economic status, and disability.

Promote understanding of inclusive participation practices, challenging under-representation and unconscious bias.

Establish processes to report findings strategically and via diverse communication channels.

Engage in regional or national youth participation projects as required.

Demonstrate understanding of inclusion, diversity, and equality in all aspects of work.

PERSON SPECIFICATION Essential Skills, Abilities and Knowledge

Strong understanding of the needs of CYP with SEND, including autism, learning disabilities, speech, language and communication needs, and social, emotional and mental health needs, demonstrated through professional experience in a variety of settings.
Knowledge of, or willingness to learn about, different communication needs, including non-verbal communication and alternative and augmentative communication (AAC), and the ability to make reasonable adjustments to enable meaningful participation.
Ability to plan, design, and deliver fun, creative, and inclusive sessions for CYP with SEND that actively engage participants, build confidence and skills, and meet pre-identified objectives.
Direct experience supporting CYP to engage in social action, youth forums, consultations, campaigns, or other participation initiatives.
Confidence in applying a range of engagement techniques for both…


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