Job Description

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Essex County Council has embarked upon a programme of change for provision and services with the ambition to profoundly improve the outcomes and life experience of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Our vision is for a SEND system which identifies and assesses need at an earlier stage and which provides appropriate and impactful support without such high dependence on Essex County Council's statutory services.

We are looking to recruit a new Sensory Support Specialist to join our Physical and Sensory Impairment Specialist Teaching Team (PSIST). You will be allocated a caseload of hearing impaired and vision impaired children and young people. You will work closely alongside teachers of the deaf and teachers of vision impairment to plan and deliver programmes of individual support for sensory impaired children, their families and education settings. You will also be directly involved in the planning and delivery of our weekly CHIPS group for deaf pre-school children and their families. As a member of the multi-disciplinary PSIST Team you will benefit from the shared support of a small specialist, countywide team.

Experience of working with children and young people with special educational needs (SEND) would be of benefit to the successful candidate.The role also requires excellent communication skills and experience of delivering support/training.

Key Accountabilities:

• Maintain and support a caseload of sensory impaired children, to develop the knowledge and skills required to meet their specialist needs.
• Take a leading role in established local groups for families of children with hearing impairment, contributing to the further development of additional groups for children with sensory impairment.
• Work with parents/carers, teachers and other key professionals to plan, resource and implement individual programmes to support the development of children with sensory impairment.
• Model specific support strategies related to a child's individual needs, communicating effectively with parents/carers and setting staff.
• Participate in delivering joint training activities with other team members for families and setting staff.
• Contribute to children's multi-agency planning and reviews, to play a key role in facilitating effective One Planning. Supporting children's transition into and inclusion within settings.
• Maintain appropriate written records of children's progress to evaluate and adapt interventions as appropriate.

Knowledge, skills and experience

• Educated to RQF Level 2 (GCSE) including Maths and English. Possesses a CACHE Level 3 Diploma in Childcare/NNEB/BTEC/NVQ Level 3 or higher, or equivalent by experience.
• Evidence of continuing professional development with good knowledge within relevant professional area. SEND training is desirable (particularly in relation to Sensory Impairment).
• Considerable experience of working with young children with SEND.
• Excellent communication skills with experience of delivering training to individuals or small groups.
• Ability to plan and implement individual learning programmes

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please visit: www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is proud to offer an excellent benefits package to all its employees. More information can be found on https://www.workingforessex.com/benefits

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

We seek the best talent from the widest pool of people as diversity is key to our success.

If you have any queries regarding this role, or require anything further, please contact Recruitment on 0333 013 5888

Information about the School

Essex County Council (ECC) is one of the largest and most dynamic local authorities in the UK, serving a population of 2 million residents, and has a very successful track record of delivering transformational change. ECC anticipated change was needed in the public sector and has worked to deliver better quality at lower cost. We have an ambitious transformation agenda – one with the scope to reach every part of the council. We are changing the way we think, the way we work, and the ways in which we deliver our services. We are committed to becoming a place where individuals, partners and communities feel proud to play their role and genuinely want to belong. We’re immensely proud of our flexible working options.