Overview
SEND Engagement Facilitator
Fixed Term, Full Time
£25,821 to £30,377 per annum
Location: Basildon
Closing Date: Wednesday 26th November 2025 at 11.59pm
This role is a offered as a Fixed Term Contract / Secondment until the 31st of March 2027.
As an ‘Community Based Worker,’ the role will involve a combination of home/remote working, community based (around the South Essex area) working, and office-based working. There will be an expectation for you to attend the office, based at Ely House, Basildon, 2 – 3 days per month in addition to ‘as and when’ there is a business need. There may also be a requirement to attend other Essex County Council offices.
Why work for us?
- Hybrid Working – 2-3 days per month office based in Basildon.
- Flexible working – make your work arrangement work around the other elements of your life, where service delivery allows. We offer a fantastic work / life balance and are happy to discuss options at interview.
- Free On-site Parking when at the office.
- 26 days annual leave plus bank holidays with the opportunity to increase from 26 to 29 days after 5 years employment.
- 37 hour working week. Monday to Friday.
- Local Authority Pension Scheme.
- Work for a high performing team with great team morale and friendly, helpful, and supportive colleagues.
- Great training pathways. Encouragement to all staff for their continual professional development with full support and guidance towards relevant professional qualifications.
- Continuous Service – Joining us from another local authority? Then you could benefit from bringing your time served and benefits with you.
- Make a difference to the local community and help us transform Essex to a circular economy as we redefine growth and focus on positive society-wide benefits.
The Role
Do you have a desire to help and support young people? Are you able to organise and manage your workload, good at communicating and able to work as part of a team? We are seeking a passionate and enthusiastic individual who is keen to make a difference and support SEND individuals in Essex. This could be the opportunity you are looking for!
The Opportunity
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.
The SEND Engagement Facilitator will support sustainable inclusion for children and young people with SEND, through targeted support to educational settings, families, and partners. They enable collaborative practice in throughout One Planning and ensure a joined-up approach to the Assess, Plan, Do, Review Cycle, particularly at points of transition for Children and Young People (CYP).
The Experience You Will Bring
- Significant experience of working effectively in partnership with families in a helping role, and influencing other professionals in a multi-agency environment.
- Significant experience of working successfully with children with SEND in a school and/or home setting.
- Knowledge of the SEND Code of Practice and how it impacts on assessment, planning, provision, and review for CYP on a day-to-day basis.
- Possesses RQF Level 2 of the SEN awards, or equivalent by experience.
- Demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills with an understanding of how to facilitate and mediate in situations which are perceived as challenging.
- Evidence of ability to develop skills, knowledge, and experience within role, including a willingness to chair/facilitate meetings and plan/deliver training to small groups of adults.
- Evidence of continuing professional development with knowledge in relevant professional area.
Accountabilities
- Support the partnership between educational setting staff, families, and other stakeholders, to promote shared understanding of the aspirations, needs, outcomes and required provision for CYP.
- Responsible for utilising and model enabling, collaborative and person-centred ways of working to ensure pupil and family voices are captured, valued, and held at the heart of the 0-25 planning for CYP.
- Identify and facilitate effective ways of gathering, recording, and sharing information about a CYP, their family, setting or situation, to inform the planning for them, through statutory or non-statutory plans.
- Work directly with CYP and their families to develop their understanding and participation in assessment, planning, and decision-making processes, in order that their plans and implementation are fully co-produced and understood.
- Deliver targeted intervention to families and professionals, as part of a multi- disciplinary team, at points of change, challenge, and transition, to support longer term resilience and the dialogue essential to the success of CYP educational placements and outcomes.
- Act as a model of good One Planning to LA colleagues and a conduit of information for targeted work with families and educational settings, allowing the Inclusion and SEND Operations teams in each quadrant, to work cohesively as part of early intervention approaches.
- Plan, deliver and evaluate a range of partnership and person-centred practice and its application, development opportunities for staff in educational settings, enabling educators to embed this approach within engagement with families.
- Build and maintain effective links across Education, including SENDIASS and the SEND Innovation and Strategy team, to identify, implement and evaluate good One Planning practice, with appropriate input from families and the community.
