SEND Support and Inclusion Practitioner - Early Years

Role Responsibility

SEND Support & Inclusion Practitioner – Early Years (Dartford)

Do you have a passion for supporting early years children with Special Educational Needs?  Do you want to help shape the future of Early Years Education? 

The SEND Support & Inclusion Practitioner team (previously SENIF Practitioner team) are experienced Early Years professionals who work alongside Kent’s maintained, PVI pre-school settings and childminders, modelling and coaching practitioners to develop confidence in supporting children with a range of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) within mainstream Early Years settings. 

If this sounds interesting, then this role could be for you. We are looking for a SEND Support & Inclusion Fund Practitioner to join our friendly and supportive county-wide team.

As part of this role you will:

• Work collaboratively with Early Years settings to support the educational development of individual children or groups of children with SEND.
• Develop and share targets and strategies to enable Early Years settings to meet the educational needs of children with SEND and support children’s development.
• Deliver advice, focused interventions and bespoke advice to Early Years settings.
• Support Early Years settings to implement recommendations and review progress.
• Write reports to be shared with Early Years settings, families and other professionals.
• Liaise with a range of professionals to support identified children with SEND to have their needs met within an Early Years setting.
• Work closely with a range of professionals delivering integrated support for children in Early Years settings who have a Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
• Deliver and support training as required.
• Work predominantly within the Dartford district, but could be asked to travel and work in a wider area on occasion.

You will need to:

• Be educated to NVQ level 3 in childcare or equivalent appropriate qualification.
• Hold Maths and English Grade 4 to 9 or GCSE Grade C or above (or equivalent).
• Have experience of working with young children with different and complex Special Educational Needs in an Early Years setting.
• Have a thorough knowledge of child development.
• Evidence relevant Early Years SENCo experience or in an Early Years setting.
• Have an understanding of the SEN Code of Practice 2014.

Interviews are scheduled for Wednesday, 12^th February and Thursday, 13^th February 2025 and will include a 10 minute presentation, the title of which will be shared if you are shortlisted, as part of the interview process.           

This role is subject to a Full UK Driving Licence – The Council is committed to making reasonable adjustments so whilst this job requires the jobholder to drive your application will still be considered if you are unable to drive due to a disability.

This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure Application to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

This post is considered by KCC to be a customer-facing position. The Council therefore has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English/Welsh sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description/Person Specification.

Working for KCC you will have:

• An option to enrol in the Local Government Pension scheme with KCC contributions.
• Staff discounts on a range of leisure products and services through our Kent Rewards programme.
• Access to a range of KCC staff groups providing support and development opportunities to staff across our diverse workforce.

Contact Details

For further information please contact:

Debbie James 03000 418862

debra.james2@kent.gov.uk

About the Company

Work that works for you and us - let’s talk flexibility!

KCC is committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the county’s working residents, encouraging applications from people of all ages, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic backgrounds, faiths and those with caring responsibilities, and aspires to create an inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves at work.

Please note – if you are interested, please apply as soon as possible as the closing date for this advert may be earlier than stated should a number of suitably qualified candidates apply.