Principal Officer SEND Conflict Resolutions and Tribunals

Our SEND Team is looking for an experienced SEND professional to manage our highly effective Conflict Resolutions and Tribunals Team.

You'll ensure that the Local Authority is complying with our statutory duties and, above all, placing the child and their needs at the centre of our practice and decision making.

You will lead a team of SEND Tribunal Officers and Caseworkers to ensure that the Local Authority responds to SENDIST appeals and hearings in accordance with the Children and Families Act (2014). Above all, and where possible, you will seek to resolve appeals before they escalate. Your primary role will be to:

• Performance manage and provide specialist technical, legal and practice supervision to a team of keyworkers and tribunal caseworkers and provide professional support to District SEND managers.
• Be the primary point of contact for the Local Authority in relation to SENDIST appeals.
• Manage and triage SENDIST appeals listed against the Local Authority. Be responsible for coordinating and building the Local Authority case for SENDIST appeals, including the development and preparation of Local Authority witnesses.
• Attend and represent the Local Authority at SENDIST (SEN Tribunals). Be responsible and accountable for making decisions at SENDIST that relate to defending or conceding Local Authority decisions regarding all sections of the Educational Health and Care Plan.

You'll work closely with the Principal Educational Psychologist, Head of SEND and school leaders and benefit from the support of an exceptional education legal team that provides invaluable advice and counsel.

You'll have:

• A range of experience of working in this challenging area and, above all, an exceptional understanding of SEND law, practice and guidance.
• The ability to work to very specific deadlines, be clear in your communication with a range of professionals, and above all, be confident to present the Local Authority position at a SEND tribunal.

Shortlisting will be in the week of 3 February 2025 with interviews for successfully shortlisted candidates in the week of 10 February.

“We’re happy to talk flexible working.”

Don’t feel you meet all the requirements? We value transferable skills, experiences, and qualifications, so consider applying anyway. For an informal chat about the role, please contact Dr Halit Hulusi, Head of SEND at halit.hulusi@staffordshire.gov.uk.

Our Recruitment Process: We anonymise applications during shortlisting to ensure only relevant information is considered. Please complete your application fully, especially the supporting statement, to highlight what you’ll bring to the role.

We are no ordinary county council:

Our Values:

The core of who we are as an organisation. Just like we all have personal values that shape our thoughts and behaviour, organisational values drive how we think and act collectively.

Our values were created and shaped by colleague feedback and national best practice and they sit at the heart of People Strategy:

We have a real sense of community spirit that brings our people together. This feeling of belonging means we are all connected to what we do and take pride in the difference we make every day for Staffordshire people. We are ambitious and our sights are set firmly on a better future.

We look forward and race ahead - that goes for your career too.

Our benefits:

We recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive working environment where employees can achieve their full potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.

In addition to your salary, as a member of staff, you will have access to Our rewards and benefits - Careers at Staffordshire.

Our recruitment process:

As an Authority, we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Staffordshire County Council is an equal opportunities organisation and Disability Confident employer. We encourage applications from all backgrounds and communities.

As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Gold Award Armed Forces employer, and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the minimum criteria for the post.

As you’ll know, safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our children and young people/vulnerable adults is important to us and that’s why this position is subject to a criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service. If applicable, you should disclose details of unspent and unfiltered spent reprimands, formal warnings, cautions, and convictions in your application form.