Client Local Authority in South East - BN7 1UE
Job Title SEN Tribunals Officer
Pay Rate £340 per day (Umbrella)
Hours 37 Hours a week (Mon-Fri) Mostly remote hybrid 2 days office attendance and 3 days working from home. Remote working could be possible.
Duration 3 Month Contract - likely extension
Inside IR35
Start - ASAP
Purpose of the Role:
The Education Division sits within the Children's Services Department (CSD) of East Sussex County Council (ESCC) and has overall responsibility for the council's strategy to improve educational outcomes for children and young people. The division acts as the champion for all children and young people, especially those who are vulnerable to underachievement, and works in partnership across early years, primary, secondary, special, and post-16 education. The division also leads on statutory duties in relation to supporting children with additional and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
The role of SEN Tribunals Officer works as part of the Tribunals Team to defend Local Authority decisions before the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST). The SEN Tribunals Officer will be the formal representative of the Local Authority for anycases that progress to oral hearings.
SEN Tribunals Officers work to ensure that appropriate provision is in place for all children and young people who have registered appeals, and use the evidence gathered by professionals across Education, Health and Social Care to inform your legal position.
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills are essential, the ability to gather and summarise complex information and write in a well-structured way that is easy to understand for a variety of audiences. This is a challenging but rewarding role and you will be well supported by colleagues and have access to high quality and ongoing CPD.
Key tasks:
- Support colleagues to prepare chronologies and any other necessary paperwork, arrange and chair conferences with witnesses and perform other duties in relation to First Tier Tribunals and Appeals.
- Prepare cases for tribunal, liaising with Legal Services, Assessment & Planning Managers / Team Leaders and Assessment and Planning Officers, and represent the Local Authority in a legal environment. Prepare evidence for Local Government Ombudsman.
- Coordinate and collate information to support the Local Authority where there is dispute about special educational needs support arrangements.
- Ensure all documentation linked to SEN appeals is distributed appropriately and within specified time restraints.
- Present the Local Authority's cases at the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal and defend appropriateness of the proposed service provision for an individual child/young person.
- Coordinate allocation and attendance processes linked to mediation and resolution of all disputes relating to the SEND tribunal process.
- Arrange and decide representation from the Assessment and Planning Team at meetings with parents, schools and other providers as appropriate, including statutory meetings, chairing as required.
- Attend resolution meetings with parents and other professionals in an attempt to settle disputed issues without the need for formal legal redress wherever possible. This will include responsibility for negotiating changes to the EHC plans.
- Work closely with internal and external stakeholders, including parents, legal services, schools and colleges to deliver positive outcomes for children and young people and to limit the Local Authority's exposure to risk of appeals to Tribunals.
- Ensure mediation and problem resolution is an active feature at an early stage in caseworkers' engagement with families to reduce tribunal numbers.
- Engage with schools and other agencies to develop an awareness and understanding of the issues in relation to assessment and planning and person centred approaches.
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