Senior SENDAR Officer (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Assessment and Review)

Salary details: £ - £

Make a Difference for Children and Young People with SEND

At Derbyshire County Council, we are committed to delivering high-quality, child-centred SEND services that help children and young people achieve positive outcomes and prepare for adulthood.

We are looking for skilled and motivated professionals to join our SEND Assessment and Review (SENDAR) Service as Senior SENDAR Officers. Whether your experience comes from a SEND service, education, health, social care or a SENDCO role, this is an opportunity to use your expertise to make a real difference to children, young people and families across Derbyshire.

About the Role

As a Senior SENDAR Officer, you will manage complex SEND casework and work collaboratively with families, schools, colleges and partner agencies to ensure children and young people receive the right support at the right time.

You will provide professional guidance and support within your team, contribute to quality assurance and service improvement, and help ensure statutory SEND processes are delivered to a high standard.

Where appointed to the Dispute Resolution Team, you may also manage SEND Tribunal (SENDIST) appeals and support effective dispute resolution.

About the Team

We are currently recruiting across all SENDAR teams, including:

• Amber Valley
• Bolsover & North East Derbyshire
• Chesterfield
• Erewash
• High Peak & North Dales
• South Derbyshire & South Dales
• Education, Access and Inclusion Team
• Dispute Resolution Team

Successful candidates may be appointed to any of these teams based on their skills, experience and service requirements.

About You

You will have:

• Experience of working with children and young people with SEND and their families.
• Knowledge of SEND legislation and the SEND Code of Practice.
• Strong communication, organisational and relationship-building skills.
• The ability to manage competing priorities and work collaboratively with a range of professionals.
• A commitment to inclusion and achieving positive outcomes for children and young people.

Why Join Us?

This is an exciting time to join Derbyshire's SEND services as we continue our improvement journey and strengthen our locality-based approach.

We offer:

• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Flexible working arrangements and flexi-time scheme
• Generous annual leave entitlement
• Derbyshire Rewards employee discount scheme
• Wellbeing support services
• Learning and development opportunities
• Inclusive staff networks

Join Us

Join our SEND Assessment and Review Service and help shape better outcomes for children and young people with SEND across Derbyshire.

Please state on your application which bases you would like to be considered for. 

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Due to this post having access to children and/or vulnerable adults, the successful candidate will be required to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service check. The possession of a criminal record will not necessarily prevent an applicant from obtaining this post, as all cases are judged individually according to the nature of the role and information provided. Click here to see our policy on criminal background checks.

We welcome applications from individuals who share our values — being Collaborative, Innovative, Empowered and Accountable. These values describe who we are and what we stand for as a council. They help shape our culture, encourage consistent behaviour and guide how we work together to make a positive difference for both our employees and the residents we serve.