Early Years SEND Inclusion & Portage Practitioner

Job Description

Organisation: Leicestershire County Council

Work Location: County Hall, Glenfield , LE3 8RA

Salary: £28,605 - £31,029 per annum (pro-rata for part-time) (Pay award pending)

Working Hours: 37 hours a week over 42 weeks

Contract Type: Permanent

Closing Date: 17th May 2026

Interview Date(s): 27th May 2026

We have an exciting opportunity for you to join our Early Years, Inclusion and Childcare service as Early Years SEND and Portage practitioner.

About the Role

The post of Early Years SEND and Portage practitioner will allow you the opportunity to join a highly skilled, enthusiastic team. We work with children from birth to school entry who have identified additional needs. You will work with children both in their homes and in early years provision.

Alongside this you will have the opportunity to support training delivered to Early Years Providers and to parents too. You will also organise and run sensory play sessions and Portage groups for caseload families.

You will be trained as a Portage Practitioner and will work with the youngest children with additional needs. You will have the opportunity to develop your own skills and knowledge through training and working alongside experienced colleagues.

If you are passionate about supporting our youngest children with additional needs this is the perfect job for you

Key responsibilities

• Model effective strategies for parents and carers to support very young children within the home environment and provide advice and guidance to parents and professionals in meeting the special educational needs of Early Years children.
• Model inclusive and developmentally appropriate strategies for Early Years providers to support very young children with SEND within their settings.
• Maintain accurate and up‑to‑date records in line with requirements set by the Senior SEND Advisors.
• Prepare, or support Early Years settings to prepare, requests for Education, Health and Care Needs Assessments (EHCNA).
• Support positive transitions into Early Years provision, promoting the education and development of children under three with special educational needs.

An enhanced with barred list DBS check is required for this post.

For information on our approach to the recruitment of ex-offenders, please see our policy statement.

About You

To apply for this post, you must:

• Hold a Level 3 qualification in Childcare (or equivalent), with GCSEs at Grade C or above (or equivalent) in both Mathematics and English.
• Demonstrable, substantial experience of working with children under five and their families where children have SEND, including experience of collaborative partnership working with external agencies to enhance outcomes for children with SEND.
• Strong knowledge of the SEND Code of Practice and the Early Years Foundation Stage, with the ability to implement effective strategies to support children with additional needs
• Well‑developed personal organisational skills, with the flexibility and willingness to travel to appointments and a range of venues as required.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, alongside strong listening skills, with the ability to develop and maintain good working relationships with parents and professionals.

• Ability to support the inclusion of children on their caseload within Early Years settings by modelling good practice, sharing relevant information, and offering guidance and advice to staff.

In addition, we also expect you to share our commitment to our values and to delivering accessible and inclusive services which meet the needs of all of our residents. You will be asked to demonstrate your understanding of these commitments as part of the selection process.

Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a disability. We are a Disability Confident Employer.

Interested in Flexible Working?

We are open to discussions about flexible working, which may include part time working, job sharing, term-time working, flexible start and finish times, and hybrid working, depending on the requirements of the role and the service. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below.

For more information or an informal discussion, please contact:

Ruth Melluish - Team Manager (Early Years SEND Inclusion Team)

Email: ruth.melluish@leics.gov.uk

How to Apply

At Leicestershire County Council we’re looking for top talent from all walks of life. Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, and whatever your background - we care about what you bring to our organisation, not just what’s on your CV. That’s why we’ve designed a recruitment process that’s fair, accessible, and focused on potential. And with benefits that support people at every age and stage of life, we make sure you can thrive - both personally and professionally.

If you share our passion to make a difference for the people of Leicestershire, we’d love to hear from you. Click the apply button to submit your application, ensuring that you upload a supporting statement that explains how you meet the criteria listed in the ‘About You’ section above. Without this information, we won’t be able to assess your suitability for the role, and your application will be rejected. For tips on how to write your statement, see the How to Apply section on our career site.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post or you want to request an application pack in an alternative format, please contact our Employee Service Centre by telephoning 0300 3030222 (select option 2) or raising a ticket via our online portal: https://emss.org.uk/support.

By applying for this post, you agree to our Terms and Conditions.

About us

About Leicestershire County Council

At Leicestershire County Council, we're committed to making a real difference in people's lives. Our aim is to work with communities and partners to deliver public services that make Leicestershire the best possible place to live and work for everyone.

Our employees play a key role in supporting this goal and helping us deliver the vital services we provide to the people of Leicestershire. Whether you're starting your career or looking for your next challenge, you'll find a place with us where your ideas are valued, and your work has purpose.

For further information on what it’s like to work for us and the benefits we offer, please refer to the following:

Our Recruitment Process
Our Organisational Values
Our Employee Benefits
Working for Us