EHC Coordinator - Tribunals

Job Title: SEND EHC Coordinator
Location: Based at Hemel Hempstead or Stevenage with ability to travel across Hertfordshire
Starting Salary: £34,434 pa with the opportunity to progress to £37,280 per annum
Hours: 37 per week
Contract: Permanent

Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do.

We continue to strive to improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

Join our growing team of passionate professionals who share a commitment to making a real difference.

We are looking for a SEND Tribunal EHC Coordinator to play a key role in supporting our diverse community and ensure fair and just resolutions for everyone.

This is an ideal opportunity for an EHC Officer or someone in a similar role with experience in a school, to step up and expand your experience into the tribunal area with a view to creating a new pathway.

You’ll be an essential part of our tribunal team, collaborating with parents, carers, young people, schools and other key stakeholders within the SEND statutory and legal framework. You'll join a well-established team, who are always seeking new ways to innovate and improve, and your input will be crucial in shaping the future of our service to meet the evolving needs of our SEND community.

About the role

Your responsibilities will include:

• Casework: You will ensure high-quality casework is carried out in relation to the cases held, encouraging resolution and reconciliation for appeals received by the Tribunal.
• Representation: You will prepare cases for representation at the Special Educational Needs and Disability First Tier Tribunal, defending the proposed service provision for individual children and young people.
• Coordination: You will coordinate robust multi-agency plans, using your negotiation and influencing skills to work with parents, schools, and multi-disciplinary practitioners, defending the appropriateness of provision for the child.
• Development: You will develop the multi-agency response to a Tribunal, including creating chronologies, chairing and arranging conferences and multi-agency meetings, and compiling other tribunal paperwork.
• Policy Contribution: You will contribute to the development of policies, procedures, and provisions for children with SEN. This includes staying updated on SEN casework, national legislation changes, and departmental policies, as well as supporting the induction, training, and support of team members.
• Database Management: You will input and maintain accurate and comprehensive database records as required and participate in the Local Authority’s systems for monitoring and quality assurance for children and young people in appeal.

About you

Essential:

• Considerable experience working with families or children in or aligned to SEND with experience of the statutory EHCP process (1-2 years plus).
• A working knowledge of the law governing statutory assessment including Children and Families Act 2014, SEN Code of Practice 2014 and Equalities Act 2010.
• Strong proficiency for research, analysis and evaluating evidence to identify relevant information and key arguments.
• Ability to facilitate dialogue, promoting collaboration and resolving disputes through mediation, influence and negotiation.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills for submissions.
• Excellent organisation skills and ability to work unsupervised, managing multiple cases to tight deadlines.
• Ability to remain resilient when under pressure while navigating complex issues and challenges.
• Excellent IT skills.
• Ability and willingness to travel across Hertfordshire for meetings as needed.

Desirable:

• Experience of advocacy and representing at Tribunals or similar.
• Knowledge of relevant case law.
• A qualification relating to SEND.

This is an excellent career development opportunity to gain valuable experience in legal preparation and multi-agency working. You’ll be given the support and training needed to succeed in your role and to play your part in ensuring every child receives the support they need.

We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.

This job role is within the Health and Social Care job family, level 9. Please locate this via: Job profiles - Health and social care

Benefits of working for us

How to apply

As part of your application, please upload your most recent CV. Ensure your CV is up to date with your employment history (including any employment gaps), and including any training/qualifications. We encourage you to include examples of where you have demonstrated the requirements/criteria in the advert / job profile to allow the panel to fully recognise your skills and abilities. You will have the opportunity to include a short covering paragraph within your application to give us a little more information about your skills, knowledge, and experiences.

Additional information

Disability Confident
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.

Safeguarding
This role has been identified as requiring a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.

Driving required
You’ll need to have the ability to drive and/or travel around Hertfordshire, either using your own mode of transport or a company car to travel to other locations.

English Fluency
The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post (for those whose language is a signed language the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be required). Further information about the legal requirement can be found here.