SEND Legal Resolution Coordinator

This is a key role within Coventry’s Statutory Assessment and Review Service.

Coventry's Statutory Assessment and Review Team (STAR) is committed to working with families and partners to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This diverse service has responsibility for a range of important statutory educational work within Coventry. We are here to deliver the aspirational challenge set to us by young people with SEND and their families: ‘To Lift the Cloud of Limitation and enable them to enjoy an ordinary life’.

When Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) completed a Local Area inspection of Coventry in October 2019, they commended our “genuine passion and commitment to get things right for children and young people with SEND and their families”; our respect for the “lived experiences of children and young people with SEND and their parents” and the “strong partnership between school settings and education service providers’.

We value diverse perspectives and experiences and are striving to create an inclusive workplace culture that is accepting of all and is free from discrimination and bias.

In line with our One Coventry Values, we want to ensure that our communities are represented across our workforce. A vital part of this is ensuring we are a truly inclusive organisation that encourages diversity in all respects, including diversity of thinking. We particularly welcome applicants from minority ethnic, LGBT+, disabled and neurodiverse communities to make a real difference to our residents so that equity and respect remains at the heart of everything we do.

Our Values are:

• Open and fair: We are fair, open, and transparent.
• Nurture and develop: We help and encourage everyone to be their best and do their best.
• Engage and empower: We talk and listen to others, working together as one.
• Create and innovate: We embrace new ways of working to continuously improve.
• Own and be accountable: We work together to deliver the best services for our residents.
• Value and respect: We put diversity and inclusion at the heart of all we do.

We are currently recruiting for a new post within the service that will support the team in meeting statutory obligations for disagreement resolution. You will be well supported, and there will be progression opportunities. Every role within the team is critical as it enables us to offer an excellent and cohesive service to the families and children of Coventry.

As the SEND Legal Resolution Coordinator, you will be responsible for leading and managing tribunals, mediations and disagreement resolution within the service. As part of this role, you will be expected to attend mediations, JADRs and associated Tribunal hearings.

You will be working alongside SEND colleagues, the Council’s Legal team and work closely with a range of stakeholders to resolve disagreements as early as possible whilst focusing on improving outcomes for children and young people.

Most importantly, you will be able to demonstrate a person-centred approach to working with Coventry’s families, children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

All candidates must have the Right to Work in the UK. We are currently not offering sponsorship for this role.

This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

We are looking for an experienced SEND Practitioner who values diversity and promotes a culture of respect, collaboration and continuous improvement and who is committed to creating an environment where every individual feels valued and supported.

Our families and children from Coventry come from a variety of backgrounds, and to deliver the best possible service, we must have a workforce that represents and understands their unique experiences and perspectives.

Within our team, men and people from minority ethnic backgrounds are currently under-represented; as a result, we would like to encourage both men and people from minority ethnic backgrounds to apply for this post. This does not prevent any other applicants with or without a protected characteristic from applying for the post

You will be an experienced individual who has a demonstrable working knowledge of the SEND Legal Framework including: the SEND Code of Practice 2014, the SEND Regulations, the Equality Act 2010 and the SENDIST Tribunal process. You will have significant experience of resolving disagreements through mediation, disagreement resolution and the tribunal process. You will be a champion for children and young people with SEND.

You will be highly literate, an excellent communicator, able to prioritise work streams in a busy environment, able to work collaboratively with a range of stakeholders including families, children, young people, schools, colleges, health and social care.

We are looking to recruit a highly motivated, person-centred professional who will support and work within the Coventry One Values, understanding that we deliver a valuable public service utilising limited public resources. You will need to be creative and solution-focused to succeed in this role.

You will be enthusiastic and culturally competent and able to demonstrate valuable experience of working in an inclusive role where you have demonstrated your commitment to children and young people with additional needs.

For an informal conversation about this rewarding role, please contact Sharon Cassidy, Assessment and Provision Manager – Sharon.Cassidy@coventry.gov.uk

Interview Format: Shortlisted candidates will be invited to complete an assessment task on 3 August 2026. Candidates who are successful at this stage will then be invited to attend a second-stage panel interview on 7 August 2026.

If you need help or support to complete your application, please visit our accessibility page to see how we can assist you.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme - As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition

For full details on the application process please read the attached document on our jobs page labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'.

Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change.

We are cutting-edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse.

At Coventry we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around 5100 staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together and find better ways of doing things.

To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities.

If you join us, we will provide a fantastic rewards and benefits package - to find out more please visit https://www.coventry.gov.uk/council-vacancies