Job title: SEN Casework Team Leader
Salary: PO6 £51,356 to £54,495
Hours: 37
Contract: Permanent
Location: Merrion House/Hybrid
As a SEN Casework Team Leader, you’ll play a vital leadership role in achieving the best possible outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). You’ll lead a team of frontline SEN Casework Officers and use your expert knowledge to oversee Education, Health and Care (EHC) assessments, plans and reviews.
This is a role for someone who thrives on complexity, problem-solving and partnership working. You will model high‑quality practice, ensure consistency and fairness across decision making, and support your team to deliver a service that empowers families and champions the rights of children and young people.
You will work closely with settings, professionals and leaders across education, health and care to secure strong, holistic outcomes. You’ll bring clarity, compassion and confidence to complex situations and ensure our EHC plans are high quality, purposeful and reflect the lived experience of each child or young person.
You’ll be part of our Special Educational Needs Statutory Assessment and Provision (SENSAP) service, whose purpose is to enable children and young people with complex SEND to access education with the right provision and support. Together, we fulfil the local authority’s duties under the Children and Families Act 2014 and SEND Regulations 2014.
Leeds Children’s Services are rated Outstanding by Ofsted. We’re committed to the ambition of Child Friendly Leeds — a city where children are safe, happy and healthy, do well at school, fulfil their potential and grow up with voice and influence.
Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions .
About You
As a SEN Casework Team Leader, you will bring:
* substantial experience of SEND casework, including managing complex or contentious cases
* strong leadership skills, with the ability to coach, support and challenge staff to deliver excellent practice
* expert knowledge of EHC needs assessment, review processes, and SEND legislation
* confidence in interpreting statutory duties and applying them fairly and consistently
* excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to influence senior leaders and partner agencies
* a reflective, restorative and solutions‑focused approach
* the ability to analyse complex information, make sound judgements and manage risk
* resilience, professional curiosity and a commitment to continuous improvement
* the ability to travel across the city for meetings with families, schools and partners.
A relevant professional qualification (e.g. teaching, social work, youth work) or equivalent experience is required.
About The Role
This role is integral to our Education, Health, and Care (EHC) casework team. We work closely with the wider SENSAP service to ensure young people with SEND can achieve their life aspirations.
In SENSAP we take a forward‑thinking, innovative approach to our statutory duty, which is to delegate high needs funding, support inclusive SEND practice in education settings and manage education, health and care assessments and plans. We fully engage children, young people and families in key decision making to help them understand their options and we work together to find the educational placement that best meets an individual’s needs.
As a SEN Casework Team Leader, you will play a central role in the leadership of the SENSAP service, using your expertise to guide and support a team of casework officers in delivering high‑quality EHC needs assessments, plans and reviews. You will oversee the consistency and quality of decision‑making, ensuring that EHC plans are timely, purposeful and fully compliant with statutory requirements.
Your work will involve close collaboration with schools, system leaders and partners across education, health and care to resolve complex issues, champion inclusive practice and secure positive outcomes for children and young people.
As part of the SENSAP Senior Leadership Team, you will contribute to service development, policy implementation and ongoing performance improvement, as well as representing the service at internal, regional and national meetings. You will lead responses to complex complaints, Ombudsman enquiries and SEND Tribunal cases, providing clarity and authoritative judgement in challenging situations.
Through your leadership, you will model restorative, reflective and child‑centred practice, helping to shape a consistent and resilient service that upholds the rights of children and young people and supports families with empathy, integrity and professionalism.
The EHC team oversee provision and admissions for children and young people who have an EHC plan, at all levels from nursery to school and post‑16, in both mainstream and specialist settings.
What We Offer You
We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:
* a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
* membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
* flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements
* a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities
* a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further
We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people.
This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.
If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visa route before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. Ensure you are eligible before applying.
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