JOB PURPOSE
The language and communication Advisory Teacher will work within the Education Authority) Local Impact Teams. The role of the language and communication Advisory Teacher is to deliver training, to offer advice and support to school staff and parents/carers, and to work directly with children and young people. This may involve working with school staff and pupils in preschool, nursery, primary post-primary settings, within mainstream, specialist settings attached to mainstream and Special Schools. The Advisory Teacher will liaise with other EA Officers and with other professionals in other agencies.
1. Contribute to the development and co-ordination of Language and Communication within the EA Local IMPACT Teams.
Within the guidance of Local Impact Team manager;
1. Contribute as required to the development and delivery of a language and communication training programme for educational professionals to promote the capacity building of staff in educational settings.
2. Liaise with staff in EA services and other agencies, particularly Health Trust Speech and Language Therapists, Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, and RISE NI staff regarding delivery of training to maximise the quality and consistency of training offered to professionals supporting children with special educational needs.
3. Promote and develop effective partnerships with parents to support their children’s learning, achievement, and development by contributing to the development of training/ information sessions for parents as required.
4. Contribute to the development and delivery of the EA Local Impact Team action plan, and the wider SEND Transformation Plan.
5. Support Language Intervention Officers and Language Assistants in delivering their role as required.
6. Contribute to the development of an excellent support service within which all staff acknowledge that they are accountable for the success of the service.
7. Contribute to the quality monitoring and evaluation of aspects of the EA Local IMPACT team in promoting positive outcomes for service users.
Training, advice, and support for service users
Children/Young People
8. Collaborate with staff in educational settings, with parents to provide assessment, intervention and progress monitoring for staff and children in educational settings. Provide and facilitate the delivery of a range of interventions that are deemed to be appropriate to meet the needs of the individual child/young person.
9. Maintain a key role in relation to some children who require more specific support to include the development and implementation of an individualised based support programme.
10. Support the transition of children with SEN, including those with language, and communication needs/Developmental Language Disorder.
11. Maintain reports of involvement, assessment, and progress for each child/young person on an allocated caseload and any child/young person receiving advice and support.
Families
12. Liaise with parents to encourage their involvement, particularly the importance of attendance at speech and language therapy appointments in Health Trust clinics; and to offer advice and support as to how they might assist their child at home.
13. Facilitate parent support groups and training as required.
14. Encourage and demonstrate liaison between home and educational setting to maximise consistency in relation to effective strategies that are being implemented to meet the needs of an individual child.
Educational Professionals
15. Provide a ‘link’ role to allocated educational setting establishing a key relationship on behalf of the and facilitating an efficient and effective use of the service resource.
16. Signpost to Language and Communication and other relevant SEN training for educational setting professionals in developing knowledge and skills in supporting children with SEN.
17. Provide advice to staff in educational settings (including leaders and practitioners) regarding the educational implications of the children’s SEN including language and Communication needs/Developmental Language Disorder and the use of appropriate support strategies and resources including assistive technology, where appropriate.
18. Assist staff in drawing up Action plans for educational settings and IEPs/PLPs for children with SEN including language and Communication needs/Developmental Language Disorder.
19. Work closely with staff to develop practical strategies and interventions which could be promoted with a child and parent as the primary educator based on a model of capacity building.
20. Encourage a co-ordinated approach in addressing the special educational needs of a child with more complex needs alongside SEN language and Communication needs/Developmental Language Disorder.
21. Advise on reasonable and appropriate adjustments that could be made to promote the effective inclusion of children with SEN in accordance with the Special Educational Needs and Disability Order (2005);
22. Identify models of good practice so that these can be shared with other educational settings.
2. Collaboration and Inter-agency work
23. Provide, as required, written Educational Advice in respect of pupils with SEN under the terms of the Education and Libraries (NI) Order 1986.
24. Contribute to Annual Reviews of Statements of Special Educational Needs, as required.
25. Liaise, as appropriate, with members of other services and agencies including the Educational Psychology Service, and other statutory and voluntary agencies.
26. Contribute to multi-disciplinary meetings, as appropriate, regarding the special educational needs of individual children.
27. Promote and practice a co-ordinated approach in the assessment and identification of the special educational needs of pupils.
3. Record keeping, reporting and Information Technology
28. Provide information, advice and reports to the Children and Young People’s Services Department to enable the EA to meet its responsibilities in the provision of a high-quality service which (a) provides effective teaching and learning, (b) indicates improved standards of achievement, and (c) demonstrates efficiency and value for money.
29. Carry out assessments, prepare intervention plans, review, and evaluate intervention plans, prepare Educational Advice as part of a Statutory Assessment and Review Procedure as required.
30. Use a range of Management Information Systems and software packages to support record keeping and record management, training, and resource development (for example, the EA Local Impact Teams Management Information system (MIS), Microsoft TEAMS, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Forms, Google Classroom etc).
31. Support Intervention Officers and Language Assistants, as required, to provide information for reports/ advice and guidance in line with service protocols.
32. Participate in record audits as managed by Area Managers/LIT Managers.
4. Continuing Professional Development
33. Keep informed of current approaches, strategies, and resources relevant to supporting children with special educational needs including Developmental Language Disorder so that appropriate interventions can be applied in the learning environment.
34. Participate in and contribute to the service staff development programme.
o Engage in professional development activities in line with multi-disciplinary/trans-disciplinary model of service.
o Engage in professional development activities in line with multi-disciplinary/trans-disciplinary model of service in relation to personal targets and goals.
o Support the professional development of other team members in line with the multi-disciplinary/transdisciplinary model of team development.
5. Other Duties
35. Comply with Education Authority policies and procedures in relation to the duties and responsibilities of the post.
36. Always maintain confidentiality of information received.
37. Undertake any other related duties as required by the Education Authority.