Short Breaks Team Leader

Job Introduction

In Royal Greenwich, as an OUSTANDING authority (Ofsted June 2024) with areas of fantastic practice for children and young people with SEND, we are passionate about keeping children and young people at the heart of what we do. Our Local Area SEND Inspection (May 2023) found Children and young people with SEND and their families in Greenwich are front and centre of the local area partnership’s work. Everyone has the best interests of the children and young people at heart. The culture here is one of working together to secure the best possible outcomes for children and young people.

We are currently seeking an enthusiastic and committed individual to join our experienced service as Short Breaks Team Leader. 

The Disabled Children and Young People Service (DCYPS) supports children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) up to the age of 25. In your role, you will be delivering high-quality, ambitious services for children and young people.  Royal Greenwich has a practice framework comprised of systemic practice, compassion informed and restorative practice. Royal Greenwich also has a generous Short Break Core Offer of up to 100 hours for all children with an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP). In this post you would be working directly with families and our local providers to ensure children and young people with SEND have access to high quality provision that supports them in achieving their outcomes. You will also be responsible for the line management of a small team of officers who provide support to the families within the DCYPS.

This is a unique opportunity to deliver high-quality social care support informed by evidence and analysis, best practice and the views of children, young people, families and our partners. 

You will have a strong track record of delivering the best outcomes for disabled children, young people and families and have a comprehensive understanding of direct work and evidence-based interventions. You may have a background in working with children and young people with SEND in education, social care or health settings.

You will be joining a strong Children’s Services department with inclusive, accessible and compassionate leadership with a culture of support with challenge underpinned by high expectations for service delivery to ensure the best outcomes for children and young people.

If you are as passionate as we are about making a difference to disabled children and young people – and have the skills and experience we are looking for – then please come and join us!

All posts will be advertised internally and externally concurrently; however, internal candidates will be prioritised under Royal Greenwich recruitment policy/procedures. 

For an informal discussion about this opportunity, please contact Alex Levey: alexandra.levey@royalgreenwich.gov.uk / 0208 921 4387

Safer recruitment: Royal Borough of Greenwich is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment. Any roles which involve working with children, young people or vulnerable adults, or roles in which the duties will involve access to sensitive information relating to children, young people or vulnerable adults, the Royal Borough will take up references prior to interview. You should provide details of referees including your current and previous employers, covering the last 5 years. Candidates can request for us not to send a reference request to their current employer prior to interview by emailing us at recruitment@royalgreenwich.gov.uk.

As part of our Safer Recruitment Policy, a full employment history is also required for this role. Please provide a full employment history, together with a satisfactory written explanation of any gaps in employment. Unless otherwise stated, a Basic DBS check will be undertaken as part of the pre-employment checks for successful candidates.

Diversity Statement: Royal Borough of Greenwich values the diversity of its community and aims to have a workforce that reflects this. We therefore encourage applications from all sections of the community. 

High Volume Applications: Royal Borough of Greenwich reserves the right to close any vacancy earlier than the advertised closing date should there be a high volume of applications received. 

Advert Close: All vacancies close at midnight unless otherwise stated. 

Full Employment History: A full employment history is required for this role. Please provide a full employment history, together with a satisfactory written explanation of any gaps in employment. 

How Applications are Scored:  Each application is scored according to how well the supporting statement addresses each point on the Person Specification for the role. Candidates will be short-listed for interview on the extent to which they meet the specific points within the Person Specification. The Person Specification is supplied with the job advert.  When completing your application, please use the supporting statement section to tell us how you meet each of the points on the Person Specification. We need to have this information in order to consider your application.

Salary: Salaries advertised are for a standard working week of 35 hours unless otherwise stated. Please use this 'Salary Calculator to help you calculate a pro rata salary. 

Our Staff Values: Our Staff Values are important to us. Candidates will be continuously assessed against our staff values throughout the recruitment process. Where candidates demonstrate views and behaviours that do not meet the standards of our staff values, we reserve the right to reject their application/ registration.