CYP Engagement Practitioner

We’re recruiting an Experts at Hand Children and Young Person Engagement Practitioner to join our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities service.

This rewarding role is all about making sure children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities are heard and that their experiences help shape the support available in their local schools.

Working as part of the Experts at Hand team, you’ll build positive relationships with schools and young people, listening to their experiences and identifying changes that could improve engagement, attendance and outcomes.

Taking the lead on pupil engagement, you’ll find creative and accessible ways for children and young people to share their views and influence inclusive approaches in mainstream schools.

A key part of the role will be helping young people understand local Special Educational Needs and Disabilities plans and reforms, while making sure their voices feed into wider partnership planning.

To succeed, you’ll bring experience of engaging children and young people with a range of additional needs, together with a relevant qualification or equivalent work experience.

This is a Site-Based role, and you’ll be expected to work from the designated workplace.

Interviews for this role will be held week beginning 4th December

Please note, interviews are held in person.

We’re building a team that’s focused on making a real difference across our local area. Working with partners, services and communities, you’ll help bring people together, drive collaboration and support improvements that have a lasting impact.

In this role, you’ll play an important part in delivering key priorities, helping shape better experiences and outcomes while ensuring our work stays aligned with both local needs and national expectations. It’s a chance to be part of meaningful, system-wide change where your contribution really matters.

If you’re interested in finding out more, we’d welcome your interest. For an informal chat before applying, please contact the hiring manager  Amy Marsh - SENDPartnership@milton-keynes.gov.uk

Find out more about working with us here: www.mkcounciljobs.org.uk

• Work with schools to capture the experiences and views of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and use their feedback to support better engagement, attendance and outcomes.
• Lead the development, coordination and delivery of accessible and creative pupil voice activities, making sure children and young people can meaningfully contribute.
• Communicate local Special Educational Needs and Disabilities strategy and reform plans in ways children and young people can understand, and feed their contributions into wider partnership planning.
• Work alongside schools and the wider Experts at Hand team to turn pupil feedback into practical approaches that strengthen inclusion within mainstream education.
• Maintain accurate records and use information and technology to help demonstrate the impact of interventions and activities on children, young people and schools.
• Build collaborative relationships with schools, families, colleagues and other services, advocating for the perspective of children and young people and helping to drive positive change.

Contract: Permanent

Working hours: 37

Pay frequency: Annual

• BTEC or NVQ Level three in childhood development, or equivalent experience, with experience supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
• Well organised, with the ability to prioritise work and pay attention to detail.
• Confident with technology, including Microsoft Teams, PowerPoint and Word.
• A strong communicator, able to build positive relationships and engage children and young people with a range of additional needs.
• Creative and accessible in your approach, with experience producing clear resources for different audiences.
• Collaborative, calm and adaptable, able to manage challenging conversations and respond positively to changing needs.

To be successful in this role, you’ll need a full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle. If we offer you the role, we’ll ask you to provide evidence of your driving licence and vehicle insurance, including cover for business use. We’re unable to confirm an appointment until these documents are received.

Safer Recruitment applies to this role. This means that, before any appointment is confirmed, we’ll carry out a range of pre-employment checks to help ensure the safety and wellbeing of children, young people and vulnerable adults. These checks may include identity verification, where candidates will be required to provide original identification documents, including a full birth certificate, employment history and reference checks, qualification checks and an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, (unless you are currently registered with the DBS Update Service). check where required.

In addition to your salary, we offer a range of benefits including:

• Great holiday benefits - most roles include 28 days annual leave every year on top of public (bank) holidays, increasing to 32 days after five years. In addition, there is a holiday purchase scheme allowing staff to purchase up to 5 additional days of leave each year.
• Excellent pension - everyone who works for us can join the national Local Government Pension Scheme, widely regarded as one of the best available.
• A full range of family friendly policies including enhanced maternity, adoption and paternity support.
• Access to an award-winning employee benefits programme that includes a health cash plan, a low-cost bike purchase scheme as well as high street discounts and money off entertainment and travel.
• Salary sacrifice car scheme - eligible employees can lease an electric or low-emission vehicle at a reduced cost through salary sacrifice, subject to National Minimum Wage and other eligibility requirements.
• Blue Light Card - employees working within social care can qualify for an additional range of discounts from national retailers and local businesses.

Why join us? Along with more on our Benefits, discover why Working at the City Council could be the right move for you here Working at the Council | Milton Keynes

Roles are either ‘site based’ or ‘home based’.

Site based roles are mainly based at the workplace, with the option to work from home for up to two days a week, depending on service needs.

Home based roles are mainly based at home, with the expectation of attending the workplace up to one day a week.

The working arrangement for each role is set by the manager, based on service requirements.