Brighter Futures for Children 

Trainee and Outcome Focused SEND and Education Placement Officer 

Full Time, Permanent post 

Agile working arrangement 
 

About us 

Brighter Futures for Children is an independent, not-for-profit-company, wholly owned by Reading Borough Council. Our responsibility is to deliver quality children's services, early help, education and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) services to children and families in Reading.  
 
The SEND and Education Placements Officer sits within the Commissioning, Contracts and Procurement Team (CCP) and co-ordinate and manage all placement requests, whether for a full-time placement or for alternative educational provision (AP), for pupils with Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) including those with multiple and complex needs. 

About the role 

The post holder will liaise with the referring Officer to understand the requirements of the placement and support the referring officer to negotiate in consideration of the achievement of the best outcomes for children and young people.  

Working under the guidance of the Strategic Commissioner - SEND and Education, the post holder will ensure that placement sourcing is undertaken on the basis that it has been appropriately approved, meets the child’s needs and expected outcomes, is cost effective, is within or as close to the borough as possible and is completed in a timely manner. 

 
The post holder will:  

• support the negotiation of placements.  
• populate Individual Placement Agreements (IPAs) 

• ensure that education and AP placements are correctly entered on the Company’s systems 
• ensure that overarching contracts are put in place with Independent and Non-Maintained Schools (INMS) 
• maintain the AP Directory of approved providers 
• provide out of borough notifications and ensure effective record keeping of placements enabling the gathering of information that will inform future commissioning strategies and assist in the continued development and maintenance of the service. 

Key responsibilities will be: 

• Assist in the maintenance and review of procedures for managing the referral/placement process. 
• Develop strong working relationships with SEND Case Officers, Virtual School Team and Social Workers and other referring officers on a planned and ad hoc basis to support placement stability and the placement process. 
• To be proactive in workload management, prioritise placement searches as required and liaising with referring officers around service delivery expectations. 
• Ensure placement consultations are completed in a timely, effective and efficient manner, and within statutory timelines. 

• Ensure placements are made as close to the borough as possible.  
• Provide advice and guidance on all aspects of making a placement to referring officers, and other stakeholders. 
• To build good working relationships with Providers to enable effective financial challenge and effective price negotiation. 
• Support referring Officers to proactively monitor placement decisions and changes. 
• Provide information as required to Commissioning Manager – SEND and Education; Strategic Commissioner - SEND and Education to enable monitoring, accountability and prompt systems review. 

• Extract and verify data to enable population of the appropriate individual personal contract/agreement for each child. 

 
Our Offer: 

A competitive salary alongside a range of benefits including: 

• Local Government Pension Scheme 
• Incremental holidays starting with 25 days plus public holidays (rising to 32 after 10 years’ service) 

• Discounted Child Care (on site nursery) 
• Cycle to work scheme 
• Season ticket loans 
• A range of local discounts 
• Remote/Agile working 

For Further information on this role, please contact Kelly Hallett, Head of Commissioning on - Kelly.Hallett@brighterfuturesforchildren.org  

Closing date: 5th June 2022 

Interview date: TBC