Head of SEND

Job Description

Head of SEND

Permanent Position

Salary: £63,280 – £75,805 per annum, plus Special Allowance of £5,769

Location: Medway and Chatham (with flexible working)

Hours: 37 hours per week

This is a pivotal moment for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) nationally and within Medway. We are seeking an exceptional Head of SEND to lead our statutory services and play a central role in shaping a stronger, more responsive local system for children and young people aged 0–25. This is not a steady-state leadership role. It is a unique opportunity to lead improvement, build confidence with partners and families, and deliver sustainable change at scale.

You will be responsible for:

• Ensuring statutory duties are met with consistency, timeliness and quality
• Embedding child-centred, relational and outcome-focused practice
• Driving transparent, evidence-based decision making and robust quality assurance
• Leading service performance, sufficiency planning and resource management
• Managing specialist teams, including complaints and tribunals
• Strengthen multi-agency accountability and partnership working
• Drive early identification and intervention
• Shape local provision and sufficiency planning
• Influence strategic commissioning and financial sustainability
• Ensure the voices and lived experiences of children, young people and families are central to service design and delivery
• As a visible and influential leader, you will work closely with schools, parent and carer groups, health partners, elected members and senior leaders to build trust, provide constructive challenge and drive collective ownership of SEND outcomes.

About You – We are looking for a credible, resilient and values-driven leader who can demonstrate:

• Significant senior leadership experience within SEND, education or children’s services
• Extensive knowledge of the SEND Code of Practice and relevant statutory frameworks
• A proven track record of leading improvement within complex systems
• Experience managing performance, risk and inspection readiness
• Strong partnership-working skills with the ability to influence across organisational boundaries
• Expertise in using data, insight and intelligence to drive service improvement
• Confidence operating within politically sensitive environments and working with elected members
• A genuine commitment to improving outcomes and life chances for children and young people with SEND

To find out more information please contact Lily at Lilye@4recruitmentservices.com

Recruitment is done in line with safe recruitment practices. We are an equal opportunity agency.