Early Years SEND Inclusion Advisor

Organisation: Leicestershire County Council

Work Location: County Hall, Glenfield, LE3 8RA

Salary: £43,860 - £47,829 (pro-rata for part time) (pay award pending)

Working Hours: 37 hours per week / 28.96 hours per week

Contract Type: Permanent

Closing Date: 12th October 2026

Interview Date(s): TBC

We have an exciting opportunity for you to join our Early Years, Inclusion and Childcare Service as an Early Years SEND Inclusion Advisor. 

About the Role

The post will allow you the opportunity to join and work with a highly skilled, enthusiastic team. We work with children from birth to school entry, children who attend wraparound care and holiday provision who have identified additional needs. You will ensure children have the right support at the right time. Part of your role is to ensure children access the highest quality provision in their local mainstream provision. You will have the opportunity to work in partnership with other services including health and social care.

Key responsibilities 

•    To provide advice, guidance and support to parents and the childcare sector in meeting the special educational needs of early years children 
•    To support the childcare sector to develop high quality provision 
•    To embed the principles of the of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
•    Enable providers to embed the principles of SEND code of practice into their practice 
•    Ensure providers implement the Safeguarding, Welfare, Learning and Development requirements as defined in the statutory duties of the EYFS
•    To work collaboratively with other internal local authority and external partners and providers to improve outcomes for children with SEND
•    The nature of the work may involve the jobholder carrying out work outside of normal working hours
•    The post holder may be required to attend, from time to time, training courses, conferences, seminars or other meetings as required by his/her own training needs and the needs of the service
•    An ability and willingness to travel to various locations.

If you are passionate about supporting children with additional needs this is the perfect job for you.

An enhanced with barred list DBS check is required for this post.

For information on our approach to the recruitment of ex-offenders, please see our policy statement.

About You

To apply for this post, you must:

Please ensure that you cover all 7 points in your application and provide clear examples and evidence of how each point has been met

•    Hold a relevant level 6 qualification in Early Years (e.g. Qualified Early Years Teacher, Early Years Professional) with evidence of further appropriate SEND professional development.
•    Significant experience supporting children aged 0–5 with SEND and working in partnership with families and multi-agency professionals.
•    Strong knowledge of the SEND Code of Practice and the Early Years Foundation Stage, with the ability to implement effective strategies to support children with additional needs, particularly those with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs.
•    Well developed personal organisational skills, with the flexibility and willingness to travel to appointments and a range of venues as required.
•    Excellent communication, listening and relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage and support parents/carers during challenging circumstances
•    Ability to promote inclusion by modelling best practice, sharing expertise and providing guidance to Early Years settings and schools.
•  Ability to motivate and support others while valuing and celebrating lived experiences.

In addition, we also expect you to share our commitment to our values and to delivering accessible and inclusive services which meet the needs of all of our residents.  You will be asked to demonstrate your understanding of these commitments as part of the selection process.

Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a disability. We are a Disability Confident Employer.

Interested in Flexible Working?

We are open to discussions about flexible working, which may include part time working, job sharing, term-time working, flexible start and finish times, and hybrid working, depending on the requirements of the role and the service. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below.

For more information or an informal discussion, please contact:

Ruth Melluish, Team Manager (Early Years SEND Inclusion Team)

Telephone: 07508002985

Email: [email protected]  

How to Apply

At Leicestershire County Council we’re looking for top talent from all walks of life. Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, and whatever your background - we care about what you bring to our organisation, not just what’s on your CV. That’s why we’ve designed a recruitment process that’s fair, accessible, and focused on potential. And with benefits that support people at every age and stage of life, we make sure you can thrive - both personally and professionally.

If you share our passion to make a difference for the people of Leicestershire, we’d love to hear from you. Click the apply button to submit your application, ensuring that you upload a supporting statement that explains how you meet the criteria listed in the ‘About You’ section above. Without this information, we won’t be able to assess your suitability for the role, and your application will be rejected. For tips on how to write your statement, see the How to Apply section on our career site.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible. 

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post or you want to request an application pack in an alternative format, please contact our Employee Service Centre by telephoning 0300 3030222 (select option 2) or raising a ticket via our online portal: https://emss.org.uk/support. 

By applying for this post, you agree to our Terms and Conditions.

About Leicestershire County Council

At Leicestershire County Council, we're committed to making a real difference in people's lives. Our aim is to work with communities and partners to deliver public services that make Leicestershire the best possible place to live and work for everyone. 

Our employees play a key role in supporting this goal and helping us deliver the vital services we provide to the people of Leicestershire. Whether you're starting your career or looking for your next challenge, you'll find a place with us where your ideas are valued, and your work has purpose.

For further information on what it’s like to work for us and the benefits we offer, please refer to the following:

Our Recruitment Process
Our Organisational Values
Our Employee Benefits
Working for Us