Advanced Practitioner - Quality Assurance (SEND)

 

 

 

Job Description

Job Title Advanced Practitioner - Quality Assurance (SEND)

Reporting to (job title) Service Manager

Service/Section/School Children’s Services - Inclusion & Learning

Effective date March 2026

Evaluated Grade H Job Number G.2606-2

 

Job Purpose:

 

• The purpose of the Advanced Practitioner – Quality Assurance (SEND) role is to ensure that high standards of practice, assurance, and continuous improvement are embedded across Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) processes with specific focus on the quality assurance and quality improvement processes relating to EHC assessments and plans.

• This post will promote effective partnership working that improves outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

• This post requires expertise and experience across SEND and ensures compliance with relevant legislation, Statutory SEND responsibilities, Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Ofsted/CQC SEND inspection frameworks, and Local Authority requirements.

• The post holder will provide leadership and professional guidance to ensure consistently high-quality contributions to EHCPs, promoting person-centred, strengths- based practice for children, young people, and adults.

 

With a commitment to and focus on championing equality and diversity and ensure all staff

understand and promote Devon’s Equality and Diversity policies in the course of their work.

 

Working collaboratively with colleagues and external stakeholders to achieve Devon’s service

plans and priorities. Contributing to the service area to deliver a safe, high quality, cost effective

and timely service.

 

Main duties and responsibilities:

 

Professional Practice

 

• Have responsibility for quality assurance activity in relation to Education, health and care

plans and wider earlier SEND support where necessary, ensuring high standards of

practice and adherence to legal requirements, driving forward improvements in line with

the strategic and improvement objectives

• Promote effective partnership working that improves outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

• Work in partnership with professional practice leads including the Designated Clinical Officer, Designated Medical Officer, Principal Educational Psychologist ,Designated Social Care Officer and Principal Social Worker to optimise excellence in practice in relation to children with SEND.

 

 

 

2

• Develop and maintain effective recording processes for front line teams and provide clarity

on expectations and have access to the right information/support that they need to

performance manage, improve, and address practice concerns.

• Oversee the quality, timeliness, and statutory compliance of multiagency contributions to

EHCPs.

• Develop and maintain practice standards, exemplars, and guidance for high-quality EHCP

advice and recording.

• Develop and embed practice guides and exemplars to support excellent practice, working

in collaboratively with Practice Leads and other Advanced Professionals across the

county.

• Bring a focus on Quality Assurance to influencing, developing, coproducing, designing,

and delivering person centred, evidence and strengths-based practice, that focuses on

what matters to the person

• Working flexibly and creatively, taking a leading role in the development and improvement

• of SEND services across education, health and care.

• Work autonomously, demonstrating problem solving skills and clear and timely decision

making.

• Provide leadership to all front-line team managers to improve and promote integrated,

evidence-led, innovative practice and ensure it develops within a controlled framework that

supports improved services.

• Escalate risks, issues and/or themes arising regarding professional practice to their Line

Manager and wider professionals as appropriate.

• Promote excellence in Occupational Therapy/Social Work and workforce practice,

contributing to organisational strategic objectives.

 

Performance, Learning and Improvement

• To champion high standards of professional practice both within the team and across the

county by:

o Encouraging and supporting opportunities for reflection and learning from practice

o Promoting practice which is evidence based and informed by relevant research

o Maintaining excellent and up-to-date knowledge of developments locally, regionally,

and nationally including best practice guidance and policy

• Identifying and making plans to address areas of practice that require development, both

for individuals, teams, and localities

• Responsibility to lead quality assurance audits as required (in accordance with the

Practice Quality Assurance Framework), with regular reports to the Leadership Team

• Identify performance themes, gaps, and risks, implementing targeted improvement plans.

• Monitor key performance indicators related to EHCP timeliness and quality.

• Identifying and making plans to address areas of practice that require development, both

for individuals, teams, and localities identified through audits, complaints, family feedback,

mediation, and tribunal outcomes.

• Through the implementation of the Practice Quality Assurance Framework, to identify

areas of learning and development and to work collaboratively with Workforce

Development to provide relevant training opportunities.

• To undertake regular quality reviews, self-assessments, and specific investigations

• Responsibility for the continuous improvement of practice and service delivery, ensuring

• learning is embedded into practice using feedback from children and young people and

Parent Carers and incidents, compliments, and complaints within the service area

• To liaise, consult, advise, and work with inspectorates and partner organisations to meet

inspection requirements and to contribute, support and provide ‘expert’ guidance on

quality assurance and improvement initiatives.

 

 

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• To work closely with Internal Audit to deliver an effective / joined-up work programme,

coordinating approaches to deliver service improvements.

• Contribute to development of the social care workforce including supporting students, non-

professionally registered and professionally registered workers

• Actively engage in ongoing learning, including orientation, induction, mandatory training

and relevant educational/developmental opportunities, and support others to do so

• Support the embedding of excellent practice through a variety of learning and

development opportunities

• Lead and participate in training and development activities as necessary to ensure up to

date knowledge and skills to meet national standards including encouraging and

supporting opportunities for critical analysis and learning from practice

• Make links with training/learning providers to maintain up to date knowledge which will

promote evidence-based practice and inform relevant research

• Develop an area or areas of expertise which supports good practice and take

responsibility for sharing learning across the Council

• Have a developed knowledge of SEND policies and procedures, and make

themselves continually aware of new, and amended legislation and national guidance to

support practice and learning of others.

• To promote a strong culture of learning, development and performance improvement

within the service and ensure that staff have access to training and development

opportunities.

 

Leadership

• Work collaboratively with the SEND Operations team , Educational Psychology, Health

partners, social care and schools to strengthen integrated delivery of EHCP processes.

• Lead quality assurance and quality improvement activity in relation to Education, health

and care plans and wider earlier SEND support. Working in collaboration with partner

agencies and other local authorities as necessary; to collectively ensure that SEND needs

are identified and met to achieve the best possible outcomes.

• To contribute to the operational management and strategic development of the service,

including contributing relevant forums and meetings including providing leadership support

in relation to the SEND local area inspection.

• Provide professional leadership and professional supervision of staff, working in

partnership with Team Managers, workforce, and partners, contributing to an effective and

efficient service.

• To play a lead role alongside management teams in implementing quality improvements,

both at a strategic level and individual service level, being an active participant / regular

attendee at relevant meetings and boards

• Provide, when applicable, on the job training, coaching, and mentoring of the

workforce within teams, which may include undertaking direct observations of practice as

required by the service and national standards

• Recognise and act where performance and practice of self and others should be

recognised and celebrated, to facilitate a culture within which people can excel

• Providing advice and guidance to line managers in relation to practice and quality

assurance

• To ensure that practice standards and procedures are adhered to and that staff within the

service contribute to the development and review of these standards.

• To drive a continuous service performance and improvement culture through the

establishment of service objectives and performance indicators/outcomes.

• To be accountable for service progress against a service plan and providing regular and

reliable management information and the analysis to inform continuous learning

 

 

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• Contribute expert knowledge and information to strategic decision makers and support

operational developments to inform future work

• Actively promote the rights and responsibilities for self and others, including but not limited

to professionalism, equity, equality, diversity and inclusion, and health and wellbeing in the

workplace

• Actively promote to others how policy drivers can be used to shape local services

 

General

• Provide oversight and guide Team Managers in:

o Resolution of service delivery issues which impact on quality and performance within

the service area

o The achievement of expected performance according to standards, policies, and

procedures

o Carrying out audit activity across the service, with a particular emphasis on the

quality of practice.

• Chair meetings and deputise for Team Managers at practice-based meetings as required

• Effectively use and manage appropriate financial resources within available budgets.

• Collaborate with people with lived experience/receiving our services and health colleagues

to optimise the persons experience, including using a strengths-based approach, co-

producing, use of quality improvement/project management methodology, creative

solutions, and innovative practice.

 

Evidence, research, and facilitation

• To utilise own professional expertise to ensure learning and development needs are

supported as a team including legal literacy

• Contribute to the development and evaluation of practice guidelines and policy at a local,

regional and/or national level

• Contribute to peer review processes where needed, constructively question own and

others’ practice to create opportunities to generate new knowledge

• Critically appraise, translate, and apply published evidence to inform practice

• Know the importance of evidence and research in delivering safe and effective services

• Utilise research and quality improvement methodology to ensure evidence informs

practice. To ensure learning is effectively evaluated and shared

• Keep up to date with policy and practice and incorporate when thinking about practice and

research activity

 

This document outlines the duties for the time being to indicate the level of responsibility. It is

not a comprehensive or exclusive list, and the duties may be varied from time to time which do

not change the general character to the job, or the level of responsibility entailed.

 

 

 

 

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Person specification:

Attribute Essential Desirable Method of

Assessment

Management of

people • Supervision skills

• Knowledge and experience of mentoring and coaching professional colleagues

• Experience of providing on the

• job training

• Experience of line

management of staff

• Project/Change

management experience

Application form/ Interview/ Assessment Centre

Experience • Substantial post-qualifying

experience in a professional

role such as Teacher,

Educational Psychologist with

significant expertise in

Statutory SEND processes

• Proven competency as an

experienced and qualified

professional educated to

degree level.

• In-depth knowledge of practice

across SEND specialism

• Evidence of post-qualifying

training and development

relevant to the role

• Understanding of the

regulatory framework within

which services operate

• Knowledge and application of

quality management and

improvement techniques and

frameworks

• Proven collaboration with

multiagency partners

• Leading improvement and

developing the quality of

Education, health and care

plans across the local area.

• Working within at least

two different education,

health or care settings

• Experience in

Performance

Management,

• Understanding of

inspection framework

across Education, health

and care.

Application form/ Interview/ Assessment Centre

Practical Skills • Ability to negotiate, challenge

and manage conflict

• Evidence of confidence in

using strengths-based

approach in certain situations

• Ability to exercise individual

judgement and consult where

and when appropriate

• Ability to be flexible and

creative

• Facilitate the development of

professional judgment and

decision-making skills in

others

• Ability to make

recommendations for action in

Application form/ Interview/ Assessment Centre

 

 

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relation to complex issues,

using evidence/data

• Innovate and problem solve –

open to change view in

response to new evidence

• Time management and

prioritisation skills

• Ability to work effectively in

emotionally charged

environments

• Ability to identify and manage

safeguarding

• Assertiveness in appropriate

situations

• To lead group learning and

development sessions

Communication • Ability to fulfil all spoken

aspects of the role with

confidence and fluency in

English

• High level of effective verbal

and written communications

including effective report

writing

• Ability to represent the Council

in a professional capacity

• Excellent communications

skills with a wide variety of

people, partners, and

stakeholders, both verbally

and in writing

• Ability to give evidence in

court where applicable

• Ability to deliver high level

presentations to diverse

audiences

• Identifying situations which

provoke media interest or

where the reputation of the

Council is at stake and to

make sure that their Line

Manager and the Principal

Occupational

Therapist/Principal Social

Worker are kept informed and

up to date with developments

• Experience of presenting

to groups in a

teaching/learning setting

Interview/

Assessment

Centre

Personal

Qualities • Person centred, with the ability

to empathise and relate to the

views and needs of the person

and their family/ networks

• Ability to create effective

working relationships with

Service Users/Carers and

other professionals/Teams,

Application form/ Interview/ Assessment Centre

 

 

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internal and external

stakeholders

• Ability to work autonomously

on own initiative and as part of

a team

• Uphold, demonstrate, and

utilise knowledge of their

professional code of conduct

• Demonstrate evidence of

ongoing learning to meet

evidence of CPD

• Ability to develop self, with a

genuine interest in developing

others, including mentoring

• Ability to work independently

and demonstrate highly

developed theoretical and

practical skills with a high

degree of autonomy within

defined policy and

management framework

Strategic

Thinking • Ability to identify and

contribute to service

improvement development in-

line with statutory regulations

and OFSTED/CQC SEND

Inspection requirements

• Awareness of direction of

Education and SEND

legislation

• Maintain up to date knowledge

ofEducation and SEND,

legislation, statutory

requirements, and practice

initiatives

• Demonstrate a commitment to

Quality Assurance and

continuous improvement to

Promote user independence

and equality

• Promote a culture of

professional curiosity

embracing and promoting the

involvement of practitioners in

research and evaluation to

support best practice

• Contribute to the identification,

planning and meeting of staff

development needs within the

workplace

• Ability to link service plans to

DCC strategic planning

Application form/ Interview/ Assessment Centre

Technology / IT

Skills • Working knowledge of IT

systems including Microsoft

Office, Internet, and Email

• Experience of using

electronic case

management systems

Application form/ Interview/

 

 

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• Ability to record, evidence and

communicate using

technology

• Application in relation to

practice in the role

(e.g., MRI One, the EHC

Hub)

• Experience of using

innovative technology to

facilitate engagement

e.g., Mentimeter

Assessment

Centre

Education and

Training • Evidence of professional

qualification.

• Evidence of an up-to-date

professional development

• Evidence of post graduate

training at master’s level or

equivalent or willingness to

work towards

• Evidence of an up-to-date

professional development

Application form/ Interview/ Assessment Centre

Equal

Opportunities

Devon County Council and its staff seek to eliminate

discrimination, advance equality and foster good relations.

Demonstrate

knowledge at

Interview

Physical Able to carry out the duties of the post with reasonable

adjustments where necessary OH1

Other relevant

factors Commit and conform to DCC Customer Service Standards