Senior SEND Early Years Practitioner

Salary: 13.96 per hour

Hours of work: 18 Hours per week (6 sessions) 1 hours overtime each week for a Senior SEND Early Years Practitioner meeting.

Contract type: Permanent Term Time Only

This is not a Wiltshire Council vacancy therefore please contact Stepping Stones District Specialist Centre for further information.

A bit about us:

Stepping Stones has facilitated and delivered a highly respected service providing specialist Early Years support for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and their parent/carers since 1975. We are an independent charity who hold a contract with the Local Authority to provide a quality District Specialist Service for the West Wiltshire area. We are an outstanding team who have achieved Ofsted accreditation of Outstanding provision for consecutive inspection years since 2007/8.

Stepping Stones are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and the post will require an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Stepping Stones are committed to making sure we provide equality of opportunity through employment and service delivery based on the principle of Inclusion.

Stepping Stones District Specialist Centre provides specialist early years support to children with a wide range of complex needs in the West Wiltshire area. Our dedicated practitioners offer assessment advice sessional support and outreach to colleagues in other early years settings to enable children to thrive.

All about the role:

Stepping Stones are seeking a special person with the determination and ambition to achieve ever better outcomes for children in the early years (0-5 years) who have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

We are looking for an NVQ Level 3 qualified Senior SEND Early Years Practitioner keen to develop their experience of working with Pre-school children with SEND.

The Senior SEND Early Years Practitioner acts as session lead working as part of a Multi-disciplinary team to provide a safe and stimulating learning environment for children with Special Needs.

The children who attend Stepping Stones have been referred with specific but varied Special Needs. It is the role of the Senior SEND Early Years Practitioner to assess plan for and deliver the necessary level of support that each child will require to successfully engage in communication play and learning.

Hours to be worked as follows:

Wednesday 9am until 4.15pm (1 hour per week overtime to be included on this day to cover a weekly Keyworker meeting)
Thursday 9am until 3.15pm
Friday 9am until 3.15pm

Principal responsibilities for the post holder:

• Safeguarding - Knowledge of the Stepping Stones Safeguarding policies and procedures and attendance at relevant training to ensure best safeguarding practice is followed.
• To be responsible for managing and co-ordinating staff and volunteers within the playroom to ensure each childs needs can be effectively met.
• To work effectively with the other members of the team and the therapists to co-ordinate support recommended for the children allocated to their Senior SEND Early Years Practitioner list.
• To prepare for and attend Team Around the Child/SEND Review/Transition meetings sharing relevant information about individual children.
• To be involved in the planning and implementation of appropriate play activities for meeting the childrens individual needs within the Early Years curriculum.
• To be part of the overall assessment team for children referred to Stepping Stones.
• To prepare and write assessment and progress reports.
• To review and update individual education programmes termly.
• To provide Outreach support to other early years settings to share strategies and ensure consistency of support for individual children.
• To liaise with parents Colleagues and other Professionals to ensure each childs needs are met.

Please see the Job Descriptionfor full details of the role and responsibilities.

Find out more and apply:

To apply please download the application formand click the apply now button below to upload your completed application form and covering letter online. Please note: CVs will not be considered.

Please apply via the apply button or alternatively you can email us your application form directly to FOA Debbie Wickham. Please contact us if you have any questions via email or on our telephone number.

For more information please visit our website .

Closing date (and time): 20th June 2025 (5PM)

Interview date: Week commencing 30th June 2025

Commencement date:1st September 2025

Stepping Stones District Specialist Centre is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

All applicants will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check before appointment is confirmed.