SEN High Needs Officer WCC621219

Job Details:

Salary range: £41,580 - £45,399 per annum 
Work location: Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street, London, W8 7NX
Hours per week: 36 
Contract type: Permanent  
Vetting requirements: Enhanced DBS Check  
Closing date: 15 June 2025

About Us:

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF KAKOLI’S PASSION AND DRIVE

Children’s Services in Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories. Where inspirational people like Kakoli are dedicated to encouraging everyone they work with to be the very best they can be.

Ever since she was a child, Kakoli has believed that children are the ones who’ll change the world for the better. Who’ll create the future we all wish for. And she always knew her calling was to get on the front line and help those who might not be as fortunate as herself.

Driven and passionate about making a difference, she first joined Westminster as a Social Work Assistant, and her managers immediately saw she had huge potential, so they encouraged her to apply to study for a degree in social work. She passed with flying colours, and over the next fourteen years worked as a frontline Social Worker, a Senior Social Worker, a Deputy Service Manager and is now one of our Service Managers.

Kakoli’s vision is as clear now as it was all those years ago – to encourage and support children, and help them grow in safe, vibrant communities. Her achievements are many, but she’s most proud of the fact that these days Westminster doesn’t ‘do things for families’ but ‘does things with families’. And she believes this huge but subtle difference to the way we work has allowed thousands of children in Westminster to fulfil their potential and live their dreams.

The Role:

As a SEND High Needs Officer you can make your own powerful contribution to Westminster’s success. Helping us to improve the ways in which we deliver sustainable Special Educational Needs (SEN) services for children and young people in both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, you’ll provide a professional financial and data information service that ensures the relevant funding is managed correctly. Maintaining a single record of payments for each pupil, and keeping systems up to date so we can produce reliable reports and schedules, you’ll also look after the allocation and monitoring of the high needs top-up for individual pupils.

But your work won’t stop here – you’ll also check on completed Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans and compare them with the funding forms the SEN team create, liaise with suppliers to complete the council’s supplier agreement, and use our finance management system to set up new suppliers. We’ll also expect you to compare invoices received with the orders approved and create purchase orders, review termly finance schedules for schools, make any required changes, distribute these for feedback and return them to your colleagues in finance for final changes.

You’ll have a wide range of additional responsibilities, including arranging the personal budget payments for EHC plans and Home to School transport, and monitoring personal budget payments and increases in independent school fees. You’ll produce at least one annual report that details the changes in high needs across both boroughs, contribute to the working parties that review and improve procedures, and contribute to the development of the team while building mutual confidence and respect.

Please refer to the Job Description for more information. 

About You:

With practical experience of working in a publicly funded service on tasks such as record keeping and reporting, you’ll have a track record of coordinating payment schedules and reconcilling them with databases or a caseload. Your superb organisational abilities will allow you to manage competing demands and meet deadlines, while your excellent communication and interpersonal skills will make you a confident and collaborative team player.

We’ll look for a good understanding of the nature and importance of partnership working and managing multiple stakeholders, and knowledge of a significant area related to SEN and relevant education legislation. It’s also important that you have sound judgement and the analytical skills necessary to provide the effective delivery of services, and the ability to gather, understand and use large amounts of data to make informed decisions.

Committed to our policies relating to equal opportunities, customer care and service delivery, you’ll be respectful, honest and keen to learn from everyone you work with. Always ready to ask parents and your fellow professionals for information and advice, you’ll have a positive, ‘can-do’ attitude and be willing to see things from other peoples’ perspective.

Westminster City Council is committed to supporting Care Leavers into the workplace. Care Leavers seeking their first job and who wish to be considered under our scheme, will automatically be invited to interview should they meet the essential criteria for the role. 

What We Offer:

Westminster is an amazing place. We are home to more than 200,000 residents from all backgrounds, over 50,000 vibrant and vital businesses and three-quarters-of-a-million people work in Westminster. Westminster City Council’s strategy is to work towards a Fairer Westminster. A Fairer Westminster is one in which our communities are at the heart of our decision-making and help to determine the city’s future. By working directly with our communities and other partners, we can build a more inclusive city that celebrates our diverse communities, and where residents, workers and visitors from all backgrounds will feel welcome and safe.   
 
At Westminster City Council, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive workplace and employer of choice. We encourage and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that, at all levels, represents the communities we serve. We champion equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, has a sense of belonging and is empowered to be their best, that is the Westminster Way. To find out more about how we do this visit  https://www.westminster.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/public-health-strategy-policies-and-reports/equality-duties  
 
As a forward-thinking Council we appreciate that people work in different ways, therefore our staff benefit from working a range of flexible working patterns as well as Agile working.  
 
The Council is a Disability Confident Employer. If you have declared a disability in your application, we guarantee an interview if you meet the essential criteria of the job. If you are invited for interview, you will be asked if you need any reasonable adjustments in order to attend, and we will make these wherever possible.