SEND Resolution Manager WCC622756

Job Details:

Salary range: £56,436 - £62,742 per annum. Salary negotiable depending upon experience 
Work location: Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street, London, W8 7NX
Hours per week: 36 
Contract type: Permanent  
Vetting requirements: Enhanced DBS Check  
Closing date: 23 March 2026

About Us:

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF EMPOWERED FAMILIES

Children’s Services at Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories where compassionate people bring everything to their work, including their own experiences of parenting.

Take Melissa, a Senior Social Worker in our Assessment Team. She’s one of the first people families meet when accessing our services, so building rapport is critical. And that’s where Melissa’s life experience really counts. She had her first child as a young adult and knows just how judgemental others can be. 

Melissa has something unique to offer and it can’t be found in a textbook: her own experience of raising two children as a single parent. She’s committed to empowering others: giving them the skills, resources and confidence they need, from housing support to baby supplies. And if the family has older kids? Well, she’s been there too. Her youngest is now 15 and Melissa knows the challenges of helping young people navigate inner-city life.

Melissa first learnt her craft as a support worker, then completed her statutory training as social worker – all while raising her family single-handed. And she’s not done yet. Supported by her managers, she’s been training in systemic therapy and is already looking forward to her next development opportunity.  

Melissa’s more than a social worker; she’s a shining example to the families she works with every day.

The Role:

As SEND Resolution Manager, you too can make a powerful contribution. We’ve just created this role, which will work closely alongside another newly created post, a SEND Solicitor. While we’re already a strong team, focused on delivering the best outcomes for children and young people with support needs, we aim for these newly created roles to bring a fresh approach to managing workloads and deciphering the best way forward.  

The Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) is part of His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS). It’s an independent legal body that hears appeals from parents, carers, or young people when they disagree with decisions made by a Local Authority about Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans or SEND provision. You’ll be the main point of contact for parents, carers or young people when they make or lodge a complaint. As SEND Resolution Manager, you’ll be leading the Council’s work for tribunals and formal disagreements. This will entail ensuring that all responses to SENDIST are sent in a timely fashion, including evidence for trial; preparing cases for tribunal; liaising with Legal Services, SEND services and multi-agency practitioners. You’ll defend the council’s decisions and the proposed service provision. Plus, you’ll make sure that witnesses are well-prepared for a potential appeal hearing. 

Through solution-focused thinking, you’ll work to find a way a positive outcome for families and reduce tribunal numbers. This will include attending meetings and negotiating changes to EHC plans. You’ll discuss with your colleagues if there’s a way address concerns. To help your team further, you’ll lead on providing quantitative and qualitative reports, as well as briefings, to inform good working practice and service improvements. Also, you’ll inform schools and other agencies on best practice outcomes relating to mediation, disagreement resolution and appeals. 

High levels of organisation will be key, as you’ll have a variety of cases to work on. The work will be fast paced, and you’ll need to balance expectations with meeting deadlines. It is rewarding work and an opportunity to ensure robust, compliant decisions are made for children and young people with special educational needs.

Please refer to the Job Description for more information. 

About You:

We’re seeking someone that has worked as a Local Authority representative, in a legal arena, and at a senior level within SEND services. This has given you experience of establishing effective working relationships with parents, carers and representatives from the NHS and schools. Your excellent written and verbal communication skills means that you’re able to communicate with them all. 

To excel here, you’ll need excellent understanding of and compliance with key legislation, including The Children and Families Act 2014, the SEND reforms, The Care Act 2014, The Mental Health Capacity Act 2005. You’ve kept your knowledge up to date and are able to demonstrate this. On a wider level, you’ve got a superb awareness of the current issues impacting children and young people, particularly in relation to education and safeguarding. 

A strong leader, you can effectively manage direct reports and inspire good practice across the service. You can work independently and as part of a team. Plus, you can confidently apply the principles of equal opportunities into the work that you do.

You’re diligent at meeting deadlines, even under pressure and with competing demands. Excellent organisational and administrative skills help you to achieve this. 

Both your decision-making and problem-solving skills are excellent. You navigate problems with flexibility and creative thinking. You have a degree or equivalent professional experience.

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. 

The Council is committed to achieving diverse shortlists to support our desire to increase the number of staff from underrepresented groups in our workforce. We especially encourage applications from a Global Majority (GM), people who are Black, Asian, Brown, dual-heritage, indigenous to the global south, and or have been racialised as 'ethnic minorities' (formally known as B.A.M.E , Black, Asian and multiple ethnic) background and, while the role is open to all applicants, we will utilise the positive action provisions of the Equality Act 2010 to appoint a candidate from a global majority background where there is a choice between two candidates of equal merit. If you are from a Global Majority background you can self-declare this to the hiring manager as part of our positive action commitments. 

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.   

We reserve the right to extend or close this vacancy early without warning subject to the volume of suitable applicants.