SEND Complex Case Practitioner

Employer: Wokingham Borough Council
Salary: £46,142 - £51,357 Per Annum, Plus Benefits (Pay award pending)
Location: Wokingham Borough Council, Shute End/Home Working
Contract: Permanent
Working Pattern: Full Time
Hours: 37 hours per week.
DBS Check: Enhanced
Closing Date: 27/07/2026 at 23:00
Reference: 713069

We have an excellent opportunity for a SEND Complex Case Practitioner to join our SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) Team here at Wokingham Borough Council, on a Full-time, Permanent basis.

As SEND Complex Case Practitioner, you will lead a solution-focused, service user-oriented model with the aim to reduce parental recourse to SENDIST, with a particular focus on restorative practice, promoting positive outcomes and collaborative working. You will manage a caseload of complex cases heading towards complaints or appeals, ensuring statutory assessments are delivered within the 20-week timeframe and overseeing the annual review process for Education, Health and Care Plans.

You will represent the Local Authority in Way Forward Meetings, formal mediation and complaints processes, working directly with stakeholders to resolve disputes before escalation. Managing risk across assigned cases, you will provide specialist professional advice to support informed decision-making while liaising with Commissioning and finance teams regarding funding allocations such as personal education budgets.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a dedicated, diplomatically skilled practitioner with significant experience in SEND casework to guide our team toward making a meaningful impact for children and young people across the Borough.

• Generous Annual Leave – 31 days annual leave (rising by 5 days after 5 years of continued local government service), plus bank holidays
• GP Helpline – Available 7 days a week
• Employee Assistance Programme – Including a 24/7 Your Care Helpline
• Free Eye Tests and Flu Vaccines
• Free Onsite Gym – Located at Shute End Offices, Wokingham
• Salary Sacrifice Schemes – Including Car and Cycle to Work schemes
• Local & Lifestyle Discounts – Save on shopping, entertainment, dining out & more
• Move through Menopause Course
• Sports & Social Group Activities – Including running, football, cricket & more
• And more!

• Facilitate mediation, representing the Local Authority in informal and formal processes.
• Work directly with parents, schools and other professional bodies to resolve disputes as well as liaising with SEND Tribunal Officers and the SEND Teams.
• Support the SEND Casework Practitioners in managing their most complex cases and those that may be heading towards complaints or appeals.
• Represent the Local Authority in way forward meetings and respond to formal complaints in line with local policy.
• Model good practice to support the development and empowerment of the SEND Casework Team whilst offering peer to peer support.

• Understanding of SEN legislation and procedures, including knowledge of legislation in relation to SEN i.e., Children's Act, Code of Practice, DDA, etc.
• Experience of working with children and/or families with SEN.
• Experience of managing complex casework which includes a need for mediation or conflict resolution in an educational context.
• The ability to write detailed and complex reports independently utilising information provided by both internal and external colleagues.
• Good IT skills, including word processing skills in Microsoft Office, and in database systems.
• Ability to travel to a variety of locations in the borough to develop relations with educational settings and attend training to key stakeholders.

Please apply online via the link provided.

Please note, we do not accept CVs submitted without a fully completed online application form.

If your application is shortlisted for an interview, you will be required to provide proof of your right to work in the UK at that stage. Additionally, successful candidates must present proof upon receiving a job offer.

Please note that all offers are conditional and subject to the satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks.

Please be aware that we will be reviewing the applications we…