Best Start In Life Inclusion Practitioner

Oldham; Oldham; On-site; GBP 33,000 - 36,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

LGPS pension scheme

Discounted gym membership

Staff discount scheme

Salary sacrifice for home/electronics

Wellbeing support

Staff recognition events

Peer support groups

Job summary

Oldham Council’s Integrated Children and Families Service is hiring a Best Start in Life Inclusion Practitioner (7 posts) to deliver targeted early support for babies and young children with potential low to moderate needs. Fixed-term until 31 March 2029, 36.66 hours per week, based in Family Hubs across Oldham.

The role focuses on early identification and intervention, delivering short-term, evidence-based support to improve communication, language, social-emotional development, and school

Qualifications

• Relevant Level 3 qualification in childcare, early years, health & social care, SEND or family support.
• Experience of working directly with babies, young children (0-5) and their families in health, education, early years or community settings.
• Experience of supporting children with additional needs, including emerging SEND and developmental delay.
• Experience of working within a multi‑agency environment, contributing to Family Help and inclusion planning.
• Ability to observe, identify and assess the developmental, emotional and social needs of babies and young children, taking account of family context.

Responsibilities

• Deliver direct, time‑limited interventions to support babies and young children with emerging and/or low to moderate additional needs, both within Best Start Family Hubs and in the community including Enhanced Making it REAL, Talking Tools and other applicable interventions.
• Deliver practical advice, model inclusive practice and support families to engage in universal and targeted activities.
• Working with your Family Hub Manager to develop and deliver inclusive universal activities to meet family’s needs such as sensory stay and play
• To support all families to engage with the Best Start Digital offer including Essential parent, Togetherness, Anya and Chat Health
• Identify early developmental concerns through observation, discussion and use of evidence‑based tools, working alongside families, early years practitioners and other professionals to positively impact on individual children’s learning and development.
• To work alongside other professionals to help distinguish between children who would benefit from enhanced early support and those who may require longer‑term, social emotional support or specialist input.
• Use screening and observation tools, including, but not exclusive to, the Early Language Identification Measure (ELIM), ASQ, Wellcomm, EYFS progress check at age 2 and information from the 2–2½ year healthy child programme mandated contact and the developmental journal to support planning.
• Support and empower families to access appropriate services, working alongside the Child and Family Practitioners and signposting to relevant health, SEND, early years and voluntary, community and faith sector provision where needed.
• Work with families in a way which ensures parent and child voice informs the delivery and support provided to ensure the right support is provided at the right time.
• Promote inclusive practice across the Best Start Family Hubs network, supporting other practitioners and services to respond effectively through ‘Expert at Hand’ to children who have or may have SEND

Skills

Experience with babies and young 0-5

Experience with additional needs

Multi-agency collaboration

Observation and assessment

Education

Level 3 childcare/early years/health & social care/SEND/family support

Job description

Children’s Services

Integrated Children and Families Service

Best Start in Life Inclusion Practitioner (7 posts)

Ref: 001836

Contract: Fixed Term (31 March 2029)

Salary: £32,578 - £35,570 per annum (Grade 5)

Hours: 36.66 per week

Location: Based in Family Hubs across Oldham

Closing Date: Sunday 15 November 2026

Interview Date: TBC.

Role Overview:

To work as part of Oldham Council’s Best Start in Life team in the Integrated Children and Family Service to deliver early, targeted inclusion support for babies and young children identified, who have or may have low to moderate additional support needs.

The post holder will focus on early identification and intervention, delivering short‑term, evidence‑based support to improve developmental outcomes, particularly in relation to early communication and language, social and emotional development and supporting progress towards school readiness. Working within Family Hubs and local communities, the role will help ensure children receive the right support early, reducing escalation and supporting inclusion.

The Best Start Inclusion Practitioner will work closely with families, early years settings and partner services to strengthen inclusive practice and contribute to the delivery of the national Best Start in Life programme.

Key Responsibilities:

• Deliver direct, time‑limited interventions to support babies and young children with emerging and/or low to moderate additional needs, both within Best Start Family Hubs and in the community including Enhanced Making it REAL, Talking Tools and other applicable interventions.
• Deliver practical advice, model inclusive practice and support families to engage in universal and targeted activities.
• Working with your Family Hub Manager to develop and deliver inclusive universal activities to meet family’s needs such as sensory stay and play
• To support all families to engage with the Best Start Digital offer including Essential parent, Togetherness, Anya and Chat Health
• Identify early developmental concerns through observation, discussion and use of evidence‑based tools, working alongside families, early years practitioners and other professionals to positively impact on individual children’s learning and development.
• To work alongside other professionals to help distinguish between children who would benefit from enhanced early support and those who may require longer‑term, social emotional support or specialist input.
• Use screening and observation tools, including, but not exclusive to, the Early Language Identification Measure (ELIM), ASQ, Wellcomm, EYFS progress check at age 2 and information from the 2–2½ year healthy child programme mandated contact and the developmental journal to support planning.
• Support and empower families to access appropriate services, working alongside the Child and Family Practitioners and signposting to relevant health, SEND, early years and voluntary, community and faith sector provision where needed.
• Work with families in a way which ensures parent and child voice informs the delivery and support provided to ensure the right support is provided at the right time.
• Promote inclusive practice across the Best Start Family Hubs network, supporting other practitioners and services to respond effectively through ‘Expert at Hand’ to children who have or may have SEND

Key Requirements:

To succeed in this role, you will need as a minimum:

• Relevant Level 3 qualification in childcare, early years, health & social care, SEND or family support
• Experience of working directly with babies, young children (0-5) and their families in health, education, early years or community settings
• Experience of supporting children with additional needs, including emerging SEND and developmental delay
• Experience of working within a multi‑agency environment, contributing to Family Help and inclusion planning
• Ability to observe, identify and assess the developmental, emotional and social needs of babies and young children, taking account of family context

About Us:

We want Oldham to have vibrant, safe neighbourhoods where people are proud to live with opportunities for healthier, more fulfilled lives; and a sustainable, thriving economy. As we look to the future, the challenges may be significant, but so are the opportunities. We’ve identified three missions with our residents and partners, focusing on what will deliver the biggest impact:

A Great Place to Live, Healthier, Happier Lives, and Green and Growing.

We’re looking for candidates who will support us to achieve our ambitions and we encourage you to download our Corporate Plan: Ready for the Future and our Oldham Plan for further information.

Our Values and Behaviours:

By driving innovation, investing in our people, and championing our communities, we will ensure that Oldham continues to be a place where everyone can live their best life. To support this, we have three core values which define who we are and how we operate. These are ‘Proud, Ambitious, and Together’, and they shape our culture, inform our decisions, and inspire us to deliver on our commitments to the people of Oldham.

We have translated these values into five behaviours which guide our actions and are the standards we hold ourselves to, day in and day out:

• Work with a resident focus
• Support local leaders
• Committed to the borough
• Delivery high performance
• Take ownership and drive change

Our Benefits Package:

At Oldham Council we offer a great benefits package for our employees, which includes the following:

• 25 days annual leave which increases after 5 and 10-years’ service
• The option to purchase additional annual leave.
• An attractive LGPS benefit pension scheme with the option to make shared cost additional voluntary contributions.
• Discounted gym membership with Oldham Active.
• Staff discount scheme for shopping, entertainment, eating‑out, eating‑in, travel, motoring and more.
• Salary sacrifice scheme for home and electronics and Cycle to Work.
• Wellbeing support, including a Mental Health First Aider network and an Employment Assistance Programme that provides 24 hours access to advice and support.
• Staff recognition and celebration events.
• Peer support groups

Inclusive Recruitment:

We work closely with employees to help them work at their best, including making adjustments such as flexible working, describing available working patterns, providing equipment or making changes to the workplace.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and therefore expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you have lived or worked abroad for 3 months or more in the last 5 years or 12 months or more (whether continuously or in total) in the last 10 years whilst aged 18 or over, please refer to the link below for details for how to obtain your Certificates of Good Character. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants

Unfortunately, at this time we are not able to offer sponsorship.

If you have completed the GM Elevate (Leadership Development) Programme please indicate this within the ‘About You’ or ‘Supporting Statement’ section of your application.

If you’re an applicant with disabilities and have previously been in or currently in care, a carer, someone who has served in the Armed Forces, or you’ve participated in the GM Elevate Programme, and you meet the essential criteria of the role, you are guaranteed to reach the first stage of assessment under our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme.

Data and Privacy:

For details of how we use your data please see our Privacy Notice

Important Information:

Please note that should a vacancy that has been released for internal or external recruitment be deemed suitable for a current employee at risk of redundancy, it can be pulled back at any point, up to the post being formally offered to a candidate who is not at risk of redundancy.

Right to Work in the UK from 1st July 2021.doc