Best Start in Life Senior (Inclusion) - Ref: CH09926

Walsall Council; Walsall; On-site; GBP 44,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension

Learning & development

Wellbeing

Diversity & inclusion

Job summary

Walsall Council is seeking a senior leader for the Best Start in Life Inclusion programme to drive operational delivery across Family Hubs, early years, SEND and health. The post leads Best Start Inclusion Practitioners and collaborates with partners to improve access and outcomes for children aged 0-5 and their families.

You will shape service development, use data to target improvements, and build strong multi-agency partnerships while safeguarding and promoting welfare across the borough.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in early years, SEND, education, child development, family support, health or related services.
• Experience leading or supervising staff and developing teams.
• Strong understanding of inclusion, child development, and early intervention.
• Experience working with children and families with additional needs or barriers.
• Ability to build cross-organisation relationships and use data for improvement.
• Commitment to safeguarding and equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Willingness to travel across the borough and occasional evenings/weekends.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day operational leadership for Best Start in Life inclusion.
• Translate priorities into team work plans and measurable delivery.
• Coordinate activity across Family Hubs, early years and partners.
• Ensure high-quality delivery of inclusion and early intervention programmes.
• Monitor delivery, safeguarding and risk; use data to identify gaps.
• Support staff induction, supervision and professional development.
• Contribute to programme evaluation and service improvement.

Skills

Leadership

Partnership working

Data-informed decisions

Communication skills

Inclusion knowledge

Education

Level 5+ qualification in early years or related field

Job description

Best Start in Life Senior (Inclusion) - Ref: CH09926

Salary: G9 SCP 32-35 (£44,253 - £47,665 per annum)

37 hours per week | Permanent

Every child deserves the best start in life.

As the Best Start in Life Senior (Inclusion), you will provide operational leadership for Walsall's Best Start in Life inclusion programme, helping to deliver Best Start and Family Hub priorities across the borough.

This is a highly collaborative role combining operational leadership, partnership working and service development to improve outcomes for children aged 0-5 and their families.

You will work across Family Hubs, early years, SEND, health, education, family support and voluntary and community partners to improve access, early identification, warm handovers and families' experiences of services This is a unique opportunity to help shape a growing and innovative Best Start in Life service that is making a real difference in communities across Walsal

This is a unique opportunity to help shape a growing and innovative Best Start in Life service that is making a real difference in communities across Walsall.

At Walsall Council we offer:

• The opportunity to lead a new and developing service area.
• Meaningful work that directly improves outcomes for children and families.
• Strong multi-agency partnerships and a collaborative culture.
• Opportunities to influence service design and improvement.
• Local Government Pension Scheme.
• Learning and development opportunities to support your career progression.
• A strong commitment to wellbeing, diversity and inclusion.

About you

We are looking for a confident and inclusive leader who can build relationships, motivate teams and deliver high-quality services.

You will have:

• Significant experience of working within early years, SEND, education, child development, family support, health or related services.
• Experience of leading or supervising staff, managing performance and supporting professional development.
• Strong understanding of inclusion, child development, early intervention and partnership working.
• Experience of working directly with children and families experiencing additional needs, vulnerability or barriers to accessing support.
• The ability to build productive relationships across organisations and communities.
• Experience of using data, quality assurance and service intelligence to improve outcomes.
• Excellent communication, organisation and problem-solving skills.
• A commitment to improving life chances for children and reducing inequalities.

If you would like to know more about this role, please contact: [e-mail]

Closing date for applications: Friday 20th November 2026

Must be available for interview week beginning 30th November and 7th December 2026

This post is covered by the Government’s Code of Practice on the English Language Fluency Duty for public sector workers. The post holder will be required to communicate verbally with customers and provide advice and/or information in accurate spoken English.

Walsall Council takes seriously the responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all the children, young people and vulnerable adults entrusted to our care and it is our expectation that all staff will share this commitment. We will ensure continuous development and improvement of robust recruitment processes and procedures that promote a culture of safeguarding amongst our workforce. Completion of an enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check is a requirement for working with children, young people and vulnerable adults.

Note:Applicants appointed to posts that require an enhanced DBS clearance must declare any periods of time that they have lived, studied or worked abroad and be prepared to provide an Overseas Criminal Records Certificate (OCRC) or a Statement of Good Conduct (SOGC) relating to anytime they were overseas.

At Walsall Council, we appreciate that AI can be a useful tool for ideas or guidance. However, we encourage you to make sure your application reflects your own voice and experiences. Over-reliance on AI can make responses feel less personal, and we really want to understand what makes you unique. Your experiences, skills, and perspective are what set you apart, so please ensure your application as a whole – particularly your ‘Supporting Information’ – reflects your own voice.

Walsall Council’s Children’s Services are the only Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ local authority in the Black Country. During a visit in May 2025, Inspectors described Walsall Council as a place where children were at the heart of. The council’s journey of continuous improvement started in 2017 and has since transformed into a service with a clear vision, clear priorities and a clear plan, all informed by the views of our staff and children.Staff are at the core of delivering great outcomes for children and young people in Walsall, which is underpinned by our Walsall Right 4 Children vision. The latest Ofsted inspection demonstrated that staff in children’s services are proud to work for Walsall Council and feel supported to do great work.

You will:

• Lead, support and develop the Best Start Inclusion Practitioners and Community Champions, providing day-to-day operational leadership and maintaining safe, effective and professionally bounded practice.
• Translate agreed Best Start priorities and outcomes into team work plans, locality activity and measurable delivery.
• Coordinate activity across Family Hubs, outreach provision, early years settings and community locations, directing resources towards identified need and gaps in reach.
• Ensure high-quality delivery of inclusion, engagement and early intervention programmes.
• Build effective working relationships across Family Hubs, early years, SEND, education, health, family support and voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise partners.
• Support early identification of need, improve access to services and reduce barriers for vulnerable children and families.
• Champion inclusive practice and ensure children with emerging or identified additional needs receive timely support.
• Monitor delivery, performance, quality, equity of reach, safeguarding and operational risk.
• Use data, family voice, community intelligence and practitioner learning to identify patterns, unmet need, inequalities and opportunities for improvement.
• Undertake quality assurance activity, agree improvement actions and monitor their completion and impact.|
• Support induction, supervision, objective setting, performance review, wellbeing and professional development for allocated staff.
• Maintain clear pathways and role boundaries between community engagement, early inclusion support, Family Hub navigation, Early Years SEND and specialist services.
• Contribute to programme evaluation, service improvement, workforce development and the continued development of Walsall's Best Start programme

Qualifications

• A relevant qualification at Level 5 or above in early years, education, SEND, health, family support, community development, management or a related field, or equivalent substantial professional knowledge and experience accepted by the Council.
• Evidence of relevant management and continuing professional development, with a commitment to maintaining current knowledge of Best Start, SEND, safeguarding and service-improvement practice.
• Experience of managing staff or operational delivery in early years, SEND, education, health, family support, community development or a related service.
• Experience of converting plans into team activity, monitoring delivery and using performance and quality information to secure improvement.
• A strong understanding of child and family needs from pregnancy to age five, early identification, inclusion, school readiness and the barriers associated with disadvantage and inequality.
• Working knowledge of the EYFS, SEND Code of Practice, graduated approach, Equality Act, safeguarding and information-sharing requirements relevant to Best Start services.
• Experience of effective multi-agency and voluntary-sector partnership working, including resolving pathway, access or coordination difficulties.
• A commitment to safeguarding, equality, diversity, inclusion, data protection and information governance.
• The ability to travel efficiently throughout and across the borough and work flexibly across Family Hubs and community locations, including occasional evenings or weekends, with reasonable adjustments considered in accordance with the Equality Act.