Early Help Manager - 05830

West Berkshire Council; Newbury; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working hours

Hybrid working 40% in office

Training and development opportunities

Local Government Pension Scheme

Family-friendly policies

Local discounts

Wellbeing Programme incl. EAP

29 days annual leave (pro rata for FTC

Job summary

West Berkshire Council is seeking an Early Help Manager to lead a specialist Early Help team across Family Hubs and Children’s Services, supervising practitioners and driving quality assurance to ensure timely, coordinated family support.

The role covers the district, builds partnerships with schools and the voluntary sector, and focuses on safeguarding, SEND and inclusive practice. Fixed-term to 31/03/2029 with flexible hours and hybrid work.

Qualifications

• Degree-level education or significant experience in early help, family hubs or children’s services.
• Experience working in a multi-disciplinary setting with diverse agencies.
• Experience in early years interventions and supporting SEND needs.
• Knowledge of statutory guidance and thresholds of need in West Berkshire.
• Understanding of inclusive early years practice.
• Knowledge of SEND needs, neurodiversity and local support organisations.
• Driving licence and access to a car.

Responsibilities

• Provide 1-2-1 line management, annual appraisals and supervision to a team of specialist early help practitioners, including Best Start Inclusion Practitioners.
• Support universal practitioners to build confidence in handling higher tier cases and families with SEND needs through coaching and reflective supervision.
• Research and connect local services to strengthen partnerships and mobilise resources for families and professionals in Children’s Services.
• Maintain excellent relationships with partner agencies in schools and the voluntary/community sector.
• Ensure universal staff are trained in Early Help Plan and Motivational Interviewing.
• Apply safeguarding knowledge in practice according to West Berkshire thresholds.

Skills

Degree-level education

Multi-disciplinary collaboration

SEND and inclusive practice

Statutory guidance and thresholds

Early help and family hubs

Driving licence

Education

Degree in relevant field or equivalent experience

Job description

The Early Help Manager role is responsible for leading and managing a specialist Early Help team within Early Help and Family Hubs. The role oversees Early Help Coordinators and Best Start Inclusion Practitioners, ensuring effective operational delivery, quality assurance, supervision, caseload management and practice improvement.

The post focuses on strengthening early help support across Family Hubs, Children’s Services, schools and voluntary sector partners. It requires strong safeguarding knowledge, partnership working, SEND and inclusive early years understanding, and the ability to improve service performance so that children and families receive timely, coordinated and effective support.

The role will cover the entire district and support practitioners based in the hubs across West Berkshire.

This is a fixed term role until 31/03/2029 (Funding limited project)

The role

• Provide 1-2-1 line management, annual appraisals and supervisions to a team of specialist early help practitioners, including Best Start Inclusion Practitioners
• Support universal practitioners to build their confidence and skill-set in working with higher tier cases, and families with emerging or identified SEND needs, enabling others by using support, coaching and offering reflective supervision to skilled professionals working directly with families.
• To research and connect local services to strengthen the local partnership network and mobilise resources so they become available to local families and professionals working within Children’s Services. Ensuring information links in with the Digital Family Hub, West Berkshire Directory the directory of services and resources for all families.
• Have excellent relationships skills to engage and build upon working relationships with partner agencies in schools and the voluntary community sector.
• To ensure all universal staff receive training in using the Early Help Plan and Motivational Interviewing, as a way of standardising local intervention working closely with the Team Manager.
• To have a sound understanding of West Berkshire’s safeguarding thresholds and ability to apply this knowledge in practice

We are ideally looking to offer the successful candidate the full number of hours advertised above. We may however consider offering less hours than advertised providing they meet the requirements of the role and service which will be determined by the recruiting manager.

The ideal candidate would have the following qualifications, skills and attributes:

• Degree level education in a relevant field to the role or significant experience working in early help, family hubs or children’s services
• Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary setting, working with staff from a wide range of other agencies, including the private and voluntary sector
• Experience of early years interventions, modelling inclusive practice and supporting families with SEND needs
• Knowledge and understanding of the statutory guidance and threshold of need within West Berkshire
• Understanding of inclusive early years practice
• Knowledge of SEND needs, neurodiversity, strengths-based approaches and the organisations locally who support them.
• Driving licence and access to a car

Our offer to you

A Competitive Salary Alongside a Range Of Benefits Including

• We offer flexible working wherever possible between the hours of 07.00-21.00
• We offer hybrid working wherever possible working 40% in the office
• Access to a wide range of training and development opportunities
• Generous Local Government Pension Scheme
• Family friendly policies
• A range of local discounts
• Wellbeing Programme including Employee Assistance Programme and employee benefits
• You will also be entitled to a generous annual leave entitlement starting at 29 days per annum (plus public holidays) – pro rata for fixed term

Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

Join us at West Berkshire Council and make a positive impact in our community while advancing your career. Explore everything that a career with West Berkshire Council has to offer here: Working with Us

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact: Flic Ellmes, Early Help and Family Hub Team Manager, [e-mail]

Equal Opportunities

The Council supports Equal Opportunity of employment and positively encourages applications from people who fall within any of the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

This role has been identified as public facing in accordance with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016; the requirement to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in English applies.

West Berkshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all its staff and volunteers to share these values. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment. This role involves regulated activity with children. As such, appointment is subject to an Enhanced DBS check with the relevant Barred List(s).In this post you will be required tomaintain continuous registration with the DBS Update Service for the duration of your employment.

This privacy notice applies to job applicants applying for vacancies with West Berkshire Council https://info.westberks.gov.uk/pnapplications

AI in Applications

We recognise that candidates may choose to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support the preparation of their job applications. When used appropriately, AI can be a helpful aid in structuring responses, checking clarity, and improving presentation.

However, applications must reflect your own skills, experience and understanding. If an application appears to rely excessively on AI-generated content, it may not meet the required standard and could be rejected.

We encourage all applicants to ensure their submissions are authentic, tailored to the role, and clearly demonstrate their own knowledge, experience and suitability