SEND Quality Assurance Lead

Liverpool City Council; Liverpool; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

31 days holiday and bank holidays

Flexible working

LGPS Pension Scheme

Learning and training opportunities

Employee Assistance Programme

Cycle to Work

Travel Pass Schemes

Salary sacrifice car lease

Discounted Gym Membership

Employee volunteering

Medicash

Job summary

Liverpool City Council is seeking a SEND Quality Assurance Lead on a 14-month fixed term basis to provide maternity cover from November 2026. Lead audits, strengthen QA and drive improvement across Liverpool's SEND services, working with the Head of SEND and Inclusion to deliver better outcomes for children and young people.

This role welcomes experienced practitioners or managers with a background in education or SEND, offering opportunities to influence practice and contribute to a

Qualifications

• Experience working in education and/or SEND services.
• Ability to lead SEND audit and quality assurance activity.
• Ability to translate audit findings into learning and improvement actions.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate SEND audit and quality assurance
• Analyze findings and translate into improvement actions
• Support managers and practitioners to understand excellent practice
• Monitor effectiveness of EHC planning and wider SEND services
• Produce high-quality reports and recommendations
• Collaborate with education, health, social care and safeguarding partners

Skills

SEND experience

Education experience

Stakeholder engagement

Audit & QA

Education

Qualified teacher

Qualified social worker

Relevant degree

Job description

Job Introduction

Job title: SEND Quality Assurance Lead

A bit about us:

Liverpool is home to vibrant, energetic, and engaged communities, people who take real ownership of their local area and are passionate about making our city a better place. We've got ambitious targets to meet and we need people who are driven, dynamic and ready to deliver the very best for our communities. Public service is more important than ever, and this role represents a real opportunity to make a difference to our communities by transforming the way we work and placing our residents at the heart of everything we do.

Working at Liverpool City Council provides an opportunity to contribute to your community and make a positive impact on the lives of residents. Our values shape how we work to deliver public services, and how we communicate with the residents we serve. We care about the best outcomes for local people, through our public services.

We are proud of our world-famous thriving city with its rich culture, as well as affordable housing, good schools, beautiful green spaces - there's really something for everyone!

Our Practice Model - "Our City, Our Children, Together" - was chosen by colleagues, parents and carers, children, and young people to reflect our collective commitment to working collaboratively, it is more than just a practice model, it is a shared vision. Every part of this model has been co-produced with the people who access and deliver our services. It represents our values, our relationships, and our belief that, by working together, we can create the best outcomes for children, young people, and their networks. This is a model we can be proud of and one that truly belongs to all of us.

Join a service that's really making a difference. Liverpool Children's Services is proud to be rated "Good" by Ofsted, with inspectors recognising the positive impact of our work for children, young people and families across the city.

Liverpool City Council Children and Young People's Services has recently undergone its Ofsted ILACS inspection, achieving a positive outcome across all four judgement areas (three judgement areas securing a 'Good' outcome), with inspectors praising stronger social work practice, a more stable workforce, and improved outcomes for children, young people and their networks. The Ofsted report specifically highlighted "improvements to Liverpool's social work workforce, with the council moving from relying predominantly on temporary staff to employing a majority permanent workforce. Reduced workloads have enabled practitioners to develop more meaningful relationships with children and families, while social workers told inspectors they felt well supported and appropriately challenged by managers, with morale described as high."

Jenny Glennard, Corporate Director of Children and Young People's Services, said the inspection reflected both the commitment of the workforce and a renewed focus on children and young people's experiences. "I am very proud of our workforce, our schools, and our partners who work tirelessly to support the children of the city. There is always more to do, and we will continue to build on this progress."

The full report can be viewed here: Ofsted Report

This achievement reflects the dedication, passion and expertise of our workforce, and our commitment to delivering high-quality services that help children thrive. If you're looking to build your career in a supportive and ambitious organisation who are striving for excellence, we'd love to hear from you!

The role:

Liverpool City Council is seeking an experienced and motivated professional to undertake the role of SEND Quality Assurance Lead on a 14-month fixed term basis to provide maternity cover from November 2026. We welcome applications from colleagues interested in a secondment opportunity and would look to progress this route initially to enable a swift appointment.

This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in strengthening quality assurance, practice improvement and performance across Liverpool's SEND system. The successful candidate will work closely with the Head of SEND and Inclusion colleagues across Children's Services to develop and deliver a robust programme of audit activity, identify learning, drive continuous improvement and ensure better outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

Key responsibilities:

• Lead and coordinate SEND audit and quality assurance activity
• Analyse findings and translate these into improvement actions, learning and development
• Support managers and practitioners to develop a shared understanding of excellent practice
• Monitor the effectiveness of Education, Health and Care (EHC) planning and wider SEND services
• Produce high-quality reports, identify themes and recommendations, and support delivery of improvement plans
• Work collaboratively with partners across education, health, social care and safeguarding services

We are looking for someone who has experience of working within education and/or SEND services and is passionate about improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND. Applications are welcomed from qualified teachers, qualified social workers registered with Social Work England, or individuals holding a relevant degree and able to demonstrate the required experience and expertise.

This role offers an excellent opportunity for an experienced practitioner or manager seeking to broaden their leadership experience and make a significant contribution to Liverpool's SEND improvement journey.

This role is fixed term for the purpose of providing maternity leave cover and will end on 30 November 2027.

This post is available as a secondment opportunity. Applicants considering a secondment should discuss their application with their current manager before applying and ensure they can secure release should they be successful.

Our offer to you:

• At least 31 days holiday, plus bank holidays, rising to 35 after 5 years' service (pro rata if part time) - option to purchase further days
• Agile working (role dependent) - a "Flexibility First" approach to agile working, where flexibility is the norm rather than the exception
• Part of the Local Government Pension Scheme - option to join the AVC Scheme
• Progression - opportunities and training through a wide range of high quality learning
• Health and Wellbeing - offer including Employee Assistance Programme
• Cycle to Work and Travel Pass Schemes
• Drive Time - a salary sacrifice car lease scheme
• Family friendly policies with enhanced leave
• Discounted Gym Memberships
• Employee Volunteering Scheme
• Medicash

Next steps:

Closing date: midnight on Monday 5 October 2026

Shortlisting date: W/C Monday 5 October 2026

Interview date: W/C 12 October 2026

Interview type: face-to-face

Liverpool City Council is committed to fostering a workforce representative of the communities we serve. As an Equal Opportunities Employer, we believe in appointing candidates based on their skills, experience, qualifications and abilities. To support this commitment, we guarantee an interview to candidates from under-represented groups who meet the minimum essential criteria for the role.

Eligibility to work in the UK will be verified in the final stages of the selection process. All candidates must either already have a right to work in the UK before commencing employment or meet the Home Office criteria for Visa sponsorship. Candidates who require sponsorship should evaluate the Home Office eligibility criteria for a Skilled