SEND Quality Assurance Lead - SEND Team

Reading Borough Council; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 52,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous holiday entitlement

Flexible working opportunities

LGPS (Local Government Pension Scheme)

Life Assurance

On-site day nursery

Season Ticket Loan

Lease car salary sacrifice scheme

Job summary

Reading Borough Council is seeking an experienced SEND Quality Assurance Lead to strengthen the quality, consistency and impact of our SEND services in Reading.

You will lead audits, embed our QA framework, and work with education, health and social care partners to improve outcomes for children and families, supporting inspection readiness and ensuring voices of service users inform improvement.

Qualifications

• Degree-level qualification or equivalent professional experience in education, SEND, quality assurance, social care, health or a related field.
• Strong working knowledge of SEND legislation, the SEND Code of Practice, EHCP processes and statutory review requirements.
• Experience of auditing, reviewing or quality assuring EHCPs, annual reviews or other statutory SEND processes.
• The ability to analyse complex information, identify themes and risks, and translate findings into practical recommendations.
• Experience of contributing to inspection preparation, self-evaluation, assurance reporting or service improvement.
• Strong report-writing skills, with the ability to present evidence, progress and impact clearly to a range of audiences.

Responsibilities

• Leading audits, dip samples, thematic reviews and moderation of EHCPs, annual reviews and statutory SEND processes.
• Developing and embedding our SEND Quality Assurance Framework, ensuring findings translate into meaningful learning and improvement.
• Supporting inspection readiness, coordinating evidence and developing position statements, impact reports and self-evaluation materials.
• Working with SEND leaders, practitioners and multi-agency partners to identify areas for improvement and monitor the impact of change.
• Strengthening the involvement of children, young people and families in shaping service development, including working with Reading Families Forum and Reading IASS.
• Ensuring lived experience and community feedback inform our improvement priorities, particularly for families who may be less likely to engage through traditional consultation.
• Evaluating the impact of key SEND projects and initiatives, including Experts at Hand, RISE and SEND Transport transformation.
• Using data, audit findings and feedback to identify inequalities, improve practice and demonstrate better outcomes.
• Supporting the development of a children and young people's participation strategy, ensuring their voices influence decisions and service design.
• Providing effective line management, supervision and development to Case Officers and/or Assistant Case Officers.

Skills

Quality assurance

Auditing

EHCPs

Data analysis

Report writing

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Degree-level qualification in education / SEND / quality assurance / health or related field

Job description

SEND Quality Assurance Lead - SEND Team

Company: Reading Borough Council Salary: £51,928 to £55,224 a year Hours: Full-time Location: Reading, RG1 2LU Working pattern: On-site Job type: Permanent Posting date: 9 Nov 2026 Closing date: 18 Nov 2026

We are looking for an experienced and motivated SEND Quality Assurance Lead to play a key role in strengthening the quality, consistency and impact of our SEND services.

Are you passionate about improving outcomes for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)? Do you have the experience, insight and drive to ensure services are delivering high-quality, consistent and legally compliant support, with the voices of children, young people and families at the heart of everything we do?

This is an exciting opportunity to shape how we understand, measure and improve the quality of our services, ensuring that our ambitions translate into meaningful improvements in the experiences and outcomes of children, young people and their families.

We seek the best talent from the widest pool of people as diversity and inclusion is the key to our success. Reading Borough Council is a Disability Confident Employer and is committed to the recruitment and continued employment of people with disabilities.

We support hybrid working, it’s important to us that working arrangements are designed to enable our employees to excel and within this role you’ll have the opportunity to work in a way that suits your lifestyle.

About The Role:

Reporting to a SEND Team Manager, you will lead and coordinate quality assurance activity across our SEND service, with a particular focus on Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), annual reviews, statutory processes and decision-making.

You will play a central role in developing and embedding our SEND Quality Assurance Framework, using audits, data, feedback and lived experience to identify strengths, address areas for development and drive continuous improvement.

You will also make an important contribution to our preparation for Ofsted and CQC Area SEND inspections, ensuring we have a clear, evidence-led understanding of our progress, impact and priorities.

Working collaboratively across education, health and social care, you will help ensure that quality assurance is not simply about compliance, but about making a tangible difference to the lives of children and families.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Leading audits, dip samples, thematic reviews and moderation of EHCPs, annual reviews and statutory SEND processes.
• Developing and embedding our SEND Quality Assurance Framework, ensuring findings translate into meaningful learning and improvement.
• Supporting inspection readiness, coordinating evidence and developing position statements, impact reports and self-evaluation materials.
• Working with SEND leaders, practitioners and multi-agency partners to identify areas for improvement and monitor the impact of change.
• Strengthening the involvement of children, young people and families in shaping service development, including working with Reading Families Forum and Reading IASS.
• Ensuring lived experience and community feedback inform our improvement priorities, particularly for families who may be less likely to engage through traditional consultation.
• Evaluating the impact of key SEND projects and initiatives, including Experts at Hand, RISE and SEND Transport transformation.
• Using data, audit findings and feedback to identify inequalities, improve practice and demonstrate better outcomes.
• Supporting the development of a children and young people's participation strategy, ensuring their voices influence decisions and service design.
• Providing effective line management, supervision and development to Case Officers and/or Assistant Case Officers.

About You:

You will be an experienced SEND professional with a strong understanding of SEND legislation, statutory processes and the importance of effective quality assurance in driving service improvement.

You will have:

• A degree-level qualification or equivalent professional experience in education, SEND, quality assurance, social care, health or a related field.
• Strong working knowledge of SEND legislation, the SEND Code of Practice, EHCP processes and statutory review requirements.
• Experience of auditing, reviewing or quality assuring EHCPs, annual reviews or other statutory SEND processes.
• The ability to analyse complex information, identify themes and risks, and translate findings into practical recommendations.
• Experience of contributing to inspection preparation, self-evaluation, assurance reporting or service improvement.
• Strong report-writing skills, with the ability to present evidence, progress and impact clearly to a range of audiences.
• Experience of working collaboratively across education, health and social care, building relationships and influencing colleagues across organisational boundaries.
• The ability to engage meaningfully with children, young people, parents and carers, ensuring their experiences shape service development.
• Experience of supporting, supervising or managing staff and promoting high standards of practice.
• Above all, you will be curious, analytical and improvement-focused, with the confidence to constructively challenge practice, influence change and bring people together around a shared ambition for children and young people.

You will understand that effective quality assurance is about more than measuring performance: it is about understanding people's experiences, identifying what needs to change and ensuring that improvement makes a real difference.

Essential requirements

You’ll be part of a team that relies on each individual to play their part to the best of their ability. As well as the colleagues that you work closely with every day, you’ll also be part of Team Reading, playing your personal part in making Reading a successful and vibrant place. Our vision is to ensure that Reading realises its potential as a great place to live, work and play, and that everyone shares the benefits of this success. Our values and behaviours guide how we will achieve this: Work Together as one team – work collaboratively, with each other and with our partners, and demonstrate the Team Reading values in everything we do. Drive Efficiency – show initiative, be adaptable to change and put forward ideas to help improve delivery and efficiency. Take responsibility for our own learning and development and for reaching our potential. Be Ambitious – be demanding of our own performance – striving to be even better – and be prepared to engage with and challenge leaders in a constructive and positive way. Make a Difference to Reading – maintain the highest levels of customer service and be flexible and willing to provide the services needed at the time they are needed.

Our offer:

We offer a supportive environment to grow and develop your career with the opportunity to put your ideas across. Innovation and ambition are strongly encouraged, and you’ll get a great feel for that working in our friendly and collaborative environment.

• A competitive salary alongside a range of benefits including:
• Generous holiday entitlement - 25 days holiday each year plus bank holidays - rising to 30 days after 5 years and 33 days after 10 years' service, with the option to buy additional leave
• A wide range of flexible working opportunities
• Modern working environment at the Civic Offices in the heart of Reading
• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• Life Assurance - three times your annual salary (for members of the LGPS)
• On-site day nursery (Kennet Day nursery) rated outstanding by Ofsted
• Season Ticket Loan - a loan to help with the cost of your rail or bus journey, to and from work
• Lease car salary sacrifice scheme allowing you to lease a brand new, greener car for three years. The monthly fee includes insurance, servicing and road tax

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme