SEND Family Liaison & Tribunal Lead

Economy, Skills and Neighbourhoods

Education and Early Years / SEND Team

SEND Family Liaison & Tribunal Lead

Ref: 001683

Contract Type: Permanent

Salary: £42840 - £47181

Hours: 36.66 per week

Location: Oldham Council Spindles Offices/ Hybrid working

Closing Date: Friday 28th August 2026

Interview Date: TBC

Role Overview

Are you passionate about improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND? Are you motivated by working with families, schools and partners to resolve concerns and ensure children receive the right support at the right time?

If so, Oldham Council is looking for an experienced and committed professional to join our SEND Team as SEND Family Liaison & Tribunal Lead.

This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in supporting children, young people and families, managing complex casework and coordinating the Local Authority's arrangements for SEND mediation, disagreement resolution and tribunal activity. The successful candidate will work closely with children, young people, parents, carers, schools and partner agencies to support effective communication, strengthen relationships and help resolve concerns at the earliest opportunity.

We have high aspirations to achieve the very best outcomes for children and young people and are committed to delivering a responsive, person-centred SEND service. We are looking for someone who shares our values and determination to make a positive difference.

Key Responsibilities

• To manage a complex caseload of children and young people with SEND, including those undergoing an EHC Needs Assessment or who have an Education, Health and Care Plan.
• To work collaboratively with children, young people, parents, carers, schools and partner agencies to support positive outcomes and resolve concerns at the earliest opportunity.
• To coordinate the Local Authority's arrangements for disagreement resolution, mediation and SEND Tribunal activity, ensuring a timely, consistent and high-quality approach to case management and family engagement.
• To coordinate the preparation of documentation and supporting evidence for mediation and tribunal cases, ensuring statutory and tribunal deadlines are met.
• To liaise with families, schools, educational settings, professionals, legal representatives and other stakeholders in relation to mediation and tribunal activity.
• To attend mediation meetings and SEND Tribunal hearings and represent the Local Authority where appropriate.
• To maintain oversight of live mediation and tribunal cases and provide updates and information relating to case progress and outcomes.
• To identify themes and learning arising from complaints, mediation and tribunal activity and contribute to service improvement and quality assurance activity.
• To develop and maintain effective relationships with families, schools, educational settings, health partners, social care and other stakeholders.
• To ensure children, young people and their parents or carers are central to decision-making and that their views are captured and reflected appropriately.
• To establish and coordinate engagement opportunities with children, young people and families, ensuring feedback and lived experience inform service development and improvement.
• To work in partnership with schools, support services, health and social care professionals to gather and evaluate information relating to provision and support.
• To prepare reports, provide data, undertake quality assurance activity and contribute to service developments.
• To undertake any other duties commensurate with the level and responsibility of the role.

Key Requirements

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

• Good knowledge and experience of SEND legislation, the Children and Families Act 2014, the SEND Code of Practice, mediation and SEND Tribunal processes.
• Excellent communication, negotiation and relationship management skills, with the ability to work effectively with families, schools, legal representatives and partner agencies.
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage complex cases, competing priorities and statutory deadlines whilst maintaining a high standard of work.

For an informal discussion regarding this role please contact: alison.ekins@oldham.gov.uk. Please do not send CV's.

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

You can find out more about our values and behaviours on our greater.jobs Oldham page

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