Priority Candidates will be considered in the first instance

Wigan Life Centre South/Hybrid Working

Salary: Grade 6, £29,540 - £32,597 per annum.

37 hours per week

We're on a journey to build a workforce reflective of our Borough.

We are committed to fostering diverse teams where everybody can bring their authentic selves to work and feel that they belong. If you want to work for a Council where everybody is encouraged to meet their full potential and make a difference in our neighbourhoods, we would love to hear from you!

Your role:

As the SEND Relationship Officer, you will play a key role in developing and maintaining positive, collaborative relationships with families, educational settings, and partner agencies involved in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision in Wigan. Your focus will be on fostering trust, ensuring clear and empathetic communication, and supporting families through processes that are fair, transparent, and accessible.

You will act as a key point of contact for parents and carers, helping to navigate concerns and resolve issues in a way that promotes partnership and confidence in SEND services. Central to this role is ensuring that the complaints process is understandable and inclusive, while working proactively to prevent escalation through early engagement and constructive dialogue.

About you:

You will need strong communication skills to engage sensitively and professionally with parents, carers, young people, schools, and partner agencies.

You will be able to analyse complex information, including Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), professional reports, and correspondence, to reach fair, evidence-based conclusions. A clear understanding of SEND legislation, statutory timescales, and local authority duties is essential.

You will need empathy, resilience, and confidence when handling emotionally challenging complaints, while remaining impartial and objective. Strong organisation, attention to detail, and the ability to meet statutory and Ombudsman deadlines are critical to delivering effective, lawful complaint resolution.

About us:

Wigan Council has been voted ‘Overall Council of the Year’ at the APSE (Association for Public Service Excellence) Awards. We are signed up to the Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment ensuring that your service will be continuous or 'unbroken' between the supporting organisations.

The Progress with Unity plan is a place movement for change for the next decade, bringing a new era for Wigan Borough. It draws on the strengths of our individual organisations, recognising that together we can achieve much more for our communities by delivering on our 2 place missions; create fair opportunities for all children, families, residents and businesses and make our towns and neighbourhoods flourish for those who live and work in them.

At Wigan, we are always striving to improve what we do, and pivotal to this are our amazing staff. It’s a really exciting time to be a part of Team Wigan in the education service and contribute to the transformation of our services and outcomes for children and families. Our culture supports staff to flourish, be skilled and motivated to make a positive impact on children’s lives. We want our staff to be happy, healthy and confident in helping our children and families to fulfil their aspirations

The SEND team has an obligation to meet the statutory guidelines of the Special Educational Needs (SEN&D) Code of Practice. Our main responsibly is to focus on supporting families through the Education, Health and Care (EHC) process, writing EHC plans and attending review meetings with families. We work closely with a range of key partners and stakeholders’ professionals, which results in effective multiagency working. We provide support to families, schools and colleges and other educational settings to ensure children and young people are educated appropriately in the right setting to meet their needs. We will provide you with a supportive working environment and give you the opportunity to learn and develop further within the organisation.

Here at Wigan, we are proud to support flexible working patterns, when the service can accommodate this. We also take a blended approach to where we work, depending on the work we do. This may include working from home, the office, or the community. We like to thank our employees for their hard work and commitment by giving them the opportunity to access a range of exclusive rewards and benefits click here to find out more about working for #TeamWigan.

To be appointed to this role you must be able to prove your right to work in the UK. Please visit the link below to check you qualify to apply. Please note, at present we are not a licenced sponsor. Prove your right to work to an employer: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Prove your right to work to an employer

For an informal discussion about this role, please contact Matt Lowe (SEND Team Manager) on 01942 486136 or matthew.lowe@wigan.gov.uk

Interview date: Tuesday 26th May 2026

To view the details relating to this position, please click the links below: