RQ1721678 – Interim Head of SEND Improvements

Job Details

This period closes on Thursday April 30 2026 at 10:00.

About the role:

Slough Borough Council is committed to improving outcomes for children and young people in our local area with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). To achieve our ambition for delivering positive change, it is essential that improvement activity and accountability is shared across this complex partnership and that our key priorities for improvement are delivered at pace with evidence impact on the outcomes and experiences of children, young people and families with SEND. We are seeking an experienced and dynamic Interim Head of SEND Improvements (Strategic Programme Manager) to provide additional senior leadership capacity and strategic programme oversight.

The role will focus on the implementation of the Priority Improvement Action Plan, driving strategic transformation of SEND services and rapid operational change, strengthening partnership working and ensuring cost-effective service delivery. Priorities for Interim Head of SEND Improvements(Strategic Programme Manager): • To translate multiple improvement plans with interdependencies and enabler workstreams around data, ICT, and co-production, into a coherent crosscutting strategic action and resource plan.

o The resulting plan must bridge the gap between “as-is” baseline outcomes and capabilities and the “to-be” goals through realistic, evidence-based resource allocation. o Ensure that interdependent and disparate activities are aligned, prioritised, and resourced against a single source of truth, with clearly defined accountability that show the cause-and-effect relationship between actions and outcomes. • To accelerate data cleansing and dashboard creation to enable a shared, accurate understanding of the exact provision for SEND, and of its quality, so that decision makers can target coherent activity where it is needed most. • Review the governance and quality assurance arrangements in place, to ensure stakeholders have effective oversight of the programme, service performance and delivery and understand the regulatory standards.

• Create a coherent narrative for decision makers, addressing risks proactively including a mitigation strategy for each key risk, showing that bottlenecks have been anticipated. • Proactively engage with parent-carer forums and stakeholders to co-produce services and rebuild trust. • To engage with the commissioners regularly, in the exercise of any of the above functions and any action that the commissioners may reasonably require to avoid so far as practicable the risk of failures to comply with the Children and Families Act 2014, and best value duty.

Experience required:

The right candidate for this role will have:

• A track record of achievement at a senior leadership level.

• Good understanding of SEND policy, legislation, the challenges faced by children and young people with SEND and their families and experience in addressing inspection outcomes.

• Proven success in managing large-scale, complex transformation programmes, ideally within the SEND, education, or health sectors.

• A strategic mindset with the ability to balance the broader vision with day-to-day project delivery.

• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects and work to tight deadlines, remain calm and focused on delivering results.

• Excellent problem-solving and decision-making abilities.

• Excellent skills in facilitating change, promoting new ways of working, and driving culture shifts.

• Financial acumen and understanding of high-needs funding, commissioning practices and complex needs led budgets.

• Stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to build relationships across a range of partners and engage effectively with senior leaders, parents, and carers.