London Borough of Hillingdon
Best Start Inclusion Practitioner
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About the Role
This is an exciting opportunity to join Hillingdon's Family Hubs and Children’s Centres at a time of continued investment in our Best Start in Life programme. We are looking for a skilled and enthusiastic Best Start Inclusion Practitioner to help shape and deliver high-quality support for children aged 0-5 with additional needs and disabilities and their families.
Working within a Family Hub and local community settings, you will provide specialist advice, targeted interventions and coordinated support that helps children achieve their full potential. You will work alongside parents, early years providers, schools, health services and partner agencies to promote inclusion, strengthen early identification and ensure families receive the support they need, when they need it.
If you are passionate about inclusion, early intervention and improving outcomes for children and families, we would love to hear from you.
You Will
- Provide specialist advice, support and interventions to families of children with SEND to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities.
- Support families to understand their child’s needs and navigate education, health and care systems.
- Promote inclusive access to Family Hub services, ensuring children with additional needs can participate in universal provision.
- Deliver targeted interventions and support packages for children with emerging or identified SEND.
- Lead on early identification of developmental needs through screening, observation and partnership working.
- Promote and help embed the graduated approach (Assess-Plan-Do-Review) within early years and Family Hub delivery.
- Work closely with Health Visiting (0–19), midwifery, early years settings and schools to coordinate care and support pathways.
- Facilitate smooth transitions into early years and primary education, particularly for children with SEND.
- Participate in multi-disciplinary team meetings and provide consultancy and “expert at hand” advice to practitioners.
- Provide specialist guidance and informal support to Family Hub staff and early years practitioners on SEND inclusion.
- Contribute to workforce development through coaching, modelling best practice and delivering training.
- Maintain accurate family case records and ensure compliance with statutory guidance and local procedures.
- Monitor outcomes for children and families, identify gaps in provision and contribute to service improvement.
- Support the embedding of SEND inclusion within universal and targeted services and promote integrated pathways across Family Hubs, Integrated Neighbourhood Teams and child health services.
- Strengthen parent/carer confidence and resilience through co-production and person-centred approaches.
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At least 75% of working time will be spent delivering direct family-facing support within the named Family Hub, its network sites or through home visits.
About You
You will have:
- Experience of working with children and families, particularly within early years, SEND or family support.
- Strong knowledge and understanding of SEND inclusion and early identification.
- The ability to provide specialist advice and support to families and professionals.
- Experience of partnership working across early years, health, education and wider services.
- Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
- The ability to work collaboratively with families and professionals using co-production and person-centred approaches.
- The ability to identify gaps in provision, monitor outcomes and contribute to service improvement.
- A commitment to safeguarding, equality, inclusion and improving outcomes for children and families.
About Us
We value our employees and are committed to ensuring that they enjoy a fulfilling and rewarding career with us. We understand that a happy and motivated workforce is essential for the success of our organisation. That is why we offer a wide range of employee benefits to enhance your work-life balance, financial wellbeing, health, and professional development.
Here’s a comprehensive overview of the fantastic benefits we provide:
- Flexible Working Hours – We recognise the importance of flexibility in managing your work and personal life.
- 36 Hour Week – Enjoy a standard 36-hour workweek for all full time staff.
- Generous Holiday Entitlement – increasing with length of service (for non-casual roles).
- Hillingdon Sports & Leisure – Stay active and healthy with discounts at council owned leisure centres and swimming pools across the borough.
- Salary Sacrifice Schemes – option to join schemes for cycle purchase, electric vehicle leasing and additional voluntary pension contributions (subject to scheme rules).
- Cycle to Work – Eco-friendly commuting with our cycle purchase scheme. We also provide bicycle parking, lockers, and showers at the Civic Centre.
- Local Government Pension Scheme – access to Local Government Pension Scheme and membership to the Credit Union.
- Perkbox Benefits – Access a variety of offers and discounts through our Perkbox Benefits.
- Mental Health Support and Counselling Services – Our mental health first aiders are trained to identify, understand, and help employees experiencing mental health issues. Access free 24-hour confidential advice and counselling as well as a legal advice service for you and your immediate family.
- Travel Support – Make your daily commute easier with our season ticket loans and free car parking.
- Trade Union Membership – The Council recognises UNISON, Unite, AEP and GMB and supports employees’ freedom of choice in relation to trade union membership.
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Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Statement
At the London Borough of Hillingdon, we are committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace. This commitment means that all employees, job applicants and others who work for us will be treated fairly.
The aim is for our workforce to be representative of all sections of society and Hillingdon residents so we welcome applicants from a wide variety of backgrounds. We strive to ensure that our recruitment process is free from discrimination and bias, and we are dedicated to providing reasonable adjustments to applicants with disabilities.
Join us in building a workplace where everyone feels respected, able to give their best and be themselves at work, whilst contributing meaningfully to our organisation's success.
Recruitment Information
Hillingdon Council operates a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates with disabilities that meet the essential criteria for the role and wish to be considered under this scheme. We believe in the option to choose, so candidates declaring a disability have the choice to opt in for consideration under this scheme, on a ‘per application’ basis.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable groups and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
Some posts are subject to The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2019 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
In addition to verifying Right to Work in the UK and a new starter health questionnaire, the post is subject to the following pre-employment screening:
- Enhanced DBS Check
- Qualifications Check
- 5 years of Referencing
Please note: Priority will be given to those at risk of redundancy within Hillingdon Council. Current employees who are part of the redeployment pool must meet the essential criteria for shortlisting to be prioritised.
It may be necessary due to a high volume of applications to close this role early. We therefore recommend you apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
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