Autism Outreach Service Practitioner
East Midlands Shared Services · Leicestershire, United Kingdom · hybrid
Organisation: Leicestershire County Council
Work Location: County Hall, Glenfield, Leicester LE3 8RA
Salary: £29,550 to £32,055 Per annum (pro-rata for part-time)
Working Hours: 3x 37 hours a week and 1 x 22.2 (both Term time only)
Contract Type: Permanent
Closing Date: 22nd November 2026
Interview Date(s): W/C 1st December 2026
An exciting opportunity has arisen for highly skilled and experienced specialist SEND practitioners to join Leicestershire’s Specialist Teaching Service. These posts within the expanding Learning, Communication and Autism Team will play a central role in supporting the delivery of SEND reforms and the Experts at Hand programme, helping schools build capacity and improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND across the 5-19 age range.
We are looking for experienced Teaching Assistants with strong expertise in communication and interaction and / or cognition and learning with a secure understanding of how these may interact with other areas of SEND, including SEMH and sensory needs.
About the Role
The Learning, Communication and Autism Team is well-regarded and welcoming, consisting of specialist teachers and practitioners with a wealth of knowledge and experience and a passion for inclusion. We are committed to understanding autism and other forms of neurodiversity as difference rather than deficit and, as part of the Specialist Teaching Service, aim to improve opportunities, outcomes and experiences for children and young people with SEND in partnership with families, educational settings and organisations.
Successful applicants will use their specialist knowledge, skills and experience to support the learning, communication and autistic strengths and differences of children and young people across the 5–19 age range. Working within an evolving Experts at Hand model, you will support schools and post-16 settings to strengthen inclusive practice and improve outcomes for learners with SEND.
At a whole-school and targeted level, you will work alongside specialist teachers to collaborate with leaders, SENCos and staff teams to develop inclusive practice, implement evidence-informed teaching and learning approaches, and build capacity to meet a diverse range of learning, communication and autistic profiles. You will support consultation, advice, training and professional development that supports both strategic improvement and effective provision for groups of learners requiring additional support, including supporting settings to implement, monitor and evaluate evidence-informed interventions and approaches.
At an individual level, you will have casework responsibility under the supervision and support of a specialist teacher, which will focus on enabling schools to implement a range of teaching and learning strategies to support the progress and inclusion of pupils with special educational needs. You will provide support for educational settings through coaching, modelling of good practice, sharing knowledge, approaches, and resources as well as contributing to the APDR cycle of support.
The role requires collaborative working with schools, families, Educational Psychologists, health professionals and a wide range of other agencies. We therefore welcome applications from highly motivated, creative practitioners who enjoy working in a collaborative, solution-focused way and are confident in supporting schools to develop effective provision for learners with SEND.
The role also involves maintaining accurate records, contributing to service development, engaging in ongoing professional development and developing resources that promote curriculum access for learners with a range of communication and interaction needs.
An enhanced with barred list DBS check is required for this post.
For information on our approach to the recruitment of ex-offenders, please see our policy statement.
About You
To apply for this post, you must:
- NVQ 3 level qualification or equivalent in a study related to the role and a willingness to undertake further qualifications and training as necessary.
- Significant experience of working with children, young people and families within the context of educational settings. Experience and understanding of meeting the needs of children and young people with SEND and their families and inter-agency working experience.
- Good interpersonal skills, with the ability to relate positively to children, young people, parents and other professionals and establish effective working relationships with colleagues, educational settings and partner agencies.
- Knowledge of basic awareness of child development, teaching and learning.
- Knowledge of Information Management and Data Protection legislation, understanding of the responsibilities held by staff for safeguarding children and young people, and the SEND code of practice.
- Excellent interpersonal skills and able to relate positively and establish effective working relationships with families, colleagues and other professionals.
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Ability to engage colleagues, pupils and school staff in participative processes and a commitment to challenge practice in order to enhance the quality of provision for children and young people with SEND.
This will include requirements to work flexibly around holiday periods in line with the service requirements and access to a vehicle with the ability to travel to temporary bases such as schools, touch-down bases etc.
in addition, we also expect you to share our commitment to our values and to delivering accessible and inclusive services which meet the needs of all of our residents. You will be asked to demonstrate your understanding of these commitments as part of the selection process.
Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a disability. We are a Disability Confident Employer.
Interested in Flexible Working?
We are open to discussions about flexible working, which may include part time working, job sharing, term-time working, flexible start and finish times, and hybrid working, depending on the requirements of the role and the service. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below.
For more information or an informal discussion, please contact:
Angela Shipley, Autism Outreach Team Manager
Telephone: 0116 305 0673
Email: angela.shipley@leics.gov.uk
Or
Simon Wilson, Lead Practitioner
Telephone: 0116 305 4241
Email: Simon.Wilson@leics.gov.uk
How to Apply
At Leicestershire County Council we’re looking for top talent from all walks of life. Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, and whatever your background - we care about what you bring to our organisation, not just what’s on your CV. That’s why we’ve designed a recruitment process that’s fair, accessible, and focused on potential. And with benefits that support people at every age and stage of life, we make sure you can thrive - both personally and professionally.
If you share our passion to make a difference for the people of Leicestershire, we’d love to hear from you. Click the apply button to submit your application, ensuring that you upload a supporting statement that explains how you meet the criteria listed in the ‘About You’ section above. Without this information, we won’t be able to assess your suitability for the role, and your application will be rejected. For tips on how to write your statement, see the How to Apply section on our career site.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.
If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post or you want to request an application pack in an alternative format, please contact our Employee Service Centre by telephoning 0300 3030222 (select option 2) or raising a ticket via our onl