About Us

Do you have a passion for working with Early Years children with Special Needs?
Would you like to make a difference to children’s early learning through working with parents?
Would you like to work independently as well as being part of a dedicated specialist team?
If yes, we have the perfect role for you!

We are hiring for a fixed term contract for maternity cover within our Portage Inclusion Team. As this is a short-term role, this could be an opportunity for somebody with great SEND experience who would like to gain a deeper understanding of Portage and be able to use the principles learnt going forward. Therefore, a secondment opportunity would be considered.

What does the Portage Team do?

Portage is a home visiting service for preschool children with Special Needs. We support parents and carers in their homes to help their children learn by breaking learning into small steps, through individually tailored fun play activities. We work with children aged 0-3½ providing practical, relevant and holistic support for families through what can be both a challenging and rewarding journey from the early days until the child starts nursery.

You will be working within the Early Years Inclusion Service as part of a skilled, friendly and supportive team. You will meet regularly for supervision and work closely with a wide range of partners in health, education, social care and voluntary services, both in the home and in the community in Wandsworth. 

The role will involve:

• Developing and promoting the Portage model in Wandsworth.
• Delivering the Portage model of support to children and their families in Wandsworth.
• Working closely with Children’s Services, Early Years providers and parents to support children with complex needs to make small steps of progress leading to the identification, admission and inclusion in a local nursery setting.

We are looking for individuals with the following skills / experience:

• Knowledge of the National Portage Association Principles and models related to Service delivery.
• Substantial experience of working with Early Years children with complex SEND and a wide professional understanding of the ‘plan, do and review’ graduated response to improve outcomes.
• Experience of working closely with parents / carers. 

For more information, please see the job profile attached at the bottom of the advert.

For an informal discussion or more details, please Vicki Hall, Senior Portage Inclusion Advisor on 020 8871 7129 victoria.hall@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk or Monika Hammel-Lobo Lead Inclusion Advisor, 020 8871 5690 or monika.hammel-lobo@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk 

All internal applicants for this secondment must seek permission from their current line manager before applying. Failure to do so may result in the secondment not being authorised.

The Shared Staffing Arrangement aims to be at the forefront of innovation in local government and the organisation will invest in your development and ensure the opportunities for progression that only a large organisation can provide.

At Richmond and Wandsworth Councils, we care more about how you work and what you achieve, rather than where you work on any given day. The difference you can make to our local communities is what really matters most to us, service delivery must always come first. We have carefully considered agile ways of working to provide the best experience for residents, stakeholders and our staff. Our agile working strategy actively supports and encourages a dynamic work environment and daily working experience. Agile working helps put the needs of our staff at the centre of everything we do, so if specific flexible working arrangements helps you with this, feel free to let us know. 

Your wellbeing and the flexible way in which you can work is and will remain a key priority for Richmond and Wandsworth Councils. We want you to thrive and feel empowered in your work!

We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working including, working from home and other arrangements. Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if these are options you’d like to explore. We also offer a generous holiday allowance of 40 paid days (pro rata) including bank holidays and a wide range of learning and development opportunities. 

In addition, we offer a comprehensive range of staff benefits such as membership of the Local Government pension scheme, childcare vouchers, new technology scheme, interest-free loans on annual travel cards, discounts with many leisure activities, restaurants, shops and other establishments.

Indicative Recruitment Timeline

Closing Date: 11:59pm on Monday 21st August 2023 

Shortlisting Date: Tuesday 22nd August 2023

Interview Date: Wednesday 30th August 2023 

Useful Information:

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. We strongly advise you to complete your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Please note that the advertised dates for interviews may change due to the current Covid-19 situation. If they do, we will let you know as soon as possible.

We particularly welcome applications from sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our teams, including males, BAME and candidates with disabilities.

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

Important Information:

This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. It replaces the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils