Job Description

Barnardo's Portsmouth SENDIASS is seeking to appoint a Parent and Carer Support and Advocacy Worker who is passionate about improving outcomes for children and young people with a special educational need or disability (SEND). We are looking for someone who can enable children, young people and their families to participate fully in decisions about the outcomes that they wish to achieve.



Is this you?



This role requires a high level of competence, you must be able to work both individually and in a team and have experience in managing a fast paced work environment and deliver good quality statutory information, advice, support and representation.



You will have an up-to-date knowledge and understanding of SEND and its statutory procedures, including matters related to health and social care. You will be familiar with relevant legislation including the SEND Code of Practice 2015, the Equality Act 2010 and familiar with the IAS national standards.



You will understand the local offer within Portsmouth and have the ability to work face-to-face across the city to meet with parents and carers, and attend relevant meetings and activities. You will also be confident to provide support and information to parents and carers via telephone, email and Microsoft Teams.



Please see the additional information sheet for further details

Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date. We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible.

Pay & Reward FrameworkWe know that our colleagues go above and beyond in delivering our vital work, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's values. We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people.


For all these reasons, we are committed to a new approach to pay and reward, to ensure it is fair, attractive and progressive, which was rolled out in April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a part of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to belong, thrive and grow in their colleague journey at Barnardo's and in time will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues in both their career and their pay.


Whilst the full pay band and salary range is advertised, our approach to starting salaries is to appoint between the minimum to mid-point of the pay band - this ensures that pay steps are available to reward our colleagues annually based on their contribution to excellence and alignment to our values and behaviours. More details on Barnardo's pay framework can be found upon application.



Benefits

Workplace Offer: What it means for you

Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, in the community, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or depending on the role any combination of these. Please read through the advert carefully to understand the remits of hybrid working that will be specific to the role.


Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to offering flexible working arrangements. Annual Leave entitlement for full-time colleagues is 26 days per annum, increasing to 27 days per annum, after 3 years Barnardo's service, 29 days per annum, after 5 years Barnardo's service and 30 days per annum, after 7 years Barnardo's service. Those working less than full time are entitled to the same level of holiday pro rata The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our HolidayPlus scheme A host of family friendly leave options including company Maternity Paternity and Adoption pay; together with all family additional leave options Service related sick pay from day 1 Access to a Group Personal Pension with a matched 4% or 6% contribution from Barnardo's. Ability to pay via salary sacrifice to garner both tax and NI savings on your own contribution Death in service cover of 4x annual earnings for all staff contributing to our Group Personal Pension Cycle2work scheme Interest free season ticket loans Discounts and cashback from at high street shops including major supermarkets, cinemas, gyms, leisure/theme parks, holidays and much more via our Benefit Portal 20% discount at Barnardo's stores Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support Access to Barnardo's Learning and Development offer

T&C's apply based on contract

About Barnardo's


We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.

Our basis and values

Reference number: 21815
Job Title: Parent/Carer Advocacy and Support Worker (Portsmouth SENDIASS)
Location: Workplace offer: Hybrid working, Barnardo's hub/office or home address
Contract type: Permanent
Hours: 18
Salary: 25,492.00 - 27,023.00 (FTE) 10,245.00 - 10,860.00 (term time)
Closing Date: 12 October 2025
Interview Date: TBC

Benefits

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Discounts at 100's of retailers
Employee suggestion scheme
Company pension
Employee Assistance Programme