Parent Advisor - SEND Helpline

Job Description

Job Title: Parent Adviser – SEND

Responsible To: Senior Parent Adviser - SEND

Team Membership: Helpline/IAS- (Information, Advice and Family Support Directorate)

Hours: 28 hours a week (4 days)

Salary:

Scale 26

£ 36,242.00 - FTE

£ 28,993.60 – actual salary including inner London weighting

Contract:

Fixed term  – until 31 March 2027

Location:

Central London – Office N1 7EU.

(Hybrid working, 1 day working in office). Another working day in the office, will be needed during the induction and training period.

Job Purpose:

The post’s primary focus is to provide specialist education advice primarily by telephone and email, to parent carers with disabled children in the UK. The post holder will be working on the Contact national helpline service. Service hours are Monday to Friday 9.30am to 5pm.

Main Duties:

To respond professionally and with empathy to incoming calls, emails, web form and social media enquiries on SEND and related education issues.

To deal effectively with enquiries by offering specialist education advice, information and relevant signposting.

To provide, information and signposting on the wider concerns of families with disabled children including health and social care.

To build positive working relationships with colleagues, contributing to a culture of mutual respect, trust, and shared responsibility.

To work collaboratively as part of a team, sharing and supporting colleagues to deliver a reliable and responsive helpline service.

To respect diverse experiences and perspectives within the team and contribute constructively to problem‑solving and decision‑making.

To enter accurate enquiry data on the Contact database in a timely manner ensuring appropriate follow up actions to calls and accurate written notes.

To keep up to date on law and guidance relevant to education in England and to be aware of education law relating to Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

To communicate, be flexible and responsive, with team members, to ensure coverage of the helpline rota.

To ensure the helpline operates in accordance with confidentiality, safeguarding, privacy and data-protection policies and procedures.

To provide a high-quality service, with commitment to ongoing service development, improvement and good practice.

 General duties

In common with all Contact staff, the post holder will be expected to work in accordance with the aims of Contact and to observe the policy and procedures set out by the directors of the charity.

The post holder will be expected to assist with any reasonable duty at the request of the line manager for the post.

Staff will be expected to attend and participate in Contact staff meetings and the staff annual conference.

Staff will be expected to attend training events relevant to their specific responsibilities.

Staff will be offered supervision, support and annual appraisal incorporating their training needs.