This is an exciting opportunity to join our expanding team of Specialist Teachers. We are recruiting to support the delivery of the Dorset Expertise Offer as part of the SEND reforms and wider inclusion priorities across the county.
We are seeking an experienced and enthusiastic Specialist Teacher with expertise in Communication and Interaction to join Dorset Council’s Learning and Belonging Service and champion inclusion for children and young people with communication and interaction needs.
The postholder will join our established and well-regarded team of specialist teachers, working collaboratively to deliver high-quality services across Dorset. You will play a key role in bringing specialist expertise directly into mainstream education settings, supporting children and young people earlier and helping schools build confidence, capacity and inclusive practice.
The role will work closely with Dorset’s Expertise Offer (Experts at Hand) as part of Dorset’s SEND Reforms, which brings together specialist teachers, educational psychologists, speech and language therapists, and occupational therapists to support children, families and settings. In addition, the postholder will contribute to a broader range of inclusion priorities, including supporting the development and effectiveness of Dorset's inclusion bases and strengthening inclusive practice across the education system.
About the Role:
Join a welcoming, supportive and ambitious team that is committed to improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND. We offer a nurturing environment where your expertise will be valued, your professional development encouraged, and your ideas welcomed. Working alongside specialist colleagues from across education and health, you will have the opportunity to influence practice, build capacity in schools and contribute to Dorset's vision for a more inclusive education system.
You will provide specialist advice, support and training for staff relating to autism, social communication and interaction differences and the barriers these can create within education.
Your work will include:
Strengthening inclusive provision across Dorset’s education system by
- Modelling effective inclusive approaches and supporting environmental adaptations.
- Supporting settings to adapt provision and implement appropriate reasonable adjustments.
- Delivering training to a range of audiences, both online and face to face.
- Coaching practitioners to embed evidence-based strategies to support individual pupils and inclusive, neuroaffirming practice.
- Promoting positive relationships and psychological safety as foundations for learning.
- Supporting schools and families to reduce the risk of exclusion and placement breakdown through early intervention.
- Supporting Specialist Inclusion Bases
About you
We are looking for someone who:
- Is a qualified and experienced teacher with expertise and in autism and communication and interaction needs
- Is committed to developing skills and knowledge through continuous professional development and supervision.
- Has a strong understanding of inclusive, neuro-affirming and communication-friendly practice.
- Can build confidence and capability in the wider workforce
- Is confident to deliver both face to face and online training in a range of settings, including whole school.
- Works collaboratively with schools, families and professionals
- Is committed to improving participation, belonging and achievement for children and young people.
About Dorset Children’s Services
‘Dorset Children Thrive’ is our locality model to deliver Children's Services. It brings together services and support for children and families into four integrated locality teams. The locality teams include Family Help, Children's Social Care and Learning and Belonging. Through our integrated structure colleagues work in multi-disciplinary integrated teams as part of the Learning and Belonging strand.