Senior Portage Best Start Inclusion Practitioner

Are you passionate about giving every child the best start in life?

We are looking for an experienced, enthusiastic and highly motivated professional to join our Family Hub teams as a Senior Portage Best Start Inclusion Practitioner in our North Locality. 

This is an exciting opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of children and families across Cheshire East. You will play a key role in delivering the Start for Life agenda, improving outcomes for children aged 0–5 years, including children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), while championing inclusion as the golden thread throughout all aspects of service delivery.

Leading a team of Portage Best Start inclusion Practitioners, you will work collaboratively with families, early years providers, education settings, health professionals and other partners to ensure children and families receive the right support at the right time.

About the Role

As the Early Years SEND & Family Hub Lead, you will:

• Lead and coordinate a team of Portage Best Start inclusion Practitioners.
• Deliver and oversee targeted early intervention and preventative services for children and families.
• Champion inclusive practice and support children with SEND to achieve their full potential.
• Deliver Portage home visiting support for children requiring enhanced transition and educational support.
• Support with facilitating parenting programmes, Stay and Play sessions, targeted groups, training and community activities.
• Support early identification of developmental concerns and coordinate effective interventions.
• Build strong partnerships with parents, carers, schools, early years settings, health colleagues and wider stakeholders.
• Ensure children and families are safeguarded and supported through robust assessment and intervention planning.
• Provide high-quality supervision, performance management and professional development opportunities for practitioners.
• Have operational responsibility for the day-to-day management of a Family Hub, ensuring safe, welcoming and high-quality environments.

What We're Looking For

We are seeking a professional who:

• Have significant experience working with children aged 0–5 years and their families.
• Have knowledge and understanding of SEND, inclusion and early years development.
• Have experience of leading teams and supporting practitioner development.
• Demonstrates excellent partnership-working and communication skills.
• Have experience of assessment, safeguarding and early intervention approaches.
• Can confidently work across multiple agencies to achieve positive outcomes for children and families.
• Is passionate about improving family experiences and reducing inequalities.
• Understands the importance of making every contact count.

To find out more about the essential and desirable criteria for the role please view the attached job description specification document.  

In return we are able to offer: 

• Enhanced annual leave - Start with an impressive 34 days of annual leave (including bank holidays) from day one, and watch it grow to 39 days after just five years of service 

• Purchase of annual leave – Want more time off? You can purchase up to 10 extra days of annual leave each year, giving you the flexibility to balance work and life just the way you want (Pro-rata for part-time staff) 

• Flexible working pattern - Enjoy a 37-hour standard full-time work week with the added perks of flexi-time and hybrid/remote working arrangements where possible. Your work-life balance just got a whole lot better 

• Salary sacrifice green car scheme - Drive green and save green! Lease a brand-new electric or hybrid car through our salary sacrifice scheme. There’s no credit checks, no deposits, just significant savings and exclusive offers on a three-year lease 

• White goods salary sacrifice scheme - Upgrade your home with ease. Purchase home and electronic items through our salary sacrifice scheme, spreading the cost of big-ticket purchases like appliances, computers, and tech gadgets directly from your salary 

• Enhanced public pension - Secure your future with our career average pension, where contributions are built at a rate of 1/49th of your yearly pensionable pay 

• Cycle to work scheme - Save up to 25-39% on the retail price of bikes and safety equipment through Income Tax and National Insurance savings. Get fit and save money! 

• Employee assistance programme - Access a completely free and confidential assistance service to help manage, reduce, and overcome life’s challenges, both at work and in your personal life 

• Discounted gym membership - Stay active and healthy with corporate membership prices for Everybody Leisure, including: 

• Gym, Swim and Group Fitness at all 16 facilities 

• Off-Peak Racket Sports 

• Athletics Tracks 

• Sauna/Steam/Spa 

Join us and experience a workplace that truly values and supports you!  

Organisation

Cheshire East Council

Location

Wilmslow, Holmes Chapel, Macclesfield, Knutsford, Congleton

Job Category

Children and Young People Services

Grade

CEC NJC - Grade 8

Salary Min

£35,412 Per Annum

Salary Max

£39,152 Per Annum

Hours per week

37

Weeks per year

52.143

Employment Type

Permanent

Closing Date

20/09/2026

Ref No

E3816

Documents

• Senior Portage Best Start Inclusion Practitioner Job Description and Specification.pdf
  (PDF, 1450.41kb)

Cheshire East is an amazing place to live and work. As one of the largest employers in the borough, we are able to offer you a wide range of challenging and rewarding career opportunities.  

We are working for a brighter future – together and our commitment to you is that our workplace culture will provide a shared purpose, a well-led organisation with valued people succeeding together as one team and one council to deliver the best service for our customers and communities.  

If you want to be part of our award-winning council and contribute to our ongoing success, have the flexibility and drive to enable us to innovate, are committed to working as part of a team and striving to deliver exceptional service wherever you can, we would especially like to hear from you. 

As an equal opportunities employer, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds and want our workforce to reflect the diversity of our local communities so that we can all work for a brighter future - together. 

Applicants should ensure all sections of the application form are completed as failure to do so will result in their application being rejected. Please ensure you check the email account (including junk/spam boxes) from which you apply regularly as we will use this to contact you regarding your application. 

We’re delighted that you’re considering applying for this role! 

As an equal opportunities’ employer, we warmly welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We believe that a diverse workforce helps us better reflect and serve our local communities, and together, we can build something truly special. 

To join our team, simply click ‘Apply for this job’ at the bottom of the page. If you’d prefer an informal chat first please contact Tracy Turner (North Locality) at Show email as they will be happy to hear from you! Please remember to include the job reference so we know which role you are interested in. 

If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date then it is likely that you have not been shortlisted on this occasion, however, please do not be discouraged from applying again. 

For any technical enquiries please email Show email. Please quote job reference number in all correspondence.  

Cheshire East Council is committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults across the Borough. As such, any cautions, convictions, reprimands or final warnings that are ‘not protected’ as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) order 1975 (as amended in 2013) relating to the non-disclosure of spent convictions do not apply to this job. You must therefore, disclose whether you have any previous convictions where prompted to do so within the application process.