Dual Role Perspectives from a SEN Consultant and Managing Director
30 Jul, 20241-2 minutes
In this blog, you will learn:
- Perspectives from a SEN Consultant and Managing Director.
- How a re-think of the educational system could positively impact children with SEND.
- How to find and apply for the best SEND jobs.
In this exclusive interview with SEN Consultant and Managing Director Jes Allan we discovered everything you need to know about working a dual role in the Education and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) sector.
After working as a SEN Case Officer for over 3 years, Jes decided to venture from local authority to the parent side. She founded her own SEN consultancy in 2020 and hasn’t looked back since.
With experience in the Education and SEND sector and a passion for advocating for children and young people with SEND, Jes is determined to see a new and improved educational system that prioritises the unique needs of each child.
Jes works to ensure children and young people with SEND are supported in their struggle to obtain the right support in schools. Along with her company, Jes provides support with school difficulties and writing and submitting EHCNA requests, as well as checking the quality of Education and Health Care Plans (EHCPs) and challenging local authority decisions.
Throughout this interview, you’ll discover the most rewarding and challenging aspects of a career in the education and SEND industry, and the changes that can be made to improve the system and ensure every child or young person with SEND has access to the support they need to get the right education.
Tell us about your career journey so far
I started working with young people with special educational needs when I was a student myself, at university. Following that, I worked in a variety of roles across education, health and social care before I finally started my role as a SEN Officer.
I have always wanted a career helping others but struggled to feel like I was making a difference working within Local Authorities, so in November 2020, I decided to leave my role as a SEN Officer and set up my own SEN consultancy, Succeeding with SEN Ltd.
It was actually my partner’s crazy idea for us to move into a van which enabled me to take the leap financially and commit to starting my own business, (but that’s a whole other story!) Luckily, we are back in bricks and mortar, but I will always appreciate that time as it enabled me to build the business that I now run today.
What is your current role?
My role now is more like two roles. Firstly, I’m a SEN Consultant, meaning that I support parents and carers to navigate the special educational needs system and ensure that their children are getting the right level of support to access a suitable education.
Secondly, I am the Managing Director and Founder of Succeeding with SEN Ltd, which means that I’m responsible for ensuring the team feels supported and that the business is running as it should. I love the variety that comes with the two different roles and find both equally rewarding.
What does a typical day look like for you?
My days can vary but they roughly look like this:
6.30am – I’m woken up by Murphy the dog, so I take him out and then get his breakfast ready! I make myself and my partner a coffee and then go back to bed for dog cuddles and chats. I am someone who HATES rushing, and I much prefer to start the day gradually.
By 7.30am, we’re all out of bed and I’m usually training Murphy to tire him out, whilst simultaneously getting ready for the day. Murphy is a new addition to the family and a rescue dog from Cyprus, so lots of training to be done!
At some point I’ll have breakfast and get ready, and then get to my laptop by 8.30am or 9am. I love having my own business as it means I can be flexible with my timings – sometimes if I’m particularly concerned about the progress of a case, I’ll jump on my emails first and get things under control, before getting ready for the day.
Usually, I’ll start the day going through my emails, and as I’m doing that, I update my to-do list. When things are really busy, I’ll prioritise each item on my list so I know what to do first. This is my way of not getting overwhelmed and procrastinating!
Once I’ve gone through my emails, I’ll pick the most urgent piece of work to do. Each task varies, some can take an hour and others more like four hours, so it’s a careful balancing act to make sure that everything gets done within its own individual deadline.
Sometimes I’ll also have meetings with clients, which I then need to work my deadlines around. I actually find it easier when things are busier, as the pressure keeps me focused on getting things done.
I’ll usually try and get a couple of hours of solid work in throughout the morning. I’ll have lunch around noon and then get back to work.
Usually, at some point, my Case Coordinator will check in with any updates on work that needs allocating, or one of our SEN Consultants will pop up with a question. Supporting the team makes my day, and I feel grateful every day for the amazing people that decided to join my team.
I tend to work until around 5-5.30pm and I like to make sure to fully switch off and spend time doing the things I enjoy in the evenings. I try to go climbing, but this has definitely been harder to keep up with the business getting busier, and now Murphy joining the team! I try not to be too hard on myself and remind myself that you can’t do everything.
What does your role as a Managing Director and your role a SEN Consultant entail?
My role as Managing Director is super varied, but it mainly consists of:
- Making overarching business decisions.
- Working with the Business Development Manager to make sure we’re adapting the business as it grows.
- Working with the SEN Case Coordinator to make sure all our clients have a smooth journey from their first enquiry to the end of their time with us.
- Helping the SEN Consultants with any queries they have.
- Creating, designing and posting our social media content.
- Looking after the finances of the business.
My role as SEN Consultant is equally varied and mainly consists of:
- Helping parents and carers to get support in place for their child at school or alternative provision in place outside of school.
- Helping parents and carers with the EHC Needs Assessment process.
- Checking draft EHCPs for their quality.
- Helping parents and carers through the appeals process.
- Where needed, writing formal complaints.
How do you keep up-to-date with changes in the education and SEND industry?
I find LinkedIn to be a great resource. There are so many amazing professionals out there and plenty of brilliant discussions to be had. I also love IPSEA and the SEND Jungle as fantastic places to help keep me up to speed.
I also make sure to have the Education Act 1996, Children and Families Act 2014, the SEND Regulations 2014, and the SEND Code of Practice 2014, all to hand. It’s important to remember we are only human, and memorising all of the information in these documents is not something the majority of us can do.
Finally, if I’m stuck on something, I ask one of the team, or others from my network. I think it’s so important as a leader to admit when you don’t know something, and demonstrate a constant desire to learn!
What is the best part about working in the SEND sector?
The best part of working in the SEND sector, for me, is when a child you’ve been supporting finally gets the right education for them. I will never forget one young man who went from hating school and crying in the toilets, to now being in a school that he absolutely loves and feels a part of! To me, that makes any challenges I face in the job worthwhile.
Having been a child who found school a difficult place to be, I know how important those years are, and the impact they can have on you for the rest of your life. I truly believe that the work we do can be life changing, and it is an honour to be able to play a part in that journey for our families.
What challenges or obstacles have you faced in your career?
I would say that I have been incredibly blessed in my career. I have met some amazing people and been given fantastic opportunities. Naturally, I’ve had to work with some people who I’ve found challenging, but I’ve always kept in mind that any anger or judgement that I’ve been on the receiving end of, has said more about what they are struggling with than about me.
I’m also extremely lucky to have an incredibly supportive partner, family, friendship circle and team at work. I always have someone at the end of the phone, ready to listen, or give me some encouraging words. I want to make sure that anyone who joins my team feels that same warmth, as I think it’s essential when working in the world of SEN.
What challenges are the SEND industry currently facing?
I think the biggest challenges facing the SEN industry are the lack of resources and the increasing demand on services.
Unfortunately, there are many families out there who cannot afford consultants, private reports or legal advice, and these families are falling through the cracks. It is heartbreaking that we can’t help everybody, and that was a big challenge I had to accept early on in my journey of setting up the business.
We do our best to support families by providing free advice via our social media, free initial calls, and what we believe to be a very competitive rate for our services – but we know this is not enough to address those challenges.
I believe the entire educational system needs a re-think. What that looks like, I don’t know – but I would argue it needs to be a lot more personalised to the needs of each child and the priority should be on how we can make children and young people feel safe in school so that they’re ready to learn.
Children are voting with their feet more and more, and parents and carers are less and less willing to sacrifice their child’s mental health for the sake of grades – and who can blame them?
What’s the most valuable lesson that you’ve learned in your career?
This is such a hard question to answer! I feel like I’ve learnt so many valuable lessons… I think I’ve learnt that generally, everybody is doing the best they can. When it comes to working with other professionals in SEND, it is important to acknowledge this, and understand that we are working in a broken system.
Taking this mindset has allowed me to build positive working relationships with a number of people in educational settings and local authorities. This, I believe, has allowed us to find positive outcomes for the children and young people I’ve worked with.
How have things changed or progressed in the SEND sector since the start of your career?
There seems to have been a huge increase in the number of children and young people who are unable to access school due to their mental health needs. I think that the Covid-19 lockdowns had a huge impact on us all, and we are slowly seeing the effects of this across the board.
I think many of us, children and adults, were running on fumes before the lockdown, and stopping made it very difficult to restart at the same pace we were previously at.
I have also noticed that the pressure on school admissions has changed rapidly and the way to deal with this has changed drastically. When I first worked as a SEN Officer, it was common practice to direct schools to take children.
Now, there are so many children for each school space that it is becoming impossible to do this, and instead Local Authorities are having to rely on the tribunal to make these decisions more and more.
The issue with this is that the families who will lose out are those who do not have an understanding of the tribunal system and are not able to fund private support to help them through this process. This is a worrying development and one we need to address quickly to avoid the inequality of the SEND world increasing further.
What changes would you like to see to better support the needs of children and young people with SEND?
I would like to see more investment in schools, to improve the mainstream experience but also to increase the number of special school spaces available as well. I think the way funding is provided to schools should be overhauled, so that schools are not constantly battling with disappearing budgets and actually get to see and use the SEND funding they are allocated for each individual child or young person.
I would like to see more investment in SEN Officers and more free support available to families, so that lower income families have the support they need to get the right education for their children.
I would also like to see an improvement in our mental health services, so that pressure is not put on the education system to ensure that a child is receiving the mental health support they need.
What advice would you give to anyone considering a career in SEND?
My best advice would be to start connecting with all the amazing SEND professionals out there. There are so many people who are willing to help others and give advice and tips.
The other thing to consider is whether you want to work in a team or set up your own business. I would say that working in a team allows you to focus much more on the SEND Consultant role itself, whereas setting up your own business allows you to explore that side of your role as well and adds a whole other dimension to your job.
What’s next for you? Any future aspirations or upcoming projects?
My aspiration is to keep supporting families and helping my team get what they want out of their careers. I would also love to have more time available to help lower-income families to understand their rights and entitlements when it comes to their children’s education.
The cherry on top would be continuing to grow the Succeeding with SEN Ltd team, as I truly believe that the service our SEN Consultants provide is amazing. I’m really proud of the work we do.
SEND jobs
If you’re searching for your next local authority SEND job, why not take a look at the latest vacancies, or simply upload your CV to be notified when a relevant position becomes available.
Local authority recruitment services
As specialist local authority SEND recruiters, we support local authorities nationwide with their temporary, interim and permanent staffing needs.
We can supply SEND staff for service redesign, tackling annual review backlogs and SEND/EHC Case workers to amend plans or hold annual review meetings.
If you’re struggling to fill a vacancy, why not get in touch with one of our team to see how we can help?
South of the UK - Richard Shorrock
Midlands & North of the UK - Adam Zyda
Share your experience
Every individual brings a unique set of experiences, thoughts, and insights to the table. We believe in giving a voice to a community of professionals to inspire positive change and champion reform in the SEND sector.
If you work in the SEND sector and would like to share your own personal and professional experiences, we’d love to hear from you. Perhaps you have a different perspective, could offer a fresh angle, or want to challenge assumptions.
Simply reach out to our Head of Content, Nicole Sherwood, to discuss a collaboration which makes your voice count.
Who is Spencer Clarke Group?
Established in 2017, we’re a vibrant and progressive recruitment agency based in the heart of the North West.
We continually reimagine the recruitment process to challenge convention and defy expectations; from creating a better recruitment experience to remodelling employee engagement, we thrive off doing things differently and turning heads along the way.
We operate in two sectors:
In eleven specialisms:
Healthcare, Social Care & Nursing
Corporate Functions & Business Support
