MRP - Head of SEND

This is an exciting opportunity to oversee the SEND agenda across the Midlands and help health and care systems translate national policy into meaningful improvements for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, and their families.

The Head of SEND will provide visible and influential leadership, supporting systems to strengthen delivery, address complex challenges and develop sustainable, joined-up approaches that improve outcomes and reduce inequalities.

Working closely with Department for Education colleagues, Cluster Integrated Care Boards and local authorities, the postholder will strengthen SEND leadership, governance, planning and assurance; align health and education priorities; and translate national policy and reform into coordinated regional action informed by shared intelligence, learning and local needs. They will build strong relationships with NHS England regional and national teams on behalf of the Nursing Directorate and ensure that the voices of children, young people and families remain central to improvement.

The postholder will be responsible for the following key areas:

• Act as the primary relationship lead for the Midlands for the SEND agenda providing support, guidance and coordination of improvement interventions to help systems and organisations deliver national priorities and achieve sustainable improvements in people’s lives.
• Support the development of Clusters and ICBs by sharing best practice and tailoring support to their level of maturity, improving their resilience, capability and autonomy
• Maintain oversight of cluster ICB delivery and system maturity in line with regional frameworks and approaches, working with systems to strengthen capability and delivery.
• In conjunction with the Regional and National Programme Teams and other functions ensure that there is coordination between improvement activities and systems to provide aligned and helpful support.
• Work with wider regional and national teams to develop sustainable strategic solutions, facilitate pan-system discussions where appropriate and sign-post to support.
• Ensure the directorate’s business functions are delivered effectively, including business planning, risk management, governance, reporting and workforce responsibilities.
• Work collaboratively with the Children and Young People team to align priorities, share expertise and support coordinated delivery.

NHS England has a wide range of statutory functions, responsibilities and regulatory powers. These are focused on supporting the wider NHS to deliver high quality care, as well as doing those things that are best done once for the whole NHS.

Our staff bring expertise across clinical, operational, commissioning, technology, data science, cyber security, software engineering, education, and commercial specialisms — enabling us to design and deliver high-quality NHS services.

In March 2025, the Government announced that NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care will increasingly merge functions, ultimately leading to NHS England being fully integrated into the department.

If you currently work within the NHS and if successful at interview, we will initiate an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). This retrieves key data from your current or previous NHS employer to support onboarding, including competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement. You may opt out at any stage of the process.

Colleagues with a contractual office base are expected to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in our offices.

Staff recruited from outside the NHS will usually be appointed at the bottom of the pay band.

We cannot offer visa sponsorship for any vacancies.

For further details / informal visits contact: Name: Jacqueline Barnes Job title: Director of Nursing Email address: