Best Start Inclusion Practitioner
Team: Advisory Support Team
Job Family: Supporting – CBG7
Salary: £28,598 – £31,022 per annum
Hours: 37 hours per week (3 positions across 3 localities)
Location: You will be expected to attend a CBC office location as often as needed to carry out your role, which will be no less than once per month.
Contract Type: Hybrid – Fixed Term until 31st March 2029
Closing Date: 14th July 2026
Interview Date: 30th and 31st July 2026
About the Role
Are you passionate about giving every child the very best start in life? Do you have a strong commitment to inclusion and early intervention? We have an exciting opportunity for a Best Start Inclusion Practitioner (BSIP) to join our dedicated Early Years SEND Advisory Team.
The Best Start Inclusion Practitioner plays a key role within our Best Start Family Hubs, providing early, flexible, and inclusive support to babies, young children, and their families. You will help identify emerging additional needs at the earliest stage and respond with practical, family-centred support that strengthens developmental outcomes and promotes inclusion across services.
Key Responsibilities
- Support early identification of additional needs, using recognised tools such as the EYFS Progress Check at Age 2 and insights from the 2–2½ year health review.
- Provide practical advice, strategies, and modelling to families and early years settings to embed inclusive practices in everyday routines.
- Promote inclusive, high-quality universal provision, supporting reasonable adjustments and early interventions.
- Help families navigate local systems and services, ensuring they feel confident and supported.
- Work collaboratively with Area SENCOs, Family Hub teams, early years settings, health professionals, and other specialists.
- Strengthen the capacity of the wider Family Hub network to deliver inclusive support for all children.
Working Arrangements
- Working within 2 Best Start Family Hubs across one locality area.
- Locality areas include: Dunstable and Houghton Regis / Leighton Buzzard and Flitwick / Ivel Valley.
- Standard Monday to Friday working pattern, with flexibility required to meet service needs.
About You
We are looking for someone who:
- Has experience working with young children (0–5) and SEND.
- Understands early child development and inclusive practice.
- Is confident using assessment tools to identify need early.
- Has excellent communication and partnership working skills.
- Is passionate about supporting families and improving outcomes for all children.
Why Join Us?
- Be part of a forward-thinking, supportive team.
- Make a real impact on children’s early development and life chances.
- Work in a collaborative, multi-agency environment.
- Help shape inclusive practice across family hubs and early years services.
Our Offer
We have a number of rewards and benefits available to our staff, to view these please visit our Rewards and Benefits page
Our aspiration is to be a truly flexible employer. We welcome discussion on location, hours and working pattern as part of the application process.
—————————————————————————————————————-
You will be expected to demonstrate how you meet the key accountabilities and competencies in this Recruitment Pack.
Our Competency Framework and Qualification Guidance are to be read in conjunction with our Recruitment Pack.
For an informal discussion about this position, please contact: Penny Saffhill at Penny.Saffhill@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk or call 0300 300 5520
—————————————————————————————————————-
Safeguarding:
Central Bedfordshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all employees, volunteers and contractors to share this commitment. This post is subject to the disclosure of criminal records.
To maintain a fair and consistent approach for applicants, it is Central Bedfordshire Council’s policy to only consider applications made via our online application system and we therefore thank you for not submitting your application offline.
Our National Careers Service team offer a free monthly workshop covering CV writing and how to complete the statement sections of the Central Bedfordshire Council online application form. This MS Teams workshop is open to anyone from the UK and lasts around 1.5 hours. Please book your place here.
More information about this service can be found here: Support getting into work or learning | Central Bedfordshire Council
Your application to us is a reflection of who you are professionally and should give us an accurate and authentic picture of your skills, experiences and if applicable qualifications. Before you submit your application, we will ask you to confirm if you have used AI.
All new starters will join us on a four‑month probationary period. During this time, if you are offered a Hybrid role you will be required to attend a Central Bedfordshire Council office location more frequently to support thorough and well‑supported onboarding into your role. Please keep this in mind if you anticipate extensive travel to Central Bedfordshire.
Please note we are unable to offer sponsorship for our roles. Successful applicants that may require a visa will need to consider the options for obtaining and/or maintaining the legal right to live and work in the UK for the duration of the contract offered.
