The Role

Do you see yourself promoting good attendance in schools borough-wide?

Would you like the opportunity to shape and develop an effective model of policy and practice to improve attendance?

Would you like to join a council that promotes positive outcomes for children?

If yes, we have the perfect role for you!

The Education Welfare Service is recruiting to a new Education Welfare Officer role created especially to meet the new expectations of local authorities to work together to improve attendance across schools in the borough.

The role is either for a fixed term contract or secondment opportunity until the end of March 2024. 

All internal applicants for this secondment must seek permission from their current line manager before applying. Failure to do so may result in the secondment not being authorised.

Our Vision

Wandsworth is developing a ‘Think Attendance’ approach across all services and partners to ensure that all professionals prioritise working together to achieve good school attendance and that any and all absences are followed up and addressed.

This is coupled with a ‘support first’ culture whereby we explore every opportunity to ensure that children, young people and their families receive the right kind of support at the right time in the right place by the right people.

We are investing in all our staff and expanding services under the solid leadership of Lisa Fenaroli, our Assistant Director, with an exciting vision to transform our approaches to support the most vulnerable families in our communities.

About the service

The Education Welfare is a small team with a big reach. Our team is experienced and well-regarded; staff retention is very high and opportunities like this are very rare.

The Education Welfare Service performs a number of statutory functions, including legal intervention for poor school attendance, as well as an early intervention trading account whereby schools can buy in casework support.

Muti-agency partnership working and early intervention are our strengths. We know our schools and we know our business.

About you

You will have a good track record of building positive working relationships with schools, Council services and wider partners. You always put the interests of children first and at the heart of everything you do.

You will have a 'can do' attitude and have the creative energy and commitment to champion our children and families. We want our children to achieve the best possible outcomes because they deserve nothing but the best.

You will need to have a background in working with children, young people and families, and be knowledgeable about school attendance matters.

For more information about the role, responsibilities and how you meet the requirements, please see the job profile attached.

Contact details

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Mark Holliday by email in the first instance: Mark.Holliday@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk

Benefits

We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working including, working from home, compressed or part-time hours, term time only, job shares and other arrangements. Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if these are options you’d like to explore.

We also offer a generous holiday allowance of 39 paid days (pro rata) including bank holidays and a wide range of learning and development opportunities. In addition, we offer a comprehensive range of staff benefits such as membership of the Local Government pension scheme, childcare vouchers, new technology scheme, interest-free loans on annual travel cards, discounts with many leisure activities, restaurants, shops and other establishments.

Indicative Recruitment Timeline

• Closing date: 11:59pm on Monday 2nd January 2022
• Shortlisting date: Week commencing 2nd January 2022
• Interview date: Week commencing 9th January 2022

Useful Information: The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. We strongly advise you to complete your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Please note that the advertised dates for interviews may change due to the current Covid-19 situation. If they do, we will let you know as soon as possible. Your health and wellbeing is our top priority. Should you become unwell due to Covid-19 during the recruitment process we would very much appreciate receiving an update from you as soon as possible.

Equality Statement

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

Important Information

This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. It replaces the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).

How to apply?

To be considered for interview your application must highlight your knowledge, skills and experience listed in the Job Profile located at the bottom of the advert.

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils