Regulation and Social Care Policy Administrator (Apprentice)

Job summary

IMPORTANT DATES

Online Verbal Test - The deadline to complete the online assessment is 5:00pm on 25 September 2026. You must complete and pass the online verbal assessment before submitting your application.

Closing date for applications - 29 September 2026 at 5:00pm

We are recruiting for two Regulation and Social Care Policy Administrators to join our Policy team.

As a Regulation and Social Care Policy Administrator, you will provide administrative support to the Early Years and Social Care Policy Team, manage the social care mailbox, and help deliver policy and guidance on the inspection and regulation of early years and children's social care services.

About the apprenticeship

This role is open to graduates who do not hold, and are not working towards, an equivalent or higher qualification in Customer Service/Business Administration. As this is an apprenticeship, applicants must not already have the skills, knowledge, and behaviours the programme is designed to develop and should be at an early stage in their career.

You will undertake a fully funded Level 2 Customer Service Practitioner, 12 months progressing to Level 3 Apprenticeship qualification in Business Administration. The apprenticeship training programme will take 18 months to complete. You will develop skills and knowledge that will support you in a wide range of duties.

When you start the apprenticeship, you will have a tutor to help you make the most of the training programme.

Every 6 to 8 weeks, you will have one-to-one sessions with a tutor. You will think about how to apply your learning to workplace scenarios.

Over the course of your apprenticeship, you will spend at least of 20% of your working time (one day a week) completing off-the-job learning.

If you're aged 16–18:

• You must work towards a Level 2 qualification in English and Maths (equivalent to GCSE grade 4/C) if you haven’t already achieved it.
• This is done through Functional Skills training as part of your apprenticeship.

If you're aged 19 or older:

• You are not required to complete English and Maths qualifications to finish your apprenticeship.
• However, if you choose, this can be done through Functional Skills training as part of your apprenticeship.

Please note that we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK at the point of application and for the duration of employment.

Job description

Please refer to the job specification for further information.

Person specification

Please refer to the job specification for further information.

Qualifications

GCSE’s (or equivalent), grade A-C (7-4), including English and Maths.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• How you will manage your time effectively to balance work responsibilities with completion of the apprenticeship qualification.
• Your experience of working collaboratively with others to achieve a task or goal.
• Your ability to work accurately and handle information carefully.
• Understanding of IT systems, including Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £27,779, Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills contributes £8,047 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

Full details of the benefits available can be found in our Ofsted Offer brochure.

Ofsted is devoted to equality, diversity and inclusion. Within our Ofsted Strategy 2023-2027 we have stated that we will improve the representation of under-represented groups across the organisation and publish our progress on this annually. We are always looking to expand on our diverse workforce by recruiting candidates from varied backgrounds and differing experiences. We are proud to be a Disability Confident – Leader, we continually engage with our 5 staff networks for protected characteristics, and highlight the work of our Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Group. We ensure all candidates are treated with fair and open competition, with all appointments being made on merit and we use our Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) to provide assurance to all candidates of this.

Ofsted is committed to maintaining employee health and wellbeing, whether it is physically, emotionally, financially or socially, and offers a range of benefits to support employees in this. Such benefits include the option to join the Civil Service Pension Scheme, professional and personal development opportunities, 32.5 annual leave days per annum (plus eight days public holiday) and access to counselling and advisory services.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

Application and shortlisting

Applicants must submit a personal statement of no more than 1,000 words. Your statement must clearly address all four essential criteria listed below.

• How you will manage your time effectively to balance work responsibilities with completion of the apprenticeship qualification
• Your experience of working collaboratively with others to achieve a task or goal
• Your ability to work accurately and handle information carefully
• Understanding of IT systems, including Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint

The selection panel will assess your application/personal statement based on your evidence you have provided against the essential criteria as set out in the person specification and in the advert.

You will also be asked to provide information within the “Employer/Activity History” section of the application form. This information is equivalent to the information you would provide on a CV setting out your career history (this will be used in the sifting process).

Use the STAR model (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to present your evidence.

Interview:

Candidates who pass the benchmark at the shortlist stage will be invited to an assessment and interview where you will be assessed against a mixture of the Civil Service behaviours and on the technical/experience skills as detailed in the job specification.

Interviews will be held during the week commencing 2 November 2026, held remotely via Microsoft Teams.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a standard (or equivalent) criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : People Services Delivery Team
• Email : jobs@ofsted.gov.uk
• Telephone : 03000 131 487

Recruitment team

• Email : jobs@ofsted.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, you should email Ofsted recruitment at jobs@ofsted.gov.uk in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recrutiment

Attachments

Job specification - Regulation and Social Care Policy Administrator - Apprentice Opens in new window (pdf, 206kB)