Vulnerable Pupils Locality Lead

Vulnerable Pupils Locality Lead

At Cheshire East we’re offering an opportunity for someone to help transform lives and to play a defining role in the next chapter for children and families in Cheshire East as we build something special, to last.

We have an exciting opportunity for a permanent full-time Vulnerable Pupils Locality Lead, based within Crewe. Managing a team and working with children, parents, teachers and other agencies in promoting the attendance of all school aged children in accordance with legislation (Education Act 1996) and agreed County policies and procedures and the promotion of the Every Child Matters agenda.

About the Role

This role involves holding a small case load of complex cases and managing a team who will focus on working with poor attenders or support to schools in developing policy and practice aimed at improving attendance. To allocate cases for Children Missing Education and have oversight of cases that are EHE.

We are looking for a passionate and committed professional who believes in the power of relationships to create lasting change for children and families.

You will be motivated by working alongside families, schools, partners and professionals to help remove barriers to education and achieve positive outcomes for some of our most vulnerable children and young people. You will play a key role in advising and supporting around pupils attendance and manage a team of Education Family Supports and Educated Other than a school role to target interventions and support to increase the attendance of children at school.

In this role you will:

• Hold a small caseload of complex cases to improve attendance of children in school and attend the Children Missing Education Meeting to monitor vulnerable pupils.

• Manage a team of Education Family Supports and Educated Other than a school role to target interventions and support to increase the attendance of children at school.

• Advise, consult and challenge schools on the appropriateness of Fixed Penalty Notices for Attendance (FPN). Monitor and evaluate the impact of FPN warnings and notices on individual pupil attendance and school attendance as a whole

• Prepare legal reports including the use of Prosecution and Criminal Evidence (PACE) procedures (including applications for Education Supervision Orders), carry out statutory supervision and attend court as primary witness, to ensure the successful pursuit of legal proceedings against parents for the non-school attendance of their children

• Work with schools and other agencies in the development of appropriate attendance policies and effective practices (Attendance Panel, Parenting Contracts, Attendance reviewsand Statutory register checks) aimed at improving school attendance

• Contribute to the organisation of truancy patrols within localities. Undertake with the Police truancy patrols. Follow up on individual cases with schools, parents and carers. Evaluate the impact on pupil attendance.

• Contribute and undertake a wide range of data collection for the Local Authority and then Use data to monitor attendance of all pupils, school practice and allocation of support.

• Carry out assessments in connection with Parenting Orders as directed by the Court in school attendance cases and act as responsible officer as necessary

• Enforce compliance with the Regulations relating to child employment and child entertainment so that statutory requirements and entertainment licensing regulations are met

• Provide advice to schools on their management of child protection cases and on County child protection procedures

The successful candidate will bring:

• Education welfare Certificate Level 4.
• NVQ Level 4 – Advice & Guidance.
• Diploma / Degree Youth and Community Social work qualification or equivalent.
• Proven experience of line management of staff, delivering targeted education support, guidance and advice to improve children’s attendance at school.
• Vast experience in working with families using range interventions to increase the attendance of school children.
• Proven experience of undertaking multi-agency Early Help assessments of child/family needs.
• Sound experience of identifying safeguarding concerns and completing appropriate escalation of cases.
• Ability to undertake accurate and timely recording of a wide variety of sensitive confidential and/or complex information, including risk assessments.
• Experience of managing staff who work on a 1-2-1 in a family home or working with groups of parents, children and young people to resolve issues within the family that are a barrier to the children going to school.

This is a summary – please see the full Job Specification attached.

In return we are able to offer:

• A competitive salary - Between £40,444 per annum - £43,149 per annum (CEC NJC – Grade 9) Pro-rata with guaranteed yearly pay increases.
• Enhanced annual leave - Start with an impressive 34 days of annual leave (including bank holidays) from day one, and watch it grow to 39 days after just five years of service
• Purchase of annual leave – Want more time off? You can purchase up to 10 extra days of annual leave each year, giving you the flexibility to balance work and life just the way you want (Pro-rata for part-time staff)
• Flexible working pattern - Enjoy a 37-hour standard full-time work week with the added perks of flexi-time and hybrid/remote working arrangements where possible. Your work-life balance just got a whole lot better
• Salary sacrifice green car scheme - Drive green and save green! Lease a brand-new electric or hybrid car through our salary sacrifice scheme. There’s no credit checks, no deposits, just significant savings and exclusive offers on a three-year lease
• White goods salary sacrifice scheme - Upgrade your home with ease. Purchase home and electronic items through our salary sacrifice scheme, spreading the cost of big-ticket purchases like appliances, computers, and tech gadgets directly from your salary
• Enhanced public pension - Secure your future with our career average pension, where contributions are built at a rate of 1/49th of your yearly pensionable pay
• Cycle to work scheme - Save up to 25-39% on the retail price of bikes and safety equipment through Income Tax and National Insurance savings. Get fit and save money!
• Employee assistance programme - Access a completely free and confidential assistance service to help manage, reduce, and overcome life’s challenges, both at work and in your personal life
• Discounted gym membership - Stay active and healthy with corporate membership prices for Everybody Leisure, including:
• Gym, Swim and Group Fitness at all 16 facilities
• Off-Peak Racket Sports
• Athletics Tracks
• Sauna/Steam/Spa

Join us and experience a workplace that truly values and supports you!

How to apply

We’re delighted that you’re considering applying for this role!

As an equal opportunities’ employer, we warmly welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We believe that a diverse workforce helps us better reflect and serve our local communities, and together, we can build something truly special.

To join our team, simply click ‘Apply for this job’ at the bottom of the page. If you’d prefer an informal chat first or have any questions about the role, feel free to reach out to Rebecca Reaney at rebeccareaney@cheshireeast.gov.uk, they will be happy to hear from you! Please remember to include the job reference so we know which role you are interested in.

Once you’ve applied for the position, please keep an eye on your email inbox (including your junk and spam folders), as we’ll send any correspondence there to stay in touch with updates about your application.

If you haven’t heard from us within four weeks of the closing date, it likely means we weren’t able to move forward with your application at this time but please don’t let this discourage you as your interest means a lot to us, and we’d truly love to hear from you again in the future!

We wish you all the best in your application and if you run into any technical issues, our friendly team are here to help at: sourcingteam@ecwip.co.uk.

Cheshire East Council is committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults across the Borough. As such, any cautions, convictions, reprimands or final warnings that are ‘not protected’ as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) order 1975 (as amended in 2013) relating to the non-disclosure of spent convictions do not apply to this job. You must therefore, disclose whether you have any previous convictions where prompted to do so within the application process.

Attachments

• Vulnerable Pupils Locality Lead Job Description and Specification.pdf