The role
The Role:
Since 2018, the Family Early Help Service has been developing and promoting its core message that keeping children in education is everyone’s business. We are excited to be recruiting an experienced senior education welfare officer to join our Education Inclusion Team and help deliver on our core values.
The team delivers high quality advice, guidance and statutory intervention to schools, lead professionals and families, with a particular focus on improving the attendance of children with a social worker. Our senior education welfare officers use their expert understanding of the complex and multiple drivers for poor attendance and behaviour (including the impact of Covid-19) to work with children and families and the systems around them to improve school attendance.
Senior education welfare officers have a crucial role in discharging the local authority’s statutory responsibilities with relation to school attendance and inclusion. They support families and professionals through the legal framework and lead on the use of parental responsibility measures, including penalty notices, parenting contracts and where there is no alternative, through prosecution or application for an Education Supervision Order at court. They represent the Education Inclusion Team in Team around the Family meetings and statutory children’s social care reviews, including child protection conferences. Our officers provide advice and guidance to schools and professionals via our Three-Stage Approach to Attendance and Inclusion, consultation framework and weekly Attendance and Inclusion Surgery.
For more information on our practice framework please visit:
About You:
You will be a skilled practitioner who is able to move beyond process and procedure, demonstrating a dynamic and evidence-based approach to improving school attendance.
You will have proven skills in balancing the appropriate use of authority and challenge with transparency and empathy, working in collaboration with parents and carers to find alternatives to legal action.
Your passion for making a difference to those young people most at risk will be evident at all times, including actively addressing the impact of disadvantage, discrimination and disproportionality in all you do.
You will have the flexibility to adapt to a changing legal and statutory landscape, delivering on new requirements and expectations with creativity and purpose.
This is an excellent opportunity for a skilled professional to be part of our continued mission to improve school attendance and promote the wellbeing, safety, and life chances of children to ensure a fairer future for all.
Additional Information:
- Candidates must have a relevant level 3 qualification or above in childcare/education or other related discipline and commensurate literacy and numeracy skills,
- This is a full time post.
- Enhanced DBS clearance is required.
Benefits and more information:
https://jobs.southwark.gov.uk/why-us/
Additional salary details
Internal recruitment only
We will only consider applications from internal candidates that are current employees or agency workers on an active assignment.
Recruitment timetable
Closing date for applications: 12 April 2023
Interview and assessment: 21 April 2023
We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together initiative. We particularly welcome applications from members of the black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.
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