INTERNAL ONLY

You must either be an existing employee or a current agency worker with the London Borough of Bexley for your application to be considered for this role. 

Education Welfare Officer

Management Grouping: Children’s Services

Team: Inclusion

Contract: Permanent / 36 hours per week

Closing Date: 21 June 2019

We are seeking an experienced Education Welfare Officer to join our well regarded and effective team,working within the context of our Early Intervention Teams

As part of our drive to improve services for vulnerable children and young people within the borough, Bexley has established highly effective multidisciplinary Early Intervention Teams (EITS), which work with schools located in specific geographical areas. The teams contain professionals from a variety of disciplines in education and social care. Staff work closely with schools, but also undertake relevant work outside of school settings. The focus of the teams is to provide support to children young people and their families who require additional help to achieve successful educational and social outcomes.

The main role will be to support schools and families in raising and maintaining high standards of school attendance. The post holders while being supportive of families will sometimes need to take a firm approach to ensure good school attendance, and, under the direction of the Senior Education Welfare Officer, be able to initiate legal proceedings if required.

The successful candidate must have previous experience in a similar role with a good understanding of the importance of educational engagement, and strategies to overcome barriers, as well as a good understanding of child protection issues and law relating to educational attendance .

We would also expect excellent communication and ICT skills, with excellent English: you also need to be very well organised. The job includes making visits to schools, families homes and other locations, and ideally you will have their own transport. You also need the ability to network effectively with other professionals and be able to support them in improving the lives of vulnerable families.

The main purposes of the job:-

• Visit schools regularly to monitor attendance and work with children/ families where attendance is poor
• Accurately maintain records both written on the council EMS database, including court reports.
• In consultation with the Senior Education Welfare Officer be able to organise legal proceedings and court evidence where necessary, and at times take a firm approach with families to ensure good school attendance
• Work successfully with other members of the EITs both giving and receiving  and advice to promote good life chances for children and families.
• To make visits to clients homes to discuss attendance as necessary.
• To organise Fast Track to Attendance meetings as required.
• To attendance multi- disciplinary TAC or BEAN meetings when appropriate.

For further information please contact Penny Grey Education Welfare Service Manager via email Penny.grey@bexley.gov.uk or on 0203 045 4023

Appointment to this post will be subject to the outcome of an Enhanced Disclosure obtained through the Disclosure and Barring Service                                               

Your Application:

• Closing Date for your application: 21/06/2019
• CVs will not be accepted unless they are submitted with a completed application form.

This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

This post is considered by the authority to be a customer-facing position; as such it falls within scope of the Code of Practice on English language requirement for public sector workers. The council therefore has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the JD/Person Specification. These will be applied during the recruitment/selection and probationary stages.

In order to apply for this vacancy, you must be able to supply the required answers to the following questions:

• Do you have a Bexley employee number?