Achieving for Children is a Community Interest Company that has a public sector ethos, combined with the freedom to innovate enabling us to do things differently. As a not-for-profit social enterprise owned by three local authorities (Windsor & Maidenhead, Kingston and Richmond), we offer the freedoms of a social enterprise with the employment benefits of local government. To find out more about us
We are responsible for the entire range of children’s education, health and social care services in all three boroughs. We use a Signs of Safety practice model and approach which ensures the voice of the child is at the heart of everything we do. There’s never been a better time to join AfC, we are growing our workforce, implementing new flexible working arrangements and have increased our virtual wellbeing offer.
We now have the following job opportunity available and we would be delighted to receive your application to continue our story. You can download the Job Profile which is shown within the "Documents" heading on the left hand side, above the map.
We are currently recruiting for 1 Education Welfare Officers (39 weeks - salary calculated pro rata).
The postholder will be expected to work across both the boroughs of Richmond and Kingston upon Thames as part of the joint service supporting schools.
About the role
As an Education Welfare Officer for Achieving for Children you will be responsible for:
- Ensuring all children of compulsory school age are in receipt of education
- To undertake the statutory duties and responsibilities placed within the Education Welfare Service and that relates to children of compulsory school age
- Support children, young people and their families to return to full-time education where they may have additional needs and attendance issues
- Working directly with schools by providing guidance to reduce school absence and initiate legal proceedings on persistent absent pupils
- Responsible for providing a service delivery in a number of primary and secondary school settings across both boroughs
- Manage a caseload of children and young people with a range of needs to enable positive outcome, promote school attendance and reduce risk factors
- Supporting the commissioning arrangements in order to provide service delivery
For an informal discussion about these roles please contact Diana Percival, Head of Education Welfare, at diana.percival@achievingforchildren.org.uk
About you
To be an Education Welfare Officer for AfC, you will be passionate about making a positive difference to the lives of children and young people as well as demonstrating the following points
- Experience of working with Children, young people and their families who are either vulnerable or at risk between their home and school environments
- Experience in a similar role working with both schools and other services within an education setting or similar
- Ability to analyse and understand attendance data in order to assist in the reduction of school absence
- Strong communication and organisational skills with the ability to form good working relationships with a range of internal and external colleagues.
- Passionate about making a positive difference to the lives of children and young people
- Knowledge of statutory legislation, policy, guidance and procedures (for example Children’s Act)
About our benefits
We are focused on creating a positive supportive environment, where you will have access to a really wide range of resources, as well as a competitive salary and all the perks to enable hybrid working. In AfC you will also have access to:
- 29 days annual leave, increasing to 33 days after 2 years and 35 days after 4 years.
- Tailored induction sessions commencing on the date you start working for AfC
- Stable and supportive leadership
- Hybrid and mobile working (between home and work) with latest technology to facilitate this
- Local Government salary and pension scheme (LGPS or Teachers Pension)
- Flexible working options - helping to keep a good work life balance
- A comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme
- A range of staff benefits and discounts
- An excellent learning and development offer to support your career pathway
To find out about all of the breadth of benefits of working for Achieving for Children For our social work offer
Important Information
Start dates: Achieving for Children have set start dates meaning successful candidates join on a set date in each month. Candidates are advised to prepare for this should a job offer be accepted to ensure eligible continuous service is not affected.
Right to work: The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.
Equality: We particularly welcome applications from sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our teams. Achieving for Children 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 and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.
Safeguarding: We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. 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).
We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and return your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.