Education Welfare Officer

ACHIEVING FOR CHILDREN COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY; Thatcham; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 38,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

29 days annual leave

LGPS or Teachers Pension

Flexible working options

Employee Assistance Programme

Learning & development opportunities

Staff discounts

Job summary

Achieving for Children Community Interest Company is seeking an Attendance and Safeguarding Officer to support schools in the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead. You will work with children, families and partner agencies to identify barriers to education and develop intervention plans that improve attendance and outcomes.

You will investigate absence, provide guidance on legislation, contribute to ERSA cases, prepare reports and attend multi-agency meetings.

Qualifications

• Educated to A Level or equivalent, with a relevant degree desirable.
• Experience working with vulnerable children and families.
• Ability to build strong relationships with schools, families and partner agencies.
• Knowledge of safeguarding, school attendance and child development.
• Confidence analysing information, maintaining accurate records and producing professional reports.

Responsibilities

• Support a portfolio of schools to improve attendance.
• Investigate persistent absence and provide guidance in line with attendance legislation.
• Support ERSA and multi-agency interventions.
• Prepare professional reports and represent the service at meetings and court where required.
• Issue Fixed Penalty Notices where appropriate and analyse attendance data.

Skills

Child and family work

Attendance data analysis

Report writing

Policy knowledge

Education

A Levels

Degree desirable

Full UK driving licence

Job description

About the role

You’ll support a portfolio of schools across the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead to improve school attendance, working closely with children, families and schools to identify barriers to education and develop effective support plans. You’ll investigate persistent absence, provide advice in line with attendance legislation and DfE guidance, support children experiencing Emotional Related School Avoidance (ERSA) through early intervention and multi‑agency working, prepare professional reports and represent the service at multi‑agency meetings and court where required. You’ll also issue Fixed Penalty Notices where appropriate, analyse attendance data, maintain accurate records and monitor the impact of interventions to improve outcomes for children and young people.

About you

• Educated to A Level (or equivalent), with a relevant degree desirable, and a full UK driving licence.
• Experience working with children, young people and families, particularly those who are vulnerable.
• The ability to build strong relationships with schools, families and partner agencies.
• Knowledge of safeguarding, school attendance and child development.
• Confidence analysing information, maintaining accurate records and producing professional reports.
• Excellent communication, organisation and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage a varied caseload independently.
• A commitment to Achieving for Children's values of Trust, Empower and Respect, with a genuine passion for helping every child thrive.

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 with an additional day off in your birthday month (Or for term-time workers, your leave entitlement consists of the non-working periods in your contract)
• Tailored induction sessions commencing on the date you start working for AfC
• 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

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.