Educational Lead (Childrens Residential Homes)

Essex County Council; Colchester; On-site; GBP 29,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

Essex County Council is seeking an Educational Lead for Children’s Residential Homes in Colchester. The role is permanent and full-time, with term-time only hours (38 weeks per year).

Salary ranges from £29,468 to £34,668 per annum (full-time equivalent) and will be pro rata to 38 weeks per year. The post requires a qualified teacher with QTS or QTLS, experience with children with additional needs, and a commitment to trauma-informed practice, safeguarding, and collaborative work with partners

Qualifications

• Possesses a professional qualification in teaching with QTS or QTLS and teaching experience with children with additional needs.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.
• Passion for trauma-informed/perceptive work with children with additional needs.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Knowledge of PEP processes, Virtual School, SEND and Trauma Perceptive Practice.
• Highly organised with planning and time-management skills.
• Full driving licence and access to a vehicle.

Responsibilities

• Promote educational achievement and communicate progress with the wider team.
• Provide high-quality, one-to-one support and enrichment based on learning needs.
• Develop home/education partnership with Designated Teachers and the Virtual School.
• Support the PEP process with education settings, social workers and others.
• Promote children/young people's views about education within the PEP process.
• Support transitions into and out of the home and educational settings.
• Maintain records of support/enrichment and share with the Virtual School.
• Work with autonomy within safeguarding and health and safety policies.
• Support equality and diversity and anti-racist practice.
• Meet annual targets within the performance management framework.

Skills

QTS / QTLS

Trauma-informed approach

Excellent communication

Planning / time management

Inclusive education

Full driving licence

Education

Qualified teacher status (QTS) or QTLS

Job description

Educational Lead (Childrens Residential Homes)

Permanent, Full Time

Term Time Only (38 weeks per year )

£29,468 to £34,668 per annum (full time equivalent)

(salary will be pro rata to 38 weeks per year)

Location: Colchester

Working Style: Fixed-base worker

Closing Date: 4th October 2026 23:59

Interview Date: 16th October 2026

Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this role. Applicants must have a current, unrestricted right to work in the UK.

Job Purpose

Children and Families is recognised as a service with a culture of collaboration, integrity and compassion, promoting the development and wellbeing of children, young people and their families and protecting them from neglect and abuse. Working together with partners, we deliver a range of early help, family support and effective social work interventions which build resilience, remove barriers and enable children and young people to look forward to a brighter future.

Our two new children's homes, in Colchester and Basildon, will be responsible for providing stable, short term and supportive placements for children who are unable to live with their birth families at the current time.

As a key member of our residential staff team, the teacher will support both staff and children living in our homes to promote a positive climate for learning, ensuring a strong home school partnership that fosters engagement with local education settings, Designated Teachers, the Virtual School, local authority SEND services and other partners who support our children's learning.

Accountabilities

• Ensure the educational achievement of children and young people is promoted and priority is given to creating a culture of high educational aspirations. Maintain effective communication with the wider team about children and young people's educational progress, attainment, achievements and concern.
• Provide high-quality, one-to-one additional support and enrichment to children, based on their individual learning needs and interests. Learning beyond the classroom is an important part of children’s and young people's education, encouraging them to develop skills and attitudes for life-long learning and meet their educational potential and this requires time, resources, space and support.
• Develop a positive home/education partnership with Designated Teachers, professionals in education settings and the Virtual School to ensure effective communication which meets the needs of children and young people on a day-to-day basis and supports good attendance and punctuality.
• Support the Personalised Education Planning (PEP) process, sharing appropriate information, and working with education settings, social workers, the Virtual School and others, to ensure a child's educational, social, and emotional needs are met holistically.
• Promoting a culture that takes account of children/young people's views about education and the PEP process and help them to articulate these views according to age and understanding.
• Providing additional support and guidance around educational transitions especially at the point children enter or leave the home, but also during transitions that are part of a child's educational journey, especially where this involves a change of educational setting.
• Maintaining accurate and up-to-date records of additional support and enrichment activities and communication with schools and other professionals and share these with the Virtual School so that they can be added to the child's/young person's PEP record.
• Work with considerable autonomy, within professional guidelines including KCSiE and the overall framework of Children and Families Services' policies and procedures including safeguarding and health and safety policies, at all times .
• Celebrating Equality and Diversity and ensuring it is considered as part of all decisions taken and contributing to Essex County Council's commitment to Anti Racist Practice
• Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

Skills and Knowledge

• Possesses a professional qualification in teaching with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or Qualified Teaching Learning Skills Status (QTLS) and teaching experience, with experience of working with children with a range of additional needs and disabilities.
• Evidence of continuing professional development and expert knowledge in relevant professional area
• A qualified teacher with a passion for working with children in a trauma-informed/perceptive way and experience of working with children with a range of additional needs and disabilities.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build effective relationships with children, parents/carers, and other professionals involved in the children's care.
• Knowledge, understanding and experience of the PEP processes, Essex Virtual School, SEND, Educational Safeguarding and initiates such as Trauma Perceptive Practice and 'Let's talk …We Miss You'.
• Highly organised, with excellent planning and time-management skills, and the ability to work flexibly, adapt to changing priorities and circumstances and create opportunities for learning in the home and community.
• A strong commitment to inclusive education, with a clear understanding of the importance of personalisation and meeting the individual needs of children.
• A commitment to continuous professional development, and a willingness to undertake training and development to enhance knowledge and skills.
• A full driving licence and access to a vehicle is essential for this role.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we're committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex . With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

Greater Essex has been accepted on to the devolution priority programme, where we will work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority. You can read more about these changes, and what this may mean for this role, on our careers site .

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We're committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We're also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you've secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles , including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

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