EHE Officer

Gloucestershire County Council; Gloucester; Hybrid; GBP 29,000 - 36,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25.5 days annual leave

LGPS

Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

Cycle to Work scheme

Green Car Scheme

Career development opportunities

Job summary

Gloucestershire County Council's Wider Access to Education Service is seeking three full-time equivalent EHE Officers on a fixed-term basis for 2 years. The role centres on safeguarding and fulfilling statutory EHE/CME duties, working with families, schools and partner agencies to promote positive outcomes for children and young people.

Hybrid working is available, and a driving licence with access to a vehicle is required due to countywide travel.

Qualifications

• Experience of working with children, young people and families, with understanding of education, safeguarding and multi‑agency working.
• Confident engaging with parents, schools and partner organisations, providing advice and appropriate challenge where required.
• Highly organised, able to manage competing priorities and maintain accurate records.

Responsibilities

• Inform and advise parents, carers and professionals on EHE, school access and CME processes.
• Nurture positive relationships with families and partner agencies to ensure education and support.
• Champion the needs and welfare of children through a restorative, child-centered approach.
• Liaise with schools, admissions, social care, health and other professionals to secure positive educational outcomes.
• Undertake enquiries/reviews on suitability of education for home-educated children and follow statutory processes.
• Ensure safeguarding concerns are identified, reported and followed up as per Gloucestershire procedures.
• Improve educational access by supporting transitions into suitable school placements and navigating admissions.
• Contribute to multi-agency meetings, panels and professional discussions with effective case recording.

Skills

Driving licence

Multi-agency

Organisational skills

Communication

Job description

An opportunity has arisen for three full time equivalent, fixed term for 2 years, Elective Home Education (EHE) Officers (open to full time and part time applicants) within the Wider Access to Education Service following the recent Education Directorate Review. This role is central to Gloucestershire County Council's commitment to ensuring that all children and young people receive a suitable education and are safeguarded effectively. The postholder will undertake the Local Authority's statutory responsibilities relating to Elective Home Education (EHE) and Children Missing Education (CME), working directly with families, schools, colleagues and partner agencies to promote positive outcomes for children and young people. This will be achieved by:

• Informing and advising parents, carers and professionals on elective home education, school access and children missing education processes.
• Nurturing positive relationships with families and partner agencies to ensure children receive an appropriate education and support when required.
• Championing the needs, rights and welfare of children and young people through a child-centred and restorative approach.
• Liaising with schools, admissions teams, social care, health and other professionals to secure positive educational outcomes.
• Undertaking enquiries and reviews regarding the suitability of education provided to home-educated children and following statutory processes where necessary.
• Safeguarding children by ensuring concerns are identified, reported and appropriately followed up in line with Gloucestershire safeguarding procedures.
• Improving educational access by supporting transitions into suitable school placements and helping families navigate admissions processes.
• Valuing partnership working and contributing effectively to multi-agency meetings, panels and professional discussions.
• Ensuring accurate case recording, effective caseload management and compliance with relevant legislation, policy and guidance.

Please refer to the job profile for more detail on these aspects and for the other parts of the role. Please note: This post is subject to enhanced DBS clearance and safeguarding references, as well as usual references. There may be occasional evening working.

You will need to be a car owner/driver, with access to a vehicle within working hours, and hold a current full driving licence valid for driving in the UK due to the travel required across the county.

To be successful, you will have experience of working with children, young people and families, together with an understanding of education, safeguarding and multi‑agency working. You will be confident engaging with parents, schools and partner organisations, providing advice, support and appropriate challenge where required. You will be highly organised, able to manage competing priorities and maintain accurate records, and committed to improving outcomes for children and young people., We want to be an employer of choice, attracting and retaining excellent people to work for us, so that we can best serve all of Gloucestershire's diverse communities. Our promise to you is that we will provide an inclusive and supportive working environment that enables you to bring your whole self to work and realise your full potential. It is a legal requirement, under the Immigration Act 2016, that anyone appointed to a 'customer facing role' must be able to demonstrate an ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in fluent English. Hybrid working arrangements are available for the majority of our roles, giving teams the opportunity to work in a way that suits them, balancing service need and individual choice, with a mix of both remote and office working.

For all your hard work, you will receive the following

• 25.5 days Annual Leave (pro-rata for part-time staff), rising to 30.5 days at the end of five years continuous local government employment
• Option to purchase up to 10 additional days annual leave per year (pro-rata for part-time staff)
• Family-friendly employer offering benefits to support you and your family
• Career development and qualification opportunities
• Supportive, positive and relational working environment with regular supervision
• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), providing free and confidential support 24 hours a day
• In-house Occupational Health service
• Employee discount scheme
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Gloucestershire Salary Sacrifice Green Car Scheme (T&Cs apply)
• Access to employee networks including Prism (LGBT+ Network), dNet (Disability and Mental Health Network) and the Young Employees Network