Elective Home Education Officer

Buckinghamshire Council; Aylesbury; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee Assistance Programme

Mental Health First Aiders

Mindfulness workshops

Costco membership

Gym memberships

Travel discounts with Arriva

Generous Pension Scheme

Job summary

Buckinghamshire Council is seeking an Elective Home Education Officer to work with families across the county, providing professional guidance to help ensure every child has access to a suitable education and can thrive. The role involves home visits, safeguarding, and collaboration with partners to improve outcomes for vulnerable children.

You will develop relationships with families, assess educational provision, and maintain accurate pupil records while contributing to service improvements

Qualifications

• Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and several years’ experience teaching within an educational setting.
• Strong safeguarding knowledge and understanding of related legislation.
• Excellent communication, influencing and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to plan, prioritise and manage a varied caseload across the county.
• Proven ICT and data management capabilities for pupil records and reporting.

Responsibilities

• Develop positive working relationships with families who elect to home educate their children.
• Plan and undertake home visits and meetings with parents, carers and children.
• Assess the suitability of educational provision in line with statutory guidance and legislation.
• Produce detailed post-visit reports and maintain accurate pupil records.
• Provide authoritative information, guidance and support to parents and carers.
• Promote safeguarding awareness and escalate concerns where appropriate.
• Support engagement and educational outcomes for vulnerable children and young people.
• Contribute to service development and continuous improvement initiatives.

Skills

QTS

Relationship-building

Safeguarding

Communication

Data management

Education

Experience in education setting

Tools

ICT skills

Job description

Are you a qualified teacher with a passion for supporting children and young people to achieve positive educational outcomes through diverse and individualised learning pathways? Do you have the ability to build trusted relationships with families while ensuring children receive a suitable education? We're looking for an Elective Home Education Officer to join our Education Access and Inclusion team. In this rewarding role, you’ll work directly with families across the county who choose to educate their children at home, providing professional guidance, support to help ensure every child has access to a suitable education and can thrive., As an Elective Home Education Officer, you will play a key role in supporting Buckinghamshire's growing home education community. Working across the county, you will engage with families who have chosen elective home education, developing positive and constructive relationships that enable you to provide expert advice, guidance and support. This is a highly varied and rewarding position that combines educational expertise, relationship building and safeguarding responsibilities. You’ll undertake visits with children and families, assess the suitability of educational provision, maintain accurate records and contribute towards ensuring the Local Authority meets its statutory duties relating to Elective Home Education. You’ll also have the opportunity to support vulnerable and hard-to-reach groups, including children and young people from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, helping to remove barriers to educational engagement and improve outcomes. Working collaboratively with colleagues, families and wider partners, you’ll help shape service improvements, share best practice and contribute to a service committed to supporting children, young people and their families.

Responsibilities

• Developing positive working relationships with families who elect to home educate their children.
• Planning and undertaking home visits and meetings with parents, carers and children.
• Assessing the suitability of educational provision in line with statutory guidance and legislation.
• Producing detailed post-visit reports and maintaining accurate pupil records.
• Providing authoritative information, guidance and support to parents and carers.
• Promoting safeguarding awareness and escalating concerns where appropriate.
• Supporting engagement and educational outcomes for vulnerable children and young people.
• Contributing to service development and continuous improvement initiatives.

We're seeking an experienced education professional who is passionate about supporting children and families and who values the diverse approaches to learning found within the home education community.

You’ll be an organised and self‑motivated individual with excellent judgement, able to manage a varied caseload and navigate complex situations with sensitivity and professionalism. A strong understanding of safeguarding, educational legislation and the needs of vulnerable children will be essential, alongside a commitment to achieving the best possible outcomes for every child.

Requirements

• Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).
• Several years’ experience teaching within an educational setting.
• Extensive knowledge of education systems, teaching practice and learning approaches.
• A thorough understanding of Elective Home Education legislation and guidance.
• Knowledge of the Education Act, Children Missing Education, Special Educational Needs and safeguarding requirements.
• Excellent communication, influencing and relationship‑building skills.
• Strong problem‑solving abilities and the confidence to manage complex cases.
• Effective planning and organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise competing demands.
• Experience of working professionally with a range of stakeholders and partners.
• Strong ICT and data management skills.
• A full driving licence and the ability to travel across the county.

Although we are a small team our aim is to ensure that every young person has the opportunity to achieve their full potential through their chosen educational pathway. We work closely with families, schools, and partner agencies to provide support, advice, and guidance, helping to overcome barriers and promote positive outcomes. By building strong relationships with our families and working together, we can ensure that children and young people remain at the centre of everything we do.

Values and Culture

Our values and culture We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are - Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well‑being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation. From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like‑minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

We recognise and reward you. Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work‑life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.

Legal Requirements

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent convictions and conditional cautions
• All spent convictions and adult cautions that are not protected (i.e. that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020 and 2023).