Leaving Care Worker (Employment and Education Worker)

Derbyshire County Council; Ilkeston; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 36,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Local Government Pension Scheme

Generous annual leave

Travel expenses

Leisure centre discount

Free car parking

In-house counselling service

Occupational health service

Cycle to work scheme

DBS check paid for

Incremental annual pay increases

Job summary

Derbyshire County Council is seeking an Employment and Education Worker to join the Leaving Care Service in Ilkeston, covering Erewash and South Derbyshire. You will work with care-experienced young people aged 16-25 to develop and enhance education, employment and training opportunities, embedding trauma-informed and social pedagogy approaches.

You will collaborate with DWP, SEND services, Virtual School and partners to strengthen the offer and improve outcomes, maintaining a child-centred,

Qualifications

• Experience of working with children in care and care experienced young people a focus on helping them access and sustain education, employment and training (EET).
• A real passion and commitment to do more and better for our young people.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills with the ability to build positive relationships with young people, workers, management and partners.
• A strong advocate for care-experienced young people and children in care.
• Ability to reflect on own practice and development enabling flexible and thoughtful practice and positive change.

Responsibilities

• Focus on education, employment and training to help care-experienced young people choose the right route.
• One-to-one work with young people to explore education, employment and training pathways.
• Provide practical support with applications, interview prep, CV writing and transition planning.
• Maintain corporate responsibility and a culture of never giving up on care-experienced young people.
• Work with Social Pedagogy, Systemic and trauma-informed approaches with partners and local teams.
• Promote a child-centered approach supporting transitions into interdependence and employment.
• Represent the service locally, regionally and nationally.
• Operate within statutory guidelines for care-experienced young people.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Passion for youth

Advocacy

Flexible practice

Job description

An exciting opportunity has arisen, where Derbyshire Leaving Care Service are looking for a full-time Employment and Education Worker to join our committed leaving care and employment and education team.

This post is based at our Young Person's Hub in Ilkeston, with the role predominantly covering Erewash and South Derbyshire.

In this role, you will play a key part in developing and enhancing our employment and training offer for care-experienced young people. You will work collaboratively with young people, empowering them to create sustainable and positive futures as they navigate the transition to adulthood and independence. You will support children in care and care-experienced young people aged 16-25, embedding Social Pedagogy, Systemic, and Trauma-Informed approaches into your daily practice. A strong commitment to corporate parenting and relationship-based practice will be essential, as these are central to achieving positive outcomes and successful transitions.

The role will involve working closely with our Leaving Care Teams and partner agencies, including the DWP, SEND services, Virtual School, DACES, Apprenticeship teams, and other Education and Employment services. You will focus on building strong partnerships and embedding new processes to strengthen our existing offer, ensuring that care-experienced young people receive the support they need to thrive in education, training, and employment.

What will I be doing:

• You will have a focus on education, employment and training designed to help young people of all abilities choose the appropriate route to make the most of their opportunities when they leave care
• Work one-to-one with young people of all abilities to explore education, employment and training pathways tailored to their interests, strengths, and aspirations.
• Provide practical support with applications, interview preparation, CV writing, enrolment processes, and transition planning.
• Maintain our corporate responsibility, our positive outcomes and our culture of never giving up on our care experienced young people.
• Work with a Social Pedagogy, Systemic and trauma informed approach; supporting our young people holistically alongside our partners and locality social work teams with an aspirational approach for young people's futures.
• Maintain a child centred approach while promoting care experienced young people's transitions into interdependence and employment and training.
• Represent the service and our care experienced young people locally, regionally and nationally.
• You will be working within the statutory guidelines and expectations for care experienced young people and children in care.
• You will keep up to date with local and wider employment opportunities and remain aspiration focused for our care experienced young people.

What skills and experience do you need to have:

• Experience of working with children in care and care experienced young people a particular focus on supporting them to access and sustain education, employment, and training (EET)
• A real passion and commitment to do more and better for our young people
• Outstanding interpersonal skills with the ability to build positive relationships with young people, workers, management and partners
• A strong advocate for care experienced young people and children in care
• Ability to reflect on own practice and development enabling flexible and thoughtful practice and positive change

What we offer you:

• Manageable case loads
• Two thriving offices/young person hubs
• Visible, supportive and determined manager's
• Diverse range of cases providing an exciting, challenging and rewarding career
• Excellent supervision and a supportive peer network
• Access to an excellent range of training and development opportunities,
• Fantastic opportunities to undertake further formal qualifications and career progression through our career pathways

What benefits do we offer you?

• Local Government Pension Scheme
• generous annual leave, sick pay and flexi-time scheme
• travel expenses
• discount on leisure centre memberships
• free car parking at most sites
• an in-house counselling service
• occupational health service
• access to sessions with a trained physiotherapist
• cycle to work scheme
• DBS check undertaken and paid for by us
• Guaranteed incremental annual pay increases

Provisional Interview Date: week commencing 9 November 2026

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Due to this post having access to children and/or vulnerable adults, the successful candidate will be required to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service check. The possession of a criminal record will not necessarily prevent an applicant from obtaining this post, as all cases are judged individually according to the nature of the role and information provided. Click here to see our policy on criminal background checks.

We welcome applications from individuals who share our values - being Collaborative, Innovative, Empowered and Accountable. These values describe who we are and what we stand for as a council. They help shape our culture, encourage consistent behaviour and guide how we work together to make a positive difference for both our employees and the residents we serve.