Virtual School Education Advisor (Children Looked After)

Oldham Council; Oldham; Hybrid; GBP 39,000 - 43,000; Full time

Job summary

A local governmental body in Oldham seeks a committed Virtual School Education Advisor to enhance educational outcomes for Children Looked After. You will support professionals, manage student caseloads, and advocate for vulnerable learners. Ideal candidates will have experience in education or social care, strong communication skills, and a desire to collaborate. This permanent role offers a salary of £39,152 - £42,839 annually and a hybrid working model.

Benefits

25 days annual leave

Discounted gym membership

Wellbeing support

Pension scheme

Qualifications

• Proven experience working with children and young people in an educational setting.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Excellent organizational and self-management skills.

Responsibilities

• Promote partnership work to improve educational outcomes for Children Looked After.
• Provide expert advice and support to professionals.
• Manage a caseload of children and young people.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Organizational skills

Communication skills

Collaboration

Job description

Children’s and Young Peoples Services

Oldham Virtual School

Virtual School Education Advisor (Children Looked After)

Ref : 001169

Contract : Permanent x2

Salary : £39,152 - £42,839 per annum (Grade 7)

Hours : 36.66 per week - Hybrid Working

Location : Oldham Council Offices, Spindles Shopping Centre, George St

Closing Date : Sunday 4th January 2025

Interview Date : TBC

Hiring Manager : Sarah Reddy, Virtual School Team Manager ([e-mail])

Role Overview

Oldham Virtual School are looking for a passionate, committed individual to join our team as an Education Advisor for Children Looked After (CLA). In this vital role you will work to improve the education progress and outcomes of Children Looked After and Care Leavers, ensuring they receive the educational support and opportunities they need and deserve.

You will act as key link between schools, social workers and other professionals offering advice, guidance and challenge to promote effective inclusive practice. Managing a caseload of children and young people, you will monitor attendance, progress and engagement, intervening where needed to support and advise the professional network in removing barriers to learning and help each young person reach their potential.

As an advocate for Children Looked After, you will make sure that their voices are heard in decisions about their education and hold partners to account for their responsibilities as corporate parents. You’ll also contribute to the design and delivery of training, share good practice and support the Virtual School in promoting high-quality learning experiences for all our children and young people.

If you are experienced in working with children and young people in education or social care, have strong partnership skills and a genuine commitment to improving outcomes for vulnerable learners, we’d love to hear from you.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as a key member of the Virtual School Team, promoting partnership working to improve educational outcomes for Children Looked After (CLA)
• Manage a caseload of children and young people, providing challenge and support to the professionals working directly with them to ensure that educational needs are met.
• Provide expert advice and consultation to schools, social workers and other professionals on educational issues and needs including, PEPs, attendance, inclusion and SEND
• Collate, analyse and report on data relating to the educational achievement and progress of CLA and Care Leavers
• Contribute to the development and delivery of training and projects that promote high quality learning opportunities for the professional network supporting CLA.

Key Requirements

To succeed in this role, you will be able to :

• Demonstrate proven experience of working with children and young people in an educational setting or children’s service— with the ability to achieve positive outcomes through effective interagency collaboration
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills to influence, motivate and engage with a wide range of professionals who are supporting children, young people and their families
• Excellent organisational and self-management skills with a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of national and local legislation and educational guidance relating to the educational needs of children under the remit of the Virtual School

If you have completed the GM Elevate (Leadership Development) Programme, please indicate this within the ‘About You’ or ‘Supporting Statement’ section of your application.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and therefore expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

About Us

We want Oldham to have vibrant, safe neighbourhoods where people are proud to live with opportunities for healthier, more fulfilled lives; and a sustainable, thriving economy. As we look to the future, the challenges may be significant, but so are the opportunities. We’ve identified three missions with our residents and partners, focusing on what will deliver the biggest impact:

A Great Place to Live, Healthier, Happier Lives, and Green and Growing.

We’re looking for candidates who will support us to achieve our ambitions and we encourage you to download our Corporate Plan: Ready for the Future and our Oldham Plan for further information.

Our Values and Behaviours:

By driving innovation, investing in our people, and championing our communities, we will ensure that Oldham continues to be a place where everyone can live their best life. To support this, we have three core values which define who we are and how we operate. These are ‘Proud, Ambitious, and Together’, and they shape our culture, inform our decisions, and inspire us to deliver on our commitments to the people of Oldham.

We have translated these values into five behaviours which guide our actions and are the standards we hold ourselves to, day in and day out:

• Work with a resident focus
• Support local leaders
• Committed to the borough
• Deliver high performance
• Take ownership and drive change

You can find out more about our values and behaviours on our greater.jobs Oldham page

Our Benefits Package

At Oldham Council we offer a great benefits package for our employees, which includes the following:

• 25 days annual leave which increases after 5 and 10-years’ service
• The option to purchase additional annual leave.
• An attractive LGPS benefit pension scheme with the option to make shared cost additional voluntary contributions.
• Discounted gym membership with Oldham Active
• Staff discount scheme for shopping, entertainment, eating-out, eating-in, travel, motoring and more.
• Salary sacrifice scheme for home and electronics and Cycle to Work.
• Wellbeing support, including a Mental Health First Aider network and an Employment Assistance Programme that provides 24 hours access to advice and support.
• Staff recognition and celebration events.
• Peer support groups

Inclusive Recruitment

We work closely with employees to help them work at their best, including making adjustments such as flexible working, describing available working patterns, providing equipment or making changes to the workplace.

If you’re an applicant with disabilities and have previously been in or currently in care, a carer or someone who has served in the Armed Forces and you meet the essential criteria of the role, you are guaranteed to reach the first stage of assessment under our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme.

Data and Privacy:

For details of how we use your data please see our privacy notice.

Important Information

Please note that should a vacancy that has been released for internal or external recruitment be deemed suitable for a current employee at risk of redundancy, it can be pulled back at any point, up to the post being formally offered to a candidate who is not at risk of redundancy.

While we embrace the use of AI as an innovative tool to maximise our services at Oldham Council, we are looking for authenticity in applications we receive. We therefore ask you to think carefully if choosing to use AI when completing your application and ask that you ensure you read all instructions carefully and that your application is written by you and reflects your skills, knowledge and enthusiasm.