Virtual School Education Support Officer

Northumberland County Council; Morpeth; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 34,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Local Government Pension Scheme

Flexi scheme

26 days annual leave

Job summary

Northumberland County Council’s Virtual School seeks an enthusiastic Education Support Officer to help children in care achieve a high-quality Personal Education Plan (PEP) within statutory timescales at County Hall, Morpeth.

You will support Year 11 cared-for children with complex needs, supervise transitions to Year 12, and work with schools and care teams to ensure educational stability and progress.

Qualifications

• Experience of working with children and young people in KS4/5 is essential.

Responsibilities

• Monitor and promote attainment and progress of children in care.
• Provide 1:1 mentoring, behaviour and attendance support.
• Deliver therapeutic interventions such as Thrive or Lego therapy.
• Support Designated Teachers and care teams to create stable learning environments.
• Ensure high-quality Personal Education Plans (PEP) within statutory timescales.

Skills

KS4/5 experience

Therapeutic interventions

Behaviour support

Attendance support

Job description

The following content displays a map of the jobs location - County Hall MORPETH

Virtual School Education Support Officer

Job Reference ncc/TP/80/3335/NP(R1)

Number of Positions:

1

Contract Type:

Fixed Term

Working Hours:

37

Location:

County Hall MORPETH

Closing Date:

23/09/2026

Job Category:

Region / Division:

UK Region

Directorate:

Job Introduction

Education Support Officer

Band 5 – full time working.

Fixed term for one year in the first instance.

Northumberland County Council is recruiting an enthusiastic and motivated Education Support Officer to join our multi-disciplinary Virtual School.

As an Education Support Officer, you will support the education of children in care and care leavers working with schools, education settings and care teams to ensure children in care have a high-quality PEP (Personal Education Plan) in place, within statutory timescales.

This role will involve oversight of cared for children in Year 11 living in and out of authority who may have complex behavioural difficulties, SEND or attendance issues. Supporting them to attend education, preparation for exams and supporting their journey into Year 12. Ensuring pathways into EET are appropriate, supportive and meet their individual needs.

You will support Designated Teachers and care teams to help create stable learning environments, breaking down barriers, supporting stability and providing professional challenge where needed to ensure cared for children do the best they can in education.

The role will include monitoring and promoting the attainment and progress of children in care, including the appropriate use of PP+ (pupil premium plus).

The role will include working with school, challenging where needed and direct work with cared for children, which may include 1:1, mentoring, behaviour support, attendance support and delivering therapeutic interventions e.g Thrive, Lego therapy etc.

Experience of working with children and young people in KS4/5 is essential.

Employment Location: Virtual School, County Hall, Morpeth
For an informal conversation about this role, please contact Tara Prescott, Virutal School Headteacher on 07767221092.

Northumberland County Council’s (NCC) vision is ‘Land of Great Opportunities’, for current and future generations. We believe there is no better place to live and work.

For further information about working for NCC, please visit our websitehere .

Why choose us?
We have some outstanding benefits and perks to offer you, including:

• 26 days annual leave plus public/bank holidays, rising to 31 days after 5 years of service (pro rata for part-time employees)
• Automatic enrolment into the Local Government Pension Scheme
• Flexi scheme (if applicable) – up to 2 days flexible leave available per month (pro rata for part-time employees)

Stay connected with us on social media to keep up to date with Northumberland County Council’s latest job opportunities.

Further information
For guidance on completing your application and for information about our Equality and Diversity principles, please see the attached guidance noteshere .

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria. If you have a disability and would prefer to apply in a different format, please see the alternative methods below. This information will be treated as confidential and will only be used to check that you meet the essential requirements of the post.

Although we advertise on North East Jobs, and other websites, your application process will be directed to our Tribepad system. Please note that all communication regarding your application for this post will be sent to the email address that you have registered on Tribepad, including your invite to interview if you are shortlisted. Please check your emails regularly, including Spam/Junk, after the closing dates for notifications.