Virtual School Education Support Officer Post-16

Northumberland County Council; Morpeth; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 26,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

26 days annual leave

Local Government Pension Scheme

Flexi scheme – up to 2 days per month

Job summary

Northumberland County Council’s Virtual School invites applications for an Education Support Officer, Post-16. You will work directly with care-experienced young people to remove barriers to EET, supporting progression into education, training or employment, including those in EET and with SEND or mental health needs.

You will build rapid trusted relationships, work lone‑handed in the community and in homes, and collaborate with care teams to deliver High Quality Personal Education Plans for

Responsibilities

• Work with a cohort of post-16 care-experienced young people who are NEET to explore opportunities and engage with education, employment or training (EET).
• Support some young people already in EET and the designated teachers to ensure strong academic progress and stability in placements.
• Create high-quality Personal Education Plans (PEPs) for 16-17 year olds within statutory timescales.
• Represent the Virtual School at multi-agency meetings when required.

Job description

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

Virtual School Education Support Officer Post-16

Job Reference ncc/TP/80/3384(R1)

Number of Positions:

1

Contract Type:

Fixed Term

Working Hours:

18.5

Location:

County Hall MORPETH

Closing Date:

11/11/2026

Job Category:

Region / Division:

UK Region

Directorate:

Job introduction

Northumberland Virtual School is a multi-disciplinary team of professionals who promote and support the educational attainment and progress of Northumberland's cared for children and care leavers to improve their outcomes. We are recruiting an enthusiastic and motivated Education Support Officer to join our Virtual School, Post 16 Pathways Team.

As an Education Support Officer, you will be responsible for working with a cohort of post 16 care experienced young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), exploring opportunities and supporting them to progress into and engage with education, training, and employment (EET) as well as a smaller caseload of young people who are in EET, and the designated teachers who support them, to ensure young people make strong academic progress and have stability in their EET placements.

Your role will include working with young people who may have complex behavioural difficulties, SEND or mental health issues, young people with high aspirations who have not yet achieved their goals, and young people who arrived as unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

Your focus will be working directly with young people, removing barriers to EET and supporting them to access opportunities. The role will include lone working with young people in the community and within their homes. The ability to build relationships with young people quickly is essential.

You must be forward thinking and be able to proactively support education and training providers so that they can maintain the young person's place and provide professional challenge and training when needed.

As part of your role you will be expected to work with care teams to create high quality Personal Education Plans (PEPs) for 16-17 year olds, within statutory timescales, which support a return to EET and, to represent the Virtual School at multi agency meetings as and when required.

This role is 18.5 hours and it is not a remote working position.

Employment Location: Virtual School, County Hall, Morpeth

For an informal discussion, please contact Caitlin Calvert 07966 331554 .

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)

To see all our excellent benefits and perks,

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For guidance on completing your application and for information about our Equality and Diversity principles,

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.

For those with speech difficulties or hearing loss: Text relay service dial 018001 01670 623930

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.