Virtual School Lead

Dorset Council; Ferndown; Hybrid; GBP 36,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Travel across Dorset

Job summary

Dorset Council is seeking an Education/Social Care professional to join the Virtual School, improving provision for children in care and care leavers. The role focuses on high-quality PEPs, progress review, and collaborative planning with schools and locality teams.

You will travel across the county, require a driving licence, and work in a hybrid model with some home and office-based tasks. This permanent post supports vulnerable children through trauma-informed practice.

Qualifications

• Experience of working with children and young people in school/education and/or social care.
• Ability to set targets and monitor progress and reporting.
• Trauma-informed approach to support vulnerable children.
• Flexible team player with a can-do attitude.
• Travel across Dorset; a full driving licence is essential.

Responsibilities

• Work within the Virtual School with schools and settings to improve provision for children in care and care leavers.
• Produce high-quality PEPs and ensure review processes are followed to support educational progress.
• Identify implications and resource requirements for provision affecting education, working with locality teams.

Skills

Child-focused approach

Communication skills

Target setting

Progress reporting

Education/Social care experience

Quality assurance

Attendance & attainment tracking

Trauma-informed practice

Team flexibility

Education

Education or social care background

Job description

About the role

We have an exciting opportunity to be part of our team working to improve educational outcomes for Children in Care and Care Leavers in Dorset, aiming to set up high quality teaching and learning experiences for our children and young people across Early Years, schools and Post-16 Providers.

As the ideal candidate, youdemonstrate:

• A child-focused approach: Prioritising the well-being and interests of children, ensuring their needs guide decision-making.
• Effective communication: Exceptional verbal and written communication skills enabling successful collaboration with diverse individuals and agencies.
• Experience of setting targets and monitoring and reporting on progress against these targets.
• A proven track record of successful work with children and young people in a school/ education and/or social care context as well as experience of supporting children where professionals have been unable to engage them with education.
• An awareness of quality assurance
• A proven track record of monitoring and reporting on progress, attendance and attainment.
• The ability to work in a trauma informed way to support our children and young people to achieve.
• The ability to work flexibly within a team environment.

What you can expect to be doing:

You will:

• work within the Virtual School with schools and settings to improve their provision for children and young people in care and children previously looked after.
• work with teams around the child to ensure the production of high-quality PEPs, that these are in place and that review processes are followed to ensure children are making good educational progress.
• Identify implications and resource requirements for the provision for children in care and care leavers which will impact on wider parts of the council, working with locality teams to support the education provision for our children.

You will need to be an education or social care worker and an experienced, flexible team member, committed to supporting some of our most vulnerable children and young people.

Learning and development opportunities linked to the strategic priorities of the Virtual School will be made available to our Virtual School Leads.

A willingness to work flexibly to meet the needs of the Virtual School is important. As some children are educated outside of Dorset, there is also some requirement to travel and so a full driving licence is essential. You must have a vehicle (or transport we deem suitable) available for use as needed.

Further Information

This is a permanent full time role at 37 hours per week.

Your centre of duty will be in Ferndown in the East of the County. There will be a hybrid approach to your work, which supports working from home and in the office. You may also be working in different locations across the county according to your work.

This post requires significant travel. You must have a vehicle (or transport we deem suitable) available for use as needed.

This post involves working with children and/or vulnerable adults and/or having access to significant information about them. It will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check. See our policy on the employment of ex-offenders.

See our policy on safeguarding children and young people.

Contact Jennie Brown, [e-mail] for an informal conversation about the role

Interviews will be held the week beginning 7th December 2026, at County Hall in Dorchester.

About Us

At Dorset Council, it's not just about the work we do, it's about how we do it. Hear directly from our employees about what makes Dorset Council special in this short video:

At Dorset Council, we are working together to create a fairer, more prosperous, and more sustainable Dorset for everyone, now and in the future.

We:

• provide essential services that support over 300,000 residents
• work in partnership to make a real difference
• value every role and the impact it has on our communities
• support our employees to grow, develop, and thrive

You will:

• be part of a team that works together for a better Dorset
• have access to a range of benefits and support
• receive training and development opportunities to help your career progress

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation where different skills, perspectives, and backgrounds strengthen both our council and the communities we serve.

We welcome applications from everyone and are proud to a Disability Confident Employer. If you declare a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role, we will offer you an interview. We also want our recruitment process to be accessible, if you need any reasonable adjustments, just let us know on your application.

This role is UK-based, and we will need to confirm your Right to Work as part of the appointment process. We use generic job descriptions and person specifications, so the job title in any attachments may differ from the advert. If needed, we will provide additional details in a context statement.

If you’re passionate about making a difference, we’d love you to join us.