Education Welfare Officer

Job Description

• Suffolk County Council, Ipswich IP1 2BX or Bury St Edmunds, IP33 3YU – Hybrid
• £27,711- £32,654 per annum (pro rata if part time)
• 37 hours per week
• Full Time, Term Time and Flexible working options available
• Permanent
  
  
  

Posts available at the following locations:

• Endeavour House, Ipswich, IP1 2BX
• West Suffolk House, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP33 3YU
  
  
  

At Suffolk County Council, every role is a chance to create positive change. We're not just a local authority; we're a team of dedicated individuals working together to improve school attendance across our diverse communities. As an Education Welfare Officer, you'll have the unique opportunity to see the direct impact of your work on the children, young people and the schools that make Suffolk special. Your contributions will help build a brighter future for all. If you're passionate about making a real, tangible difference, it's time to reimagine your career with us. Join Suffolk County Council and turn your passion for positive change into action.

Your Role And Responsibilities

As an Education Welfare Officer, you will;

• join a dedicated group of officers who are responsible for promoting equality of opportunity for all children to enable access to appropriate educational entitlement
• provide practical guidance to schools on attendance policy and the law, advice and support to children and their parents/carers on promoting good attendance and punctuality and where appropriate, make recommendations to other agencies enabling them to provide vulnerable families with a holistic package of support
• travel across the County carrying out home visits where necessary, visiting schools, and attending meetings
• work on your own initiative while managing a demanding workload, prioritising work, and adopting a flexible approach to changing and competing challenges.
  
  
  

You will need to

• enjoy working with children and families
• have experience of working with schools
• have a good understanding of the education system, especially in relation to education issues and school attendance.
• the ability to work using own initiative but also as part of a team
• have good communication skills to be able to work with partners across all agencies and departments
• listen sensitively to people's problems and be able to deal with them in a sympathetic, tactful and non-judgemental way
• have experience of using Microsoft Office.
  
  
  

You can view a full list of requirements in the  Job and Person Profile (docx) . If you believe you can succeed in this role, apply. Even if you don't meet all requirements, still apply. We would appreciate the opportunity to consider your application.

The team

We fulfil both statutory and non-statutory functions in relation to compulsory school-aged children and young people:

• Monitoring student attendance and addressing any issues.
• Working with students who may be facing various challenges.
• Conducting home visits.
• Working proactively to identify and support issues early.
• Delivering training sessions or workshops.
• Coordinating the involvement of various professionals.
• Developing comprehensive support plans and policies.
• Analysing data to identify trends, patterns, and areas for improvement.
• Ensuring effective communication between many parties.
• Advocating for the rights and welfare of students.
• Making referrals to appropriate services or support networks if necessary.
• Advice and guidance for schools on all matters relating to processes underpinning school attendance and pupil registration, including registration coding and off roll procedures.
• Case work management.
• Regular consultation with key personnel to report and plan actions for open cases, including matters relating to safeguarding concerns, carrying out termly register checks and monitoring students whose attendance is below 90%.
• All aspects of legal intervention for school attendance offences.
  
  
  

Empowering Everyone

We’re big believers in potential, possibility and the power of different ideas. We’re always searching for ways to encourage, respect and enable everyone to be the best they can be. We want to represent the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from all individuals, especially those from groups that are currently underrepresented in the organisation, as shown in our Workforce Equality Report .

For more information

Please contact Sharon Everitt orVictoria Winterfor a casual conversation. You can reach them by calling 01473 265348 or 01473 265722 or by emailing [email protected] / [email protected]

How To Apply

Step 1 - Read the Job and Person Profile (JPP) (docx) .

Step 2 - Click ‘Apply Now’ to start your online application.

Step 3 - Upload asupporting statement indicating how you meet each of the criteria in the ‘Person Profile’ section of theJPP.

• You should use the Supporting Statement template (docx) .
• Please use Arial font size 11 and keep your statement to a maximum of two sides of A4.
  
  
  

Please note: Without a supporting statement, your interest will not be progressed. Any supporting documents must be in either PDF or MS Word format.

We value authentic applications that showcase your genuine skills and experiences. Applications suspected of being generated by AI may be rejected. We encourage you to present your own work and ideas throughout the application process.

If you require any reasonable adjustments to the application process before the next selection stage, please contact our Recruitment Team by emailing [email protected] or calling 03456 014412.  If you are invited to the next stage of selection, you will have another opportunity to request adjustments for the next stages of the process.

Closing date: 11.30pm, 12 January 2025

This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks or police vetting will be required for relevant posts.  

About Us

As a modern and effective council, we offer a wide variety of careers to suit people with a range of skills, abilities and ambitions. We offer working options that flex to reflect the way people work today and take the time to understand and support your individual needs. We’re driven to make a positive difference to the world around us and encourage everyone with drive and focus to join us and build an influential and impactful career. Reimagine the possibilities.

In return, you’ll enjoy:

• up to 29 days annual leave entitlement (pro rata), plus UK bank holidays and two paid volunteering days
• membership of a competitive Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• travel, lifestyle, health and wellbeing benefits
• performance-related annual pay progression, in addition to an annual cost-of-living pay increase
• training and encouragement to expand your knowledge
• a variety of career development opportunities across our organisation
• diverse and active staff networks
• flexible working options, with the right to request flexible working from your first day
  
  
  

Plus lots more!

If you want to know more about our benefits, values and equality commitments please visit our Suffolk County Council careers website (careers.Suffolk.gov.uk) .