Children Missing Education (CME) Officer - REQ003227

INTERNAL ONLY VACANCY. This post is open to existing Leeds City Council employees only. Applications will not be considered from external candidates.

Job title: Children Missing Education (CME) Officer

Salary: SO2 £37,280 - £39,152

Hours: 37

Contract: Permanent

Location: Hybrid – Office, Tech North

As a Children Missing education Officer in The Learning Access Service, you’ll thrive on working in an established team driving advocacy for the rights of children and hold for them the highest aspirations and ambitions for their education and future life chances. You will help schools and services to do the same. This service includes the school attendance team, the elective home education team, the exclusions team and the pupil tuition team. You will work with all colleagues in these teams and focus on children missing education but be involved in all matters of education engagement and attendance.

Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.

About you

As a children missing education officer, you will bring to the role:

an ability to liaise and network with CME colleagues regionally and nationally to share information in order to resolve cases, and continue to develop knowledge and expertise in the area
an ability to liaise and work closely with head teachers and other senior school staff, Data Management Team, admissions, new arrivals officer, EHE and any other Children Leeds teams as appropriate to ensure the earliest possible closure of cases
an ability to contribute to the establishment and ongoing development of CME procedures and processes and ensure best practice across the CME team
an ability to pursue families failing to enrol their child(ren) in school or provide an appropriate alternative education e.g. elective home education in order to ensure children are enrolled in a school or that School Attendance Order (SAO) proceedings are instigated

About the role

As our next children missing education officer you’ll work well in a team and understand the importance of muti agency work.

The role is integral to our Learning Access Service and wider teams across the city as you collaborate to identify any children missing education and help to locate them.

What we offer you

We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:

a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements
a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities
a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further

How to apply

Please complete the online application form.

Read our guidancefor further advice on completing your application.

If you have any queries or would like an informal chat about the role please contact Alison Finley, Head of Service Learning Access by email. Alison.Finley@Leeds.Gov.uk

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check against the Children’s or Adults’ barred list as applicable will be carried out on preferred candidates. Read our recruitment of ex-offenders policy.

We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people.

This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.

If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visaroute before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. Please ensure you are eligible before applying

Job Description

Job purpose To ensure that children of compulsory school age are in receipt of an appropriate education through the tracking and tracing of referrals, liaison with other authorities and training/informing colleagues, relevant partners and agencies with regard to CME procedures. Safeguarding of children who are CME cases

Responsibilities

To be responsible for a caseload of CME referrals.
To assess referrals and identify cases where children may be highly vulnerable and/or at immediate risk of potential harm. e.g. forced marriage, child trafficking, child sexual exploitation, domestic violence, and any other child protection concerns
To ensure that any concerns re the safeguarding and child protection of CME cases are recorded and processed accordingly through relevant procedures.
To prioritise referrals and work to close cases as quickly as possible.
To carry out enquiries to locate the whereabouts of CME referrals
To carry out home visits to families of CME children to provide information, advice and to discuss school placements and to obtain applications for school places where relevant.

The duties outlined are not meant as an exhaustive list and will also comprise any other duties within the spirit of the post commensurate with the job evaluation outcome for this post.

Qualifications

Essential requirements Candidates will only be shortlisted if they can demonstrate that they meet all the following essential requirements.

To pursue families failing to enrol their child(ren) in school or provide an appropriate alternative education e.g. elective home education in order to ensure children are enrolled in a school or that School Attendance Order (SAO) proceedings are instigated.
To contribute to the establishment and ongoing development of CME procedures and processes and ensure best practice in across CME
To ensure that referrals and enquiries to the CME team are being dealt with appropriately through day to day oversight of the CME Assistant
To liaise and work closely with head teachers and other senior school staff, Data Management Team, admissions, new arrivals officer, GRTAS, EHE and any other Children Leeds teams as appropriate to ensure the earliest possible closure of cases
To obtain relevant information about CME children in order to inform and assist the process of placing them in schools through fair access protocols etc
To attend all relevant CME meetings
To provide support and advice to schools, AIO’s and other staff where appropriate re CME procedures and cases etc.
To identify and contribute to the establishment of Information Sharing Agreements (ISA’s) with internal and external partners to support and develop CME casework.
To liaise and network with CME colleagues regionally and nationally in to share information in order to resolve cases, and continue to develop knowledge and expertise in the area
To comply with all relevant procedures e.g. data protection, data management, freedom of information, child protection and safeguarding.
To provide appropriate advice, guidance, support and to represent the interests of parents of CME children including new arrivals.
To identify and provide appropriate advice, guidance, support and representation to families with additional needs, e.g. Little or no English, children with Special Educational (SEN) or disability needs, families with little or no knowledge of our system and procedures.
To initiate and undertake CAF procedures where appropriate and to undertake the lead professional and Early Intervention Fund holder roles where appropriate.
To assist in the compilation and presentation of reports and statistics in respect of CME cases and activity
To attend relevant multi-agency meetings etc where appropriate e.g. child protection conferences
To support and oversee the work of the CME assistant

Essential Behavioural & other Characteristics

Understand and embrace Leeds City Council Values and Behaviours and codes of conduct
Committed to continuous improvement in all areas and work towards delivering the Best City Ambition of Health & Wellbeing, Inclusive Growth and Zero Carbon
Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council policies and procedures.
Carry out all duties having regard to an employee’s responsibility under Health, Safety and Wellbeing
Willingness to actively participate in appraisal, training and development activities to ensure up, to date knowledge and skills.
Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade.
Be aware of and support difference and ensure equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding, equality & diversity of Leeds City Council.
Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimisation, and any form of abuse, reporting any concerns to the appropriate person
The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and the role will be expected to work within these parameters.

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