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

Job title: Team Manager – Learning Access Service – School Attendance Team

Salary: PO3 £42,839 - £46,142

Hours: 37

Contract: Permanent

Location: Hybrid working, office days in Tech North.

As a team manager you’ll thrive on being an advocate for the rights of children and hold for them the highest aspirations and ambitions for their education and future life chances and will enable schools and services to do the same. You will put children and young people at the heart of everything you do and will be proactive in ensuring the voice of the child is a priority in all aspects of your work.

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 team manager, you will bring to the role:

• A lead in driving forwards a whole family working approach.
• Support, advice and signposting on attendance matters for all services, including parents and carers.
• Identification and assessment of the needs of vulnerable children (including known and unknown and those at risk of being Children Missing in Education, EHE, SEND) and co-ordinate/support their re-integration into education.
• An ability to carry out attendance audits, analysis, data collection, data management, providing reports at area, school and pupil levels as requested. Provide early identification of and support to schools causing concern.

About the role

As our next team manageryou’ll model values and behaviours to help us to achieve our ambition to become the best city council in the country, supporting a climate of shared accountabilities, learning and continuous improvement to support our partnership aspiration to become a child friendly city.

The role is integral to our Learning Access Service and ideally, you will have previous experience of managing and leading a team, and also have a up to date knowledge of attendance processes, procedures and legislation. You will see yourself as an advocate with a passionate belief in the positive impact learning access can have on young people’s life chances and be an advocate for inclusive, relational, and restorative practice

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 guidance for 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 visa route 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 statutory functions relating to  Learning Access and school attendance  are carried out to help achieve good outcomes for children and young people of compulsory school age

To work with all types of schools, provide strategic school attendance support and challenge, oversee targeted interventions and traded services 

To manage staff and relationships with individual schools and clusters

To initiate and carry out legal action in relation to school attendance

Responsibilities 

• Provide a strategic attendance service to support and challenge individual schools/collaboratives to meet recommendations as outlined as statutory for the local authority.
• Provide monitoring, supportive intervention and high challenge regarding attendance, unauthorised absence (including persistent absence), authorised absence (including exclusion) and Children Missing Education.
• Ensure the identification and assessment of the needs of vulnerable children (including known and unknown and those at risk of being Children Missing in Education, EHE, SEND) and co-ordinate/support their re-integration into education.
• Carry out attendance audits, analysis, data collection, data management, providing reports at area, school and pupil levels as requested. Provide early identification of and support to schools causing concern.
• Develop and implement attendance improvement action plans, attendance policy and practice.
• Establish and deliver Service Level Agreements with partners and develop, implement and evaluate appropriate traded services to meet local needs and generate income to sustain the service.

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       

(Desirable) A Level or equivalent.  Leadership and management qualification.

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

• Direct casework supervision, including National Occupational Standards (NOS competencies) of Attendance Improvement Officers and other attendance staff.
• Take a lead in driving forwards a whole family working approach.
• Ensure timely and accurate processing of legal work including undertaking PACE cautions as required and recommending legal action and penalty notices.
• Attend and report at appropriate multi-agency panels. Make recommendations regarding legal interventions and actioning agreed outcomes.
• Undertake supervisory responsibilities and take a leading professional role for Conditional Discharges, School Attendance Orders, Attendance Orders, Education Supervision Orders and any other statutory orders relating to attendance.
• Carry out legal training, and monitor and evaluate the impact of legal work at area, school and pupil level
• Provide updates for legal development and changes in policy and practice, and to support the implementation of changes for all relevant stakeholders and partnerships.
• Ensure monthly performance reporting of attendance work and periodic reviews of trends.
• Undertake quality assurance of legal cases.
• Represent the Local Authority in Court and in relevant partnership meetings.
• Provide support, advice and signposting on attendance matters for all services, including parents and carers.
• To provide training and development activities to ensure up to date knowledge and skills on attendance matters.
• Undertake other duties appropriate to the post as required

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.

Desirable requirements Candidates are not required to meet all the following desirable requirements however these may be used to distinguish between candidates.

• Individual and family counselling skills
• Leadership and Management qualification (A Level or equivalent).
• Multi-Agency working
• Experience of monitoring and recording systems (e.g. Synergy)

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