Learner Support Compliance & Standards Lead in Sheffield

About us
The Sheffield College is a thriving further and higher education community, empowering around 13,000 learners each year to achieve their goals. Driven by our mission to transform lives through learning, we foster an inclusive environment recognised through our 2026 Investors in Diversity Gold award and 3rd - place ranking in the National Centre for Diversity's 2025 Top 100 Most Inclusive UK Employers.

About the Role
The post-holder will report to the Head of Learning Support: Compliance, Quality and Specialist Support and be responsible for the maintenance and monitoring of the compliance and quality assurance systems in line with relevant regulatory bodies and legislative codes of practice associated with Learning Support across all provision types at The Sheffield College. The post-holder will be responsible for completing audits and samples on the provision of learning support and sharing findings which provide assurance regarding compliance with processes and funding regulations. The post-holder will line-manage the Inclusion and Learning Support Advisors, leading them to support delivery staff to develop and successfully implement inclusive teaching and learning and Individual Support Plans for appropriate students. The postholder will help drive a culture where assessment of need is robust, timely and informs each student's normal way of working which in turn leads to the implementation of exam access arrangements.

Main Responsibilities

• Ensure all provision types, including sub-contracted provision, remain compliant with college policy and procedures related to learning support.
• Generate reports and analysis of matters relating to learning support compliance and standards that support the Head of Learning Support: Compliance, Quality and Specialist Support with providing assurances to the college's Executive Leadership team regarding the provision of learning support.
• Support delivery staff to continuously develop inclusive teaching and learning practice across the college through the team of Inclusion and Learning Support Advisors.
• Support the development of processes to provide needs-led Individual Support Plans for all students who require one.
• Providing assurance that exam access arrangements are accurate and robust having been informed by an assessment of need and by the student's normal way of working.
• The Learning Support Compliance and Standards Lead will be responsible for issues of regulatory compliance and quality, and their implementation, throughout The Sheffield College (TSC).
• The Learning Support Compliance and Standards Lead will maintain awareness of good practice in relation to learning support as it applies to the delivery of all provision types, to ensure awareness of all relevant legislation, funding requirements, policies and procedures as related to the operation and integrity of learning support delivered by TSC.

Compliance

• Providing support to the Head of Learning Support: Compliance, Quality and Specialist Support to ensure arrangements for meeting regulatory obligations are in accordance with the conditions issued by funding bodies.
• Pro-actively identifying, anticipating and managing all issues with potential to cause an adverse effect.
• Investigation of any irregularities threatening the integrity of the delivery of learning support and ensure timely notification and reporting to Head of Learning Support: Compliance, Quality and Specialist Support.
• To support and advise Vice Principals, Assistant Principals, Academy Directors, Heads of School, Sector Directors, Head of Data Services and Exams and Heads of Quality Improvement on all issues relating to compliance within the delivery of learning support.

Monitoring

• Sample compliance of learning support against college policy and procedures, ensuring it meets funding body requirements.
• Prepare reports to provide lines of enquiry which feed into Quality Review processes and/or reports that provide assurance to the Executive Leadership Team.
• Managing internal audits as may be agreed with the Executive Leadership Team.
• Work with managers in reviewing and updating learning support policies and procedures ensuring regulatory compliance and quality are fully embedded.

Recognition

• Supporting as appropriate, the collation and maintenance of evidence needed to effectively underpin successful internal and external audits.
• Ensure timely reports on relevant issues and especially those which need to be communicated to the regulator or other key stakeholders.
• Attend CPD events in relation to regulatory compliance relating to learning support, provided by the regulators or any other party, as agreed by the Head of Learning Support: Compliance, Quality and Specialist Support.

Liaison and Communication

• Line-manage the Inclusion and Learning Support Advisors and the Exams Access Arrangements Officers.
• Support the preparation of papers for the Executive Leadership Team and governance reports for TLQSE (Teaching, Learning, Quality and Student Experience (governance committee).
• Provide support and communication to all managers and staff, providing training and development to ensure continuous development of inclusive teaching practices.
• Working with the Head of Learning Support: Compliance, Quality and Specialist Support, communicate, liaise and enhance relationships with key stakeholders related to the provision of learning support including exam access arrangements.
• Engage and brief investigation teams when required and ensure accurate, meaningful reports prepared within agreed timescales.
• Prepare and disseminate regular updates on compliance matters, issues for all staff and partners including sub-contracted provision as necessary.
• Undertake other tasks as reasonably requested by the Head of Learning Support: Compliance, Quality and Specialist Support.

If you want to find out more about the role please contact Lynda Matthias.

What we can offer you

• As the successful candidate, you will be offered a salary of between £40,746 - £47,578 per annum based upon a combination of the skills, knowledge and experience that you can bring to the role.
• Alongside your salary, your pension is one of the most valuable benefits of joining the College. The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), administered locally by SYPA, provides financial security in retirement and support for your loved ones.
• Annual leave - 30 Days (222 hours) + 8 Bank Holidays (59.2 hours) - this includes a discretionary Christmas closure period.
• Health and wellbeing support, including: Employee assistance programme through Bupa, Occupational Health through PAM, Free eye tests for VDU users, Free parking is available at the majority of our campuses.
• Hybrid and flexible working opportunities.
• Continuous professional development opportunities.
• A people-focused working culture where you can grow and thrive.

Disability Confident
We are a Disability Confident employer and are committed to removing barriers for applicants with a disability during our recruitment process, upon appointment and as an employee. Please review our Recruitment Guidelines for Disabled Candidates which provides further information on reasonable adjustments and how the Disability Confident scheme works in practice. If you require any reasonable adjustments or any support at any point throughout the process, please contact jobs.

Armed Forces Covenant
As part of our commitment through the Armed Forces Covenant, we are pledged to support the Armed Forces Community. Recognising the value Personnel, Veterans and military families contribute to our community and country.

Safeguarding
We are an employer who is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of students. Successful applicants will be required to have an enhanced DBS check and will be subject to safer recruiting procedures.

Next Steps:
To apply: Click apply online and follow the links to complete the online application. For queries regarding the application process, please contact the Recruitment Team. CVs are currently not accepted.

As a Leader in Diversity employer, we encourage applications from everyone and value diversity in our workforce.

Closing date: 2nd August 2026. Please be aware if we have a high number of applications, we may decide to close the vacancy earlier.