Children Missing in Education Officer

Children Missing Education (CME) Officers play a vital role in fulfilling the Local Authority's statutory duties under Section 436A of the Education Act 1996 to identify and locate children who are missing education. The Children Missing Education Team sits within the Attendance Service, whose overarching aim is to ensure that every child has access to suitable education and the opportunity to achieve their full potential. We operate a locality-based model and are seeking to recruit three Children Missing Education Officers to support our Fenland, East Cambridgeshire, and South Cambridgeshire/Cambridge City localities. This is an excellent opportunity to make a meaningful difference to children and young people by ensuring they remain visible, safe, and able to access their right to education.

What will you be doing?

• You will contribute to the Local Authority's statutory responsibilities relating to Children Missing Education, working closely with colleagues across Children's Services and partner agencies.
• You will lead investigations to locate children who are believed to be missing education, ensuring timely and effective action is taken to establish their whereabouts and educational provision.
• You will act as a key point of contact for schools, families, and professionals, providing advice and support on matters relating to Children Missing Education.
• Effective information sharing and partnership working are central to the role, helping to ensure that children receive appropriate support and remain safe.
• You will be expected to take prompt and decisive action where concerns arise, recognising that early intervention is critical to ensuring children receive a suitable education and are protected from potential safeguarding risks.
• The role may require travel across your allocated locality to attend meetings, liaise with schools and partner agencies, and undertake enquiries as required.

About you

• It is essential that applicants are educated to A Level standard (or equivalent).
• You will have a good understanding of safeguarding responsibilities and be able to apply safeguarding principles appropriately within the scope of the role.
• You will understand the challenges that can affect children and families and be committed to working collaboratively with schools, parents, carers, and partner agencies to support positive outcomes.
• You will be an effective communicator who can build positive working relationships with a wide range of professionals and stakeholders.
• You will also have strong organisational skills, the ability to manage competing priorities, and the resilience to work in a fast-paced environment with demanding deadlines.
• You will be able to interpret relevant legislation, statutory guidance, and local procedures, applying them confidently and consistently in your day-time work.

Full training and a comprehensive induction programme will be provided to the successful candidates. This is an excellent opportunity to make a meaningful difference to children and young people by ensuring they remain visible, safe, and able to access their right to education.

About us

Cambridgeshire is a great place to work and live with a diverse population, an urban centre in Cambridge, historic Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and St Ives as well as more rural landscapes. Our four values are central to our culture, driving everything we do. If you don't meet every single requirement in the job role but think this could be you, please don't be put off. We are committed to building a workplace that is compassionate and inclusive as well as diverse.

We collect relevant diversity data for monitoring as part of the recruitment process to understand the diversity of our applicants and monitor any trends throughout the recruitment processes so that we can take meaningful action. We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We fully support providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process, as well as when you join us, and we encourage candidates to contact the Hiring Manager to discuss any adjustment needs.