Attendance Support Officer in Birmingham

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a dedicated individual to join our Children and Families Directorate in Birmingham City Council as an Attendance Support Officer. In this crucial role, you will hold a caseload to ensure the effective and efficient operation of the School Attendance Order Process, review part-time timetable notifications to ensure they are correct, and review legal intervention referrals from schools, specifically leave of absence referrals.

If you have an interest in protecting the rights of children to full time education and have high level organisational skills and experience, we want to hear from you!

As an Attendance Support Officer, you will:

• Advise parents/carers of their legal responsibilities regarding children not in receipt of education, in line with statutory regulations.
• Raise cases of child protection concern with the supervisor; referring to CASS as appropriate and attending any relevant CP meetings, as required.
• Contact schools regarding part-time timetables where there is concern about the length of the arrangement and/or accuracy of the data provided, liaising with other agencies as appropriate.
• Review Leave of Absence referrals from schools, assisting in issuing penalty notices as applicable, ensuring that timescales and statutory deadlines are met.
• Review contesting applications from parents related to penalty notices issued for leave of absence in term time.
• Undertake home visits as appropriate in relation to School Attendance Orders to encourage parental support to secure suitable education.
• Liaise with schools, other BCC services and other local authorities in relation to School Attendance Orders to obtain places for those out of school with minimum delay.
• Liaise with the Legal Intervention Coordinators to prepare Section 9 Witness Statements for prosecution and to attend Trials as a witness as required.
• Liaise with all customers and colleagues on matters concerning individual cases, operating with a high degree of confidentiality at all times.
• Answer any queries promptly from parents and schools on School Attendance Orders and assist in promoting awareness of raising attendance including advising schools of legal processes or signposting as appropriate.
• Refer families to other agencies where there are additional difficulties contributing to their children not being in receipt of education.
• Check team mailboxes regularly and respond to or resolve allocated queries raised by parents and schools.

We are looking for candidates with a good standard of education, with evidence of continued professional development. You should have casework experience including the ability to work within statutory timescales; experience including comprehensive diary management, dealing with telephone enquiries and front-line contact with citizens; excellent organisational skills and the ability to plan work effectively; a high level of written and oral communication skills; a proven ability to work in partnership with parents and other agencies; the ability to negotiate and consult; an understanding of confidential issues including child protection concerns/domestic violence; a positive and sensitive approach to work, colleagues and customers; an ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality at all times; an ability to travel readily throughout the Birmingham City area, including home visits and school visits.

In return, we offer a supportive and collaborative work environment where your contributions will be valued. You will have the opportunity to participate in regular supervision, team meetings, and professional development activities. We are committed to your growth and will provide training to enhance your knowledge of home education and safeguarding practices. By joining our team, you will be making a meaningful impact on the lives of children and their families in Birmingham.

Birmingham City Council is an accredited Disability Confident Leader employer, and we are committed to employing, retaining and developing all of our people. We want to ensure your recruitment journey with us is a positive and equitable one, so please let us know if there are any reasonable adjustments, additional support, accessibility needs, or if there is any way in which we can support you through your application.

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be undertaken. Proof of Right to work in the UK will be required for all applicants in accordance with UK Home Office requirements, before any employment offer can be confirmed. Birmingham City Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our citizens and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.