Attendance Compliance Officer - ESO Facilitator in Chelmsford

Fixed Term, Full Time £33,915 to £39,900 Per Annum

Location: Countywide

Working Style: Community-based worker

Closing Date: Wednesday 1st July

There are multiple vacancies available for this role. Please note these vacancies are available as fixed term contracts or secondment opportunities for up to 18 Months. Interviews will take place virtually, via Microsoft Teams, on Monday 20th July 2026.

The Role

This role will sit within the existing Attendance Compliance Team and will have a specific focus on intensive, well-documented family support work which has a firm focus on removing barriers to regular school attendance. The successful candidate will have a strong understanding of the statutory framework which underpins the role of the local authority in regards to school attendance concerns and the role that Education Supervision Orders (ESOs) may play as part of the local authority's response to such concerns. This role is being introduced to provide much needed individual family support to facilitate improved school attendance and, where appropriate, make use of local authority powers to apply for ESOs via the Family Courts.

Candidates should be able to share experience of working within a statutory role which has a strong focus on building relationships with children, young people, families, schools and key partners. These relationships will be built so that a better understanding of what may be causing pupils to be absent from school can be achieved. The successful candidate will have experience of developing and coordinating plans of action, which include clear directions for all relevant parties which seek to remove identified barriers and bring about sustained improvements in individual pupils’ attendance and engagement with education.

Accountabilities

• Utilises specialist skills, knowledge and experience to meet statutory responsibilities for children who are failing to attend school regularly, ensuring that both external and internal responsibilities and deadlines are met.
• Provides expert advice and guidance to key stakeholders and families to ensure that the educational needs of vulnerable children and young people are met.
• Works collaboratively with stakeholders and partners to ensure the best overall outcome for vulnerable children within Essex, ensuring that school attendance for these children remains a priority.
• Ensures that all interactions are captured rigorously and in a format which will stand up to court scrutiny in cases which result in court action.
• Using a solution focused approach to develop clear plans which include robust directions for all parties who have a role in securing an improvement in a pupil's school attendance patterns - setting deadlines for actions and progressing all cases in a timely manner and within expected time frames.
• Works collaboratively with colleagues to ensure that cases are effectively progressed to achieve desired outcomes.
• Delivers appropriate challenge to schools and families where pupils are prevented from accessing an education to ensure obstacles can be highlighted and plans instigated to overcome such barriers.
• Ensures compliance with statutory requirements, including equality and anti-discrimination legislation and robust processes are followed to ensure the effective management of concerns and complaints.
• Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

The Experience You Will Bring

• Educated to degree level in relevant subject area or equivalent by experience.
• Evidence of continuing professional development and expert knowledge in relevant professional area.
• Evidence of ability to interpret information and data to achieve positive outcomes and improve standards.
• Significant experience within an education environment which evidences expert knowledge and understanding of the work involved in ensuring that families understand the importance of school attendance and the consequences that they may face, if regular attendance and engagement are not achieved via a collaborative approach.
• Experienced in taking responsibility for developing and managing own workload, including significant experience of managing change in a complex environment.
• Experience of delivering public services in a complex, multi-stakeholder environment.
• Good communication skills evident, able to approach key stakeholders with empathy whilst utilising excellent negotiation skill, challenging others and holding key partners to account.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We are committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We are also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

To apply or for more information about this role, please send your CV and cover letter to resourcing.team@essex.gov.uk.