Inclusion & Safeguarding Lead in Southampton

iO Sphere · Remote or London (UK) · Part-time

You know the difference between a support plan that exists and one that's actually happening. You've watched learners with real needs slip through the gap between the two — the adjustment agreed in a meeting, written down, and then never quite delivered. Closing that gap, for every learner, is the job.

We're growing fast, and we're creating this role to own how inclusion actually works here — not the policy, we have that, but the practice. The person who makes sure every learner who declares a need gets it, that our coaches are equipped to deliver it, and that when a safeguarding concern comes up it's followed through to the end rather than left open and drifting.

The role

Is every learner who's declared a need actually getting what was agreed, or just what was recorded? Are our coaches confident supporting the person in front of them, or improvising? Is a safeguarding concern tracked and closing out, or sitting open? Could we show an inspector — today, without a scramble — that the support each learner received was real?

Those are your questions. You'd own:

• Inclusion as a culture, not a checklist. Embedding inclusive practice into how we deliver — the default way coaches teach, adjust and support — and bringing us better strategies rather than waiting to be told the current ones. This is the strategic core of the role: you're raising how the whole business supports its learners, not processing forms.
• ALS briefings. Running Additional Learning Support briefings so every coach understands the needs in their cohort and builds the right adjustments in from day one, not at the first review when it's already late.
• The one-to-one follow-through. Owning the inclusion one-to-one journey end to end: the conversation happened, the need was genuinely understood, the adjustment was agreed — and then the part that actually matters, that it's being delivered in practice and not just filed. You have to want this part. Noticing the learner who's gone quiet and getting to them on the Tuesday has to be the bit of the week you'd do all day.
• Safeguarding follow-through, with the DSL. Our Designated Safeguarding Lead owns safeguarding; you make sure nothing they've flagged drifts. Every concern with a clear next action and owner, chased and closed, documented to KCSIE standard, escalated the moment it slips. Keeping safeguarding a live, human part of the culture — not a log nobody reads.
• Evidence that holds up. Keeping Aptem accurate and audit-ready, so at any moment — including an Ofsted inspection — the record reflects the care the learner actually got. Not background admin: the evidence is how we prove the support was real.

Who this fits

Someone who's worked in safeguarding, inclusion, SEND or learner support in education, training or apprenticeships, and understands why the paperwork exists without ever mistaking it for the point. You hold sensitive information with complete discretion and work naturally alongside a DSL. You can carry dozens of open threads and close every one without being chased. You keep records that are accurate, timely and inspection-ready — bonus if you already know Aptem. And you communicate with warmth and clarity, so learners and coaches trust you quickly.

The non-negotiable one: you have to genuinely care about learners. Not the idea of them — the actual people, on the actual difficult days. If that's obvious about you, we should talk.

Ideal but not essential: experience in an apprenticeship or Skills Bootcamp provider working to the Ofsted Education Inspection Framework, familiarity with Aptem, and Level 3 Safeguarding or DSL training — or the appetite to work towards it.

Why you'd want it

Because it's a genuine ownership seat, not a support one. You'd build the inclusion capability rather than inherit it: deciding how needs get tracked, what the follow-up rhythm is, what \"properly supported\" means here. And the work is real — you'd be the reason a learner who'd have quietly dropped out somewhere else finishes and gets the job. If that's the part of the work you care most about, this is the role for it.

The essentials

• Part-time and remote in the UK, with some time with the team in London. 2 days per week, flexible within the week around the few things that need you at a set time. As we grow, there's the potential to increase the number of days
• Salary: £12,000 per year for 2 days per week (£30,000 full time equivalent), paid monthly through PAYE.
• Reporting to our Head of Quality / DSL, working closely with the DSL and Deputy DSL.
• As a regulated, inspected provider we need an enhanced DBS check, safeguarding and Prevent training, and the right to work in the UK; we can't offer sponsorship.
• Start as soon as you can.

About iO-Sphere

We train people to do things with data and AI, not just learn about them. Learners work on real problems inside their own organisations and in Prism, a simulated business we built on 500 million rows of real data. 900+ people have trained with us, we're rated 4.8 on Google, and we're one of the UK's fastest-growing data and AI training startups. Teams at PwC, BAE Systems, Dunelm, Motorway and CBRE send us their people.

How we hire

A short screening call, a conversation with the team you'd work with, a case study drawn from real delivery rather than an invented puzzle, and a final conversation. We move quickly.

iO-Sphere is an equal-opportunities employer. We hire on merit and welcome applications from every background; if you'd need any adjustment to the process, just tell us.

iO-Sphere is committed to safeguarding and operates within regulated Further Education environments. All applicants are required to complete this application honestly and in full. Our process requires that you consent to iO-Sphere carrying out the pre-employment checks required for this role. Failure to disclose relevant information, or providing false information, will result in your application being withdrawn or your employment being terminated.