Lead Virtual School Officer in Leicester

Full Time / 37 Hours Per Week / Fixed Term for 7 Months due to Maternity Leave. Leicester City Council has corporate parenting responsibilities for children in care and, like all parents, valuing and supporting children's education is one of the most important contributions the council can make to their lives. Setting high aspirations for these children to help achieve their full potential.

You will play a pivotal role in advocating for Children Looked After and Children Previously Looked After, ensuring our most vulnerable groups are able to access education and improve outcomes. With every day being different at the Virtual School, you will join a supportive team and a culture that focuses on the individual by doing the right thing to produce the best outcomes for them. You will enjoy working in an environment that offers plenty of opportunities to develop your expertise, trusts your professional judgement and encourages you to build a rewarding career.

This post involves hybrid working. You will be working at New Parks House and at home; however, you will be required to travel across the city to undertake school visits and home visits on occasion. On occasion, you will be required to travel beyond the city and county to visit our children who live out of area. This is a full-time, permanent post working 37 hours per week from Monday to Friday. With notice, you will be required to work evenings and weekends, to support our enrichment programme, attend Corporate Parenting Forum and celebration events. You may be required to support residential trips. We offer flexible and agile working to promote a healthy work-life balance. We will consider this vacancy on a secondment basis for Leicester City Council employees.

What You’ll Be Doing

• No day is the same in this post. It is fast-paced, you will think on your feet and with creativity.
• Responding to queries from schools, carers, parents and other professionals.
• You will attend Personal Education Plans, Team Around the Child meetings, strategy meetings, Child in Need meetings.
• Building connections within the community regarding Children Previously Looked After and Kinship care. You will be providing support to these groups around education matters.
• Being a line manager, you will create a reflective environment that enables staff to learn, develop and progress and for the voice of people who draw on support to be genuinely influential in service delivery and improvement.
• In practical terms, this will involve managing a team, creating robust procedures, engaging with people who use services and attending various complex meetings.
• All to achieve positive outcomes for the Children looked After and Previously Looked After, building good working relationships with schools and other professionals.

What You’ll Need

• Successful experience in the leadership and management of services leading to the improvement of outcomes for children who are looked after or previously looked after.
• You will have worked in a school setting and have a good understanding of the education system, across all phases, as well as a good understanding of the social care system.
• Having worked effectively with partner agencies including working with multi-agency teams.
• You will be a creative thinker, problem solver and able to professionally challenge.
• This role will include an enhanced DBS check and driving license.

For any queries please contact Kevin at Kevin.Kinsella@leicester.gov.uk