PLEASE NOTE THIS POST IS ONLY OPEN TO INTERNAL APPLICANTS
Organisation: Leicestershire County Council
Work Location: County Hall, Glenfield, Leicester LE3 8RA
Salary: £43,860 - £47,829 per annum (pro rata for part-time) (Pay Award Pending)
Working Hours: 37 hours per week
Contract Type: Permanent
Closing Date: 28th June 2026
Interview Date(s): TBC
About the Role
This is a full-time, permanent role starting September 2026
The Leicestershire Virtual School supports our looked-after children and care leavers to access high quality education and achieve their potential. We are firmly focused on raising aspirations and narrowing attainment and progress gaps to improve outcomes and life chances. https://resources.leicestershire.gov.uk/leicestershire-virtual-school
We wish to appoint a Senior Education Advisor (SEA) to have responsibility for promoting the education of looked after young people by working collaboratively with a range of partners and agencies, including social workers, education settings and foster carers. You will coordinate the statutory Personal Education Plan process across age phases, thereby ensuring good quality planning leading to positive educational outcomes.
This role will involve advising schools/colleges, settings and key professionals on strategies that address emerging educational and behavioural issues and lead to improved outcomes for Leicestershire children in care and/or care leavers and previously looked after children resident in Leicestershire.
Understanding the barriers faced by children in care and care leavers is key to successful delivery of duties. The Leicestershire Virtual School is at the forefront of promoting understanding of attachment theory and trauma-informed practice which will enable you to support, challenge and advocate on behalf of a caseload of children and young people in care. In addition, you will be supported to acquire in-depth knowledge and understanding of DfE statutory guidance as it relates to the education of looked after children and previously looked after children.
You will be confident at communicating effectively and accurately both in writing and orally, chairing and attending meetings delivered online or face to face. You will be efficient and organised, yet keen to bring innovation and creativity to deliver service improvements. You must be able to work on your own initiative, but with the support from our caring, supportive and committed team.
About You
To apply for this post, you must:
- A relevant Level 6 qualification e.g. qualified teacher status or Substantial experience of working in a school / college / alternative education / local authority education service/ Early Years setting
- Experience of working effectively with teams of teachers and/or support staff in schools/colleges/alternative curriculum settings or within a multi-professional working environment attached to education
- Excellent knowledge of attachment and trauma theory and/or practice and behaviour management strategies across age ranges
- Excellent understanding of the barriers children in care may experience in accessing educational opportunities, across both primary and secondary age phases.
- Knowledge of legislation and guidance relating to Primary and secondary education, specifically to children in care
- Able to influence and persuade in order to negotiate successful outcomes.
- Experience of delivering high-quality training to peers and professionals
In addition, we also expect you to share our commitment to our values and to delivering accessible and inclusive services which meet the needs of all of our residents. You will be asked to demonstrate your understanding of these commitments as part of the selection process.
Reasonable adjustments will be considered for applicants with a disability. We are a Disability Confident Employer.
Interested in Flexible Working?
We are open to discussions about flexible working, which may include part time working, job sharing, term-time working, flexible start and finish times, and hybrid working, depending on the requirements of the role and the service. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below.
For more information or an informal discussion, please contact:
Donna Chapman - Virtual School Head
Telephone: 0116 3052174
Email: donna.chapman@leics.gov.uk
How to Apply
At Leicestershire County Council we’re looking for top talent from all walks of life. Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, and whatever your background - we care about what you bring to our organisation, not just what’s on your CV. That’s why we’ve designed a recruitment process that’s fair, accessible, and focused on potential. And with benefits that support people at every age and stage of life, we make sure you can thrive - both personally and professionally.
If you share our passion to make a difference for the people of Leicestershire, we’d love to hear from you. Click the apply button to submit your application, ensuring that you upload a supporting statement that explains how you meet the criteria listed in the ‘About You’ section above. Without this information, we won’t be able to assess your suitability for the role, and your application will be rejected. For tips on how to write your statement, see the How to Apply section on our career site.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.
If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post or you want to request an application pack in an alternative format, please contact our Employee Service Centre by telephoning 0300 3030222 (select option 2) or raising a ticket via our online portal: https://emss.org.uk/support.
By applying for this post, you agree to our Terms and Conditions.
Contact Details:
Nottingham City Council, Leicestershire County Council, East Midlands Group Recruitment Team
