Associate educational consultant in Southampton

Company Description

Parentkind is a long-established charity focused on advancing education by strengthening partnerships between homes and schools. For nearly 70 years, the organisation has championed the role of parents in their children’s education, both locally and nationally. Parentkind supports families in engaging meaningfully with schools and influencing educational experiences and outcomes. The charity promotes inclusive, collaborative approaches that give parents a clear voice in shaping schooling. Its work continues to evolve to reflect modern educational challenges and opportunities, while staying true to its founding mission.

Role Description:

As an Educational Consultant, you will work directly with schools, trusts and education leaders to help them strengthen parent-school partnerships and embed effective parental participation strategies. This is a flexible role on a freelance contract with opportunities allocated as they become available. You will deliver professional development, assess schools against the Parent-Friendly Schools framework and provide practical guidance that helps schools move from compliance to genuine collaboration with families. This is an exciting opportunity for experienced education professionals who are passionate about school improvement, community engagement and the role parents play in supporting children's learning and wellbeing. While work cannot be guaranteed, this is an exciting opportunity to add to a consultancy portfolio. You will be an integral part of our network, ensuring we can provide responsive support to schools.

You will:

• Deliver training, workshops and professional development sessions for school leaders, teachers, governors and trust staff.
• Conduct Parent-Friendly Schools accreditation assessments, including reviewing evidence and providing constructive feedback.
• Support schools in developing strategies to strengthen parental participation.
• Facilitate discussions with school leaders, parents and stakeholders.
• Produce high-quality written reports and recommendations.
• Contribute to the development of Parentkind's training materials, guidance and resources.
• Represent Parentkind and Parent-Friendly Schools at conferences, events and webinars where appropriate.

Who are we looking for?

We welcome applications from individuals with experience in one or more of the following areas:

• Headship or senior school leadership.
• School improvement and consultancy.
• Trust leadership.
• Governance and stakeholder engagement.
• Ofsted inspection or school review experience.
• Family support, parental engagement or community development.
• Education policy or system leadership.

Successful candidates will be able to demonstrate:

• A strong understanding of the education sector.
• Excellent facilitation and presentation skills.
• The ability to build credibility and trust with school leaders.
• Strong analytical and report-writing skills.
• A commitment to evidence-informed practice.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• A belief in the value of parent-school partnership as a driver of school improvement.

Desirable qualities:

• Experience in delivering training to adults.
• Experience in conducting quality assurance, accreditation or assessment activities.
• Experience working across multiple schools or trusts.
• Knowledge of current education policy, including parental engagement, attendance, inclusion and school improvement.
• Experience supporting schools serving disadvantaged communities.

Why join us?

As part of our associate network, you will:

• Work with a nationally recognised education charity.
• Support a growing movement focused on strengthening parent-school partnerships.
• Have the flexibility to work around existing commitments.
• Collaborate with a network of experienced education professionals.
• Contribute to improving outcomes for children and families across the UK.

How to apply

Please submit:

• A current CV.
• A covering letter outlining your relevant experience and why you are interested in joining our Educational Consultant network.

Email: We particularly welcome applications from individuals with experience across primary, secondary, special and alternative provision settings. Parentkind is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workforce and encourages applications from candidates of all backgrounds. Together, we can help schools and families build stronger partnerships that enable every child to thrive.