Virtual School Adviser - Portsmouth

Portsmouth Virtual School and College works to improve educational outcomes for children we care for, previously looked after children and care-experienced children and young people. We are committed to ensuring every child has access to high-quality education and is supported to achieve their full potential. We are seeking a motivated and experienced professional to join our Virtual School team as an Education Adviser.

The Role

In this role you will take responsibility for a key stage phase of children and young people, ensuring they receive high-quality, ambitious educational provision. You will work closely with schools, social workers, foster carers and other partners to support and challenge practice, with a clear focus on improving attendance, progress and attainment.

Key responsibilities include:

• Managing a caseload and tracking outcomes for children we care for and care-experienced young people
• Supporting and challenging schools on the quality of provision and the effective use of Pupil Premium Plus funding
• Supporting and quality assuring Personal Education Plans (PEPs) and Personal Opportunity Plans (POPs)
• Working in partnership with multi-agency professionals to remove barriers to education
• Monitoring attendance and responding to risks such as suspension or exclusion
• Providing advice, guidance and training to schools and other stakeholders
• Responding to enquiries through the Virtual School 'point of contact'
• Contributing to the wider work and development of the Virtual School

If you are committed to improving outcomes for children and young people and have the skills and experience required, we would welcome your application.

The ideal candidate

You will have/be:

• A teaching qualification or relevant professional qualification is desirable, along with experience of working within or alongside a Virtual School.
• Experience of working with vulnerable or disadvantaged children and young people
• Confident in working across education settings and multi-agency partnerships
• A strong understanding of education systems, assessment, attendance, SEND and statutory processes
• Able to analyse data and drive improvement in education outcomes
• Able to demonstrate the ability to challenge and support schools and key partners effectively and relationally
• Excellent communication and organisational skills, and be able to manage competing priorities

Please ensure that you read the full job profile attached for the details and expectations of this role, paying particular attention to the section 'Who is the person' as you will need to refer to this when completing your Personal statement.

Working Arrangements: You will be required to work 2 days in the office each week.

Contact Details for an Informal Discussion: If you have any questions, or would like an informal discussion about the role, please contact Victoria Reynish.

About Portsmouth City Council

Portsmouth City Council is a unique organisation, committed to making a difference, and is guided by core values that set who we are as people, what we stand for, and how we act. We are committed to our values of respect, integrity, collaboration, inclusivity and being people-focussed. These values set out how we can contribute to the success of the council and our own success as individuals.

Application process

We anonymise applications during application & shortlisting to ensure only relevant information is considered. As part of your application, we ask that you complete a personal statement, this statement is crucial and is where you must demonstrate how you meet the requirements of the job against each of the points described in the 'Who is the Person' points on the Job Profile using examples from your experience or transferable skills. This might be through qualifications or descriptive examples from your work / personal experience. We are a disability confident employer and Armed Forces Covenant gold standard.

More information can be found at Equality, diversity and inclusion - Careers portal. We are committed to offering an interview to all those candidates that qualify under our corporate commitments and meet the minimum criteria, however, for roles that receive a large number of applications, we will select the candidates that best meet the minimum criteria.

You will need to demonstrate that you have the Right to Work in the UK. No post will be offered without it. Please note: We are not able to offer sponsorship for this position. Should you require any support in completing the application form please contact the recruitment team.

Safeguarding

Portsmouth City Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and young people, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Every post is subject to PCC and Portsmouth Safeguarding Children Partnership safer recruitment procedures. Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) at Standard/Enhanced level will be required prior to any offer of employment and this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.