School Wellbeing and Safeguarding Officer in Oxford

This is a remote role, travel will be required across the South West and South East, the ideal candidate for this role will be Oxfordshire based.

Are you currently working as a DSL in school or have wider DSL/Safeguarding responsibilities within a Multi Academy Trust? If so, are you ready to take the next step and join a team of likeminded people who are passionate about safeguarding children? Alternatively, are you a Schools Safeguarding Officer or equivalent within a local authority and are already supporting DSLs in schools?

We are the highest Ofsted-rated provider in the country for special education and care. Our teams are fulfilled by the idea of making even the smallest positive changes in our young people, so we celebrate the little things. For children with complex needs, the level of care and education we provide must go above and beyond. With our high staff-to-child ratio and in-house clinical teams, we’re proud to have won a reputation for excellence and market leading OFSTED ratings.

The Schools Safeguarding Officer will work closely with the Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSL’s) and Head Teachers to ensure that practice is robust and defensible in relation to safeguarding within the school. You will work with the Head of Safeguarding to support schools and ensure compliance in accordance with safeguarding and wider legislation and in the development and delivery of training for DSL’s and school-based staff. You will undertake safeguarding audits in schools to ensure compliance within current frameworks and support schools in any action plans resulting from findings within safeguarding audits. You will also support DSL’s in schools and give advice to ensure that safeguarding concerns are managed in line with Local Safeguarding Partnership procedures and thresholds. You will work with DSL’s in schools to ensure that safeguarding record keeping is robust and in line with best practice and will give advice and guidance in relation to safeguarding cases.

If in addition to that you have wider agency experience of working within early help or children’s social care, that would be even better. We are looking for someone who has experience of giving advice to and supporting DSLs/DDSL’s in their work, has experience of developing and delivering training and undertaking audits in relation to safeguarding.

Our young people come from all walks of life, diverse backgrounds and with different needs – and our workforce reflects that diversity, so that our teams can engage, encourage and inspire our young people to be themselves.

• Extensive safeguarding expertise — significant experience (5+ years) managing safeguarding and child protection cases, ideally as a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) or in a similar senior role.
• Strong policy knowledge — up-to-date understanding of Keeping Children Safe in Education, national safeguarding policy, wider education legislation, and partnership arrangements.
• Proven advisory and training skills — ability to provide expert safeguarding advice to schools, support the resolution of safeguarding deficits, and design and deliver effective training.
• Ongoing professional development — a comprehensive portfolio of CPD in safeguarding and child protection, with evidence of applying learning from reviews and developments into practice.
• Excellent interpersonal and organisational abilities — strong communication, problem-solving, and report-writing skills, with the flexibility to manage competing priorities and support schools in high-pressure situations.

For your hard work and commitment, we reward you with the best salary and benefits package in the care sector. With us, you’ll get to make a genuine difference to the lives of our young people – plus you’ll get: Medical cover so you can claim back the cost of things like an opticians or dentist appointment and a host of high-street discounts. Holiday: You’ll work hard at WG, so you’ll be rewarded with 7 weeks’ holiday.