Are you passionate about improving educational outcomes for children who have experienced trauma, loss and disrupted attachments?
Do you have experience working with children and young people in education, particularly those who are subject to a Special Guardianship Order (SGO), and may have additional educational needs?
If so, we'd love to hear from you.
We are seeking a committed and knowledgeable Schools Advisor to join our dedicated Special Guardianship Support Team. This rewarding role provides an opportunity to make a meaningful difference to the lives of children and young people by ensuring they receive the educational support, understanding and opportunities they need to thrive
At Cheshire East Council we are resident, and partner focused with a vision to enable prosperity and wellbeing for all. People really are at the heart of everything we do and that starts with our incredible workforce. We promote a culture of high performance where people can aspire, thrive and flourish, where we strive to deliver best value in everything we do.
For us, success isn’t just about what we achieve, but how we achieve it together. We promote curiosity, excellence, innovation and continuous improvement.
We are values led and committed to wellbeing and inclusion for all, where our employees co-created our values of drive, integrity, respect and collaboration which inform all that we do.
We are proud to work for Cheshire East Council and believe you would be too!
We’re on a meaningful journey in Children’s Social Care and we’d love for you to be part of it. Joining us means becoming part of a supportive, forward-thinking team that’s passionate about making a real difference in the lives of children and young people. Everything we do is about putting them first, helping them grow, thrive and reach their full potential so they can build brighter futures.
If this sounds like the kind of impact you want to make, we’d be delighted to hear from you. Come and join us in shaping positive change for our young people.
As a Schools Advisor, you will play a key role in improving educational experiences and outcomes for children and young people, living under Special Guardianship Orders.
You will work directly with educational settings, special guardians, social workers and partner agencies to provide specialist advice, guidance, advocacy and training. A significant element of the role involves supporting schools to better understand the impact of attachment difficulties, developmental trauma, adverse childhood experiences and neurodiversity on learning and behaviour.
Key responsibilities include:
- Managing a caseload of SGO children and young people, assessing educational needs and identifying barriers to learning.
- Working with schools, early years settings and colleges to develop effective support plans and trauma-informed strategies.
- Providing specialist advice relating to attachment, developmental trauma, early adversity and social-emotional wellbeing.
- Supporting the effective use of Pupil Premium Plus funding and advising schools on statutory responsibilities for Previously Looked After Children (PLAC).
- Delivering training and consultation to school staff, senior leaders, governors, adopters, guardians and other professionals.
- Supporting children experiencing educational difficulties, including Emotional School Based Avoidance, exclusion risk and SEND-related challenges.
- Contributing to Education, Health and Care (EHC) assessments and providing evidence and advice to SEND processes and panels.
- Chairing and contributing to multi-agency meetings to ensure a coordinated approach to supporting children and families.
- Working collaboratively with the Virtual School, social care teams and other partners to promote positive educational outcomes.
- Maintaining accurate records and producing reports to support assessments, planning and decision-making
This is just a snapshot of some of the exciting things you’ll be doing in the role, to find out more about the other key responsibilities of the role please view the attached job description.
We are looking for an experienced and passionate professional who understands the challenges faced by those living with Special Guardians.
You will have:
- Experience supporting SGO children and young people within educational settings.
- Experience assessing educational needs and developing targeted support plans.
- Knowledge of attachment theory, developmental trauma, loss and disrupted attachments and their impact on learning and behaviour.
- Experience working with children and young people with SEND and complex social, emotional and mental health needs.
- An understanding of the SEND Code of Practice, Education Health and Care Plans and graduated support approaches.
- Excellent communication skills, with the ability to influence, advise and build effective relationships with schools, families and professionals.
- Experience designing and delivering training, workshops or presentations.
- Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage a varied workload.
- A commitment to safeguarding, inclusion and improving outcomes for vulnerable children and young people.
To find out more about the essential and desirable criteria for the role please view the attached job description specification document.
- A competitive salary - Between £41,771 – £48,072 (CEC NJC – Grade 10, pro-rata for part-time staff, experience dependant) with guaranteed yearly pay increases!
- Enhanced annual leave - Start with an impressive 34 days of annual leave (including bank holidays) from day one, and watch it grow to 39 days after just five years of service
- Purchase of annual leave – Want more time off? You can purchase up to 10 extra days of annual leave each year, giving you the flexibility to balance work and life just the way you want (Pro-rata for part-time staff)
- Flexible working pattern - Enjoy a 37-hour standard full-time work week with the added perks of flexitime and hybrid/remote working arrangements where possible. Your work-life balance just got a whole lot better!
- Salary sacrifice green car scheme - Drive green and save green! Lease a brand-new electric or hybrid car through our salary sacrifice scheme. There’re no credit checks, no deposits, just significant savings and exclusive offers on a three-year lease
- White goods salary sacrifice scheme - Upgrade your home with ease. Purchase home and electronic items through our salary sacrifice scheme, spreading the cost of big-ticket purchases like appliances, computers, and tech gadgets directly from your salary
- Enhanced public pension - Secure your future with our career average pension, where contributions are built at a rate of 1/49th of your yearly pensionable pay
- Cycle to work scheme - Save up to 25-39% on the retail price of bikes and safety equipment through Income Tax and National Insurance savings. Get fit and save money!
- Employee assistance programme - Access a completely free and confidential assistance service to help manage, reduce, and overcome life’s challenges, both at work and in your personal life
- Discounted gym membership - Stay active and healthy with corporate membership prices for Everybody Leisure, including:
- Gym, Swim and Group Fitness at all 16 facilities
- Off-Peak Racket Sports
- Athletics Tracks
- Sauna/Steam/Spa
Organisation
Cheshire East Council
Job Category
Children and Young People Services
Salary Min
£41,771 Pro Rata Per Annum
Salary Max
£48,072 Pro Rata Per Annum
Employment Type
Permanent
We’re delighted that you’re considering applying for this role!
As an equal opportunities’ employer, we warmly welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We believe that a diverse workforce helps us better reflect and serve our local communities, and together, we can build something truly special.
To join our team, simply click ‘Apply for this job’ at the bottom of the page. If you’d prefer an informal chat first or have any questions about the role, feel free to reach out to Charlie Holliday at: [email protected], they will be happy to hear from you! Please remember to include the job reference so we know which role you are interested in.
Once you’ve applied for the position, please keep an eye on your email inbox (including your junk and spam folders), as we’ll send any correspondence there to stay in touch with updates about your application.
If you haven’t heard from us within four weeks of the closing date, it likely means we weren’t able to move forward with your application at this time but please don’t let this discourage you as your interest means a lot to us, and we’d truly love to hear from you again in the future!
We wish you all the best in your application and if you run into any technical issues, our friendly team are here to help at: [email protected].
Cheshire East Council is committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults across the Borough. As such, any cautions, convictions, reprimands or final warnings that are ‘not protected’ as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) order 1975 (as amended in 2013) relating to the non-disclosure of spent convictions do not apply to this job. You must therefore, disclose whether you have any previous convictions where prompted to do so within the application process.
