Children Missing Education Investigating Officer

About Us

West Sussex Pupil Entitlement Investigation team is recruiting to its Children Missing Education team.

The post is key to ensuring all children receive the education they are entitled to.

This is an opportunity to develop an expertise and understanding within a vital area of education and make a valuable contribution to ensuring children receive an effective education.

As a CME officer you will report to the Manager for CME.

As a CME Officer you will play a key role within the Pupil Entitlement team, balancing an office-based role with travel across the county. They will also work closely with a range of teams and families, gathering information and making informed decisions.

Key to the role is building effective relationships with families, schools and key partners to ensure children are in receipt of the education they are entitled too.

This is a full time, all year-round position (.85 FTE) and you are accountable the CME / CIEE Manager.

About The Job

Salary: NJC Grade 8 £28,371 to £31,099 (Pro -rata £24,537 to £26,896)

Working pattern: Part time 32 hours per week

Contract type: Permanent

Locations: Worthing / Horsham

Closing date: 24 March 2023

For this role you will be expected to demonstrate a strong ability to work independently, showing effective organisational skills and diary management.

They must be confident in considering a wide range of information to form a judgement and confident in their decision making.

They must be an excellent communicator in person, by phone, email and report writing and have the ability to engage with and build positive working relationships with families, wider professionals and team members.

Experience and Skills

Key Skills:

• Developed advisory, negotiation, advocacy and persuasion skills to provide advice and encourage others to adopt a particular course of action they may not otherwise wish to take
• Ability to organise/prioritise work, co-ordinate a variety of tasks in a clear and logical way and meet agreed deadlines.
• Perceptive, investigative and analytical skills with which to make assessments within guidelines.
• Excellent written and oral presentation skills for a variety of tasks e.g. participating in meetings, working with other agencies, attending case conferences and Court proceedings.
• Motivated to protect the interests of children.
• Building and maintaining positive working relationships with schools, families, team members and other agencies.
• Providing schools, families and other professionals with advice and guidance.
• Carrying out visits to families to resolve questions around educational provision.
• To support and contribute to the safeguarding of children who are CME.
• To work with and share information with other agencies to promote an individual child's well-being and make referrals as appropriate.
• Maintaining up to date knowledge and understanding of CME legislation.

Qualifications and/or experience:

• NVQ level 3 or A level or equivalent qualification or experience.
• Experience of successful work with children/families/ schools to achieve positive outcomes.
• Ability to communicate effectively with other professionals and customers to share knowledge and decisions.
• Ability to engage and work with families in a positive, open manner to ensure positive outcomes for children and young people.
• Commitment to continuous professional development and an understanding of the value of developing skills and expertise within a specialist area to improve outcomes for children and young people.
• Knowledge and understating of the wider legislative frameworks relating to Children's Services.
• Ability to contribute to decision making to promote the best outcome for a child and family with other professionals and provide advice and guidance.
• Sound knowledge of Educational Law and Duties of the Local Authority relating to Children Missing Education and an ability to translate those into meaningful child and family focused practice.
• Competent in using multiple databases for extracting and analysing data appropriately.

Rewards and Benefits

As an employer we recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive and dynamic working environment where employees can achieve their full potential, achieve a healthy work-life balance and are rewarded for the work they do.

For a full list of the benefits offered to you as a West Sussex County Council employee you can find them on our Rewards and Benefits page.

Further Information

The reference number for this role is CAFHE04383 .

For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Andrew Parker at for issues or queries regarding your application please contact .