Elective Education Officer

Job Introduction

Job Title: Elective Home Education Officer

Starting Salary: £34,434 with the opportunity to progress to £37,280 per annum

Hours: 37

Location: Hertfordshire (hybrid - with some travel across the county)

Contract Type: Permanent

Directorate: Childrens Services

Elective Home Education is growing within Hertfordshire County Council. Do you want to make a positive impact and be part of an area of growth and challenge?

The Elective Home Education team supports and provides guidance to parents who have chosen to educate their child outside of the school system. The team identifies those children who are not in receipt of a full time education, suitable to their age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs. We are a very experienced team made up of Officers and a Coordinator who are all committed to achieving the best outcomes for children and young people in Hertfordshire.

You will collaborate with the other EHE Officers and will be supported by the EHE Coordinator. You will also establish excellent working relationships with a wide variety of professionals.

You will learn and develop sound practice through an established induction programme and ongoing professional support.

This is a key role providing advice and support to parents who are home educating. You will build a bank of knowledge to be able to signpost parents to relevant services and educational resources. You may offer ideas for alternative ways in which parents could engage their child in learning, taking into account their unique needs and interests.

You will gather information from parents about the education they are providing and request further information where it is unclear that the education is suitable. You could receive information from parents in a variety of ways eg: online forms, reports, over the phone, email, Teams calls or during a home visit and you will need to be able to draw all the information together in order to gain a full understanding of the child’s provision.

You will regularly collaborate with multidisciplinary teams and attend meetings to support EHE families. You will liaise with other professionals such as social workers, the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) team, the Education Hub and Services for Young People.

You will ensure system reporting is accurate and that processes and practices are followed to maintain consistency across the county. You will also ensure data integrity and compliance.

You may make referrals to other services and take appropriate action where there are safeguarding concerns. If you identify a child who is not receiving a suitable education, you will refer them to the Children Missing Education Officer for further action.

Your responsibilities and tasks may change according to the needs of the team.

• Demonstrable experience of working with children, young people and families including those with special educational needs, disabilities, or mental health difficulties in an educational setting.
• Educated to degree level or equivalent and have excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Ability to listen to and support parents, whilst also sharing important information regarding expectations around home education.
• Confident to provide challenge to parents when it is unclear as to whether the education they are providing is suitable
• Ability to manage complex situations and be skilled at having difficult conversations whilst maintaining professionalism.
• Able to make independent decisions and also recognise when a collaborate approach is appropriate.
• Effective organisational skills to prioritise your workload and to manage competing demands and pressures.
• IT skills, including Word, Excel and…