Job Title: Wraparound & Early Years Support Officer
Hours: 20 - 30 hours (to be agreed)
Salary: HC6 £27,269 - £31,067 per annum pro rata
Contract: 12 Months Fixed Term (with possible extension)
Closing date: 10/11/2024
Come and join us on our Restorative Journey of Improvement to gain the best for children and families in Herefordshire
Herefordshire Council is looking to appoint a highly motivated Wraparound & Early Years Support Officer. This presents an exciting opportunity to improve educational outcomes for children and young people in Herefordshire by playing a major role in improving early education environments across the county.
The Role
The government’s ambition is that all eligible working parents will have access to 15 hours funding a week from 9mths to 5yrs by September 2024, rising to 30 hours by September 2026. In addition, by September 2026 all parents and carers of primary school-aged children who need it will be able to access term time childcare in their local area from 8am-6pm, so that parents can access employment and improve labour market participation.
The Wraparound and Childcare Sufficiency Officer will form part of a newly formed team that will ensure there is sufficient high quality and sustainable childcare provision across the county. This role will involve working in a collaborative manner with teams across the local authority, schools, families, childcare providers (including private providers, childminders, community and voluntary organisations and early years settings) to assess supply and demand and expand early years and wraparound childcare provision that is accessible to children and families, including those with SEND.
The successful candidate will use skills gained through academic or professional qualifications and practical experience. They will have excellent communication, organisational skills and, ideally, experience of working in early education. You will also have experience of data analysis and interpretation in order to write formal reports.
If you feel you could make a difference and are able to quickly develop good working relationships, you work well within a climate and culture of continuous improvement and you can receive, understand and convey information and ideas effectively, we would love to hear from you.
Quentin Mee
Head of Educational Development
Benefits of working for Herefordshire Council:
A competitive salary, generous holiday entitlement, and access to our contributory pension and staff benefits scheme, which includes:
- Pension Scheme Enrolment in the Local Government (LGPS)
- Generous Annual Leave: 31 days (pro rata) plus bank holidays. You can also purchase an additional 10 days per annum
- Flexible working: flexi-time, job-share, part-time hours and, in some instances, home working
- Employee Assistance Programme: 24/7 access to support and counselling
- Payment of professional membership fees
- Pick your perks – our benefits include access to a range of retail, leisure, holiday and health benefits. This includes savings, cash back and discounts.
About Us
Herefordshire is a beautiful, historic county located in the heart of the Marches on the border with Wales. We are one of the most rural and sparsely populated counties in England with a wealth of unspoilt countryside, distinctive heritage, and lively and attractive market towns.
Our priority in Herefordshire is to keep children safe and give them a great start in life. It’s the priority for the council, our partners and for all of us who work with Children & Young People.
How do we do this? By having dynamic, dedicated, passionate and professional staff who work in a culture that focuses on what we can achieve with children, what they can achieve themselves, and the relationship we build with families and partners to enable this. We have invested heavily in training and developing staff in our relational practice approach with our improvement partner Leeds City Council, so it's an exciting time to join Herefordshire – we believe in investing in you so you can be the best you can be!
Herefordshire has a really strong team ethos. Our teams are passionate about the work they do and the positive difference they and the teams they are in make to people’s lives. This is all underpinned by the focus and support from their managers and the council as a whole.
We will deliver better support to our most vulnerable children and their families, develop stronger relationships with partners across the region, and beyond.
Therefore, we take our commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults seriously and expect all of our staff, visitors and volunteers to share in this commitment.
Come to Herefordshire and join the journey.
Herefordshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children & young people and vulnerable adults. If you are offered this position, it will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service enhanced check and further pre-employment checks.
We welcome applicants whatever their personal characteristics or social identity. All requests for flexible working arrangements and reasonable adjustments will be considered.
The following candidates will be interviewed if they meet the essential criteria for the post they are applying for:
- Those who indicate that they have a disability. This is part of our commitment to the “Disability Confident” scheme;
- Those who indicate in their supporting statement that they are an Armed Forces Veteran or Reservist. This is part of our pledge to support the Armed Forces Covenant; and
- Those who indicate in their supporting statement that they are a Herefordshire care leaver. This is part of our commitment to supporting young people leaving our care.
Please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification for more details of this role.
To apply, please submit your CV and complete the supporting statement within the application form, referring to the job description & person specification, detailing how you meet the specific requirements of the role.