Education Development Officer (Child Protection & Health)

Proposed Interview Date: Tuesday 22 June 2021

Purpose and Values of Education & Children’s Services Directorate

The Education & Children’s Services Directorate is committed to Improving Life Chances for All through a wide range of direct services which support our children, young people, families and the wider Fife community. Our approach to improvement is rooted in our core values: Compassion, Ambition, Respect and Equity which reflect the ethos, culture and practice principles of all staff across the directorate. We strive to ensure that our attitudes and behaviour reflect these core values in all our dealings with children, young people, their families, and the wider community in partnership with those who support them.

Job Details

Education Development Officer (Child Protection & Health)

The Education Development Officer (Child Protection & Health) assists the raising of standards in line with national priorities, enabling the Education & Children’s Services Directorate to satisfy Legislative, Scottish Government, Education Scotland and Care Commission criteria on performance monitoring and continuous improvement. 

The Education Development Officer will: 

(a)  work in co-operation with Education Managers, Quality Improvement Officers and others in the Directorate to raise standards in schools, teams and services; 

(b)  provide a lead role in an area of expertise; 

(c)  identify good, effective practice.  

(d)  keep abreast of local and national developments in content and methodology related to their area of expertise; 

(e)  contribute to collaborative initiatives and multi-disciplinary activities in schools, teams and services; 

(f)   co-ordinate the production of materials and identify resource needs; 

(g)   be involved in the initiation, organisation and evaluation of development priorities and ensure that these meet the needs of schools, teams, services and staff through direct personal contact; 

(h)   liaise with external agencies as approved by the Executive Director of Education & Children’s Services and within council guidelines; 

(i)    advise on and, as required, participate in, the recruitment and deployment of staff; 

(j)    advise on the provision of supplies and the design and furnishing of resources; 

(k)   be familiar with all aspects of council Education and Children’s Services policy and be seen as a representative of the Executive Director of Education and Children’s Service in all aspects of involvement with the Directorate, schools, external agencies and the regional improvement collaborative; 

(l)    be knowledgeable about local and national priorities and help to ensure that these are being taken forward appropriately by the Directorate and schools.

Qualifications, Registration and Skill Requirements

Educated to degree level, ordinary degree or equivalent (SCQF level 9), you will have an In-depth knowledge of current policy and practice, demonstrating a strong understanding of the current evidence-base and the ability to use this to influence others.

You are required to have high levels of interpersonal skills and abilities which will enable you to lead and manage, both at strategic and operational levels, to ensure continuous improvement.

Before confirming your appointment, you will be required to obtain Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme membership through Disclosure Scotland and become a member of the relevant PVG scheme.

The Person

You will:

• have current knowledge and understanding of child protection and health developments at a local and national level and be able to ensure that Scottish Government, legislative and policy changes are embedded at a local level.
• be able to support senior leaders responsible for safeguarding to be clear about the expectations of their role and provide good support and direction for staff.
• be able to ensure that robust arrangements are in place to ensure that all staff are aware of their responsibilities in relation to child protection and health policies and procedures. 
• be able to ensure that effective systems provide a systematic and strategic overview of the number and nature of cause for concerns raised, initial referral discussions, child protection case conferences, and child protection registrations. 
• be able to triangulate evidence-based information and data, people’s views and direct observation of practice involving all school staff, learners, partners and other stakeholders.
• be able to deliver effective self-evaluation and improvement through an “inwards, outwards, forwards” approach to help schools, the Service and partners determine how we are doing, how do we know and what we are going to do now.
• be able to ensure that child protection and safeguarding policies and procedures reflect current legislation and guidance, playing a lead role in developing policy within and across the Education Service, and partner organisations, and will be skilled at liaising with a range of managers and practitioners across a variety of agencies.
• be able to think strategically and apply critical analysis and have a high level of report writing skills.
• be able to identify good practice in child protection and health and ensure that training and professional development opportunities support service, directorate and multi-agency needs.
• provide a lead role in representing the Education Service at Inter-Agency Referral Discussions (IRD), reporting to the Education Manager with a remit for child protection and will liaise with schools’ Named Persons regarding support for children affected through the IRD process(es).