Hertfordshire (On-Site)
Permanent, Full time
£33,366 with the opportunity to progress to £36,124 per annum
Job Title: Elective Home Education Officer
Starting Salary: £33,366 with the opportunity to progress to £36,124 per annum
Hours: 37.0
Location: Hertfordshire
Contract Type: Permanent
Directorate: Childrens Services
Start date: September 2025
About the team
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 Coordinators who are 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 Coordinators. 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.
About the role
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
About you
Essential:
EHE Officers are crucial team members helping the Local Authority to fulfil it's statutory duties and responsibilities relating to Elective Home Education. You will be making an impact by supporting parents to provide a suitable education for their child and therefore improving their educational experiences and outcomes.
You will have the opportunity to contribute to making the EHE team efficient and effective in order to manage the ever increasing numbers of EHE children being recorded.
We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.
This job role is within the Community Services, level COM9 job profile. Please locate this via:
Job profiles - Community services
To hear more about this opportunity please contact Anna Shaw at anna.shaw@hertfordshire.gov.uk
Interview Date: 12th and 13th May 2025
Benefits of working for us
How to apply
As part of your application, please upload your most recent CV. Ensure your CV is up to date with your employment history (including any employment gaps), and including any training/qualifications. We encourage you to include examples of where you have demonstrated the requirements/criteria in the advert / job profile to allow the panel to fully recognise your skills and abilities. You will have the opportunity to include a short covering paragraph within your application to give us a little more information about your skills, knowledge, and experiences.
Secondment
This position is open to secondments. If you work for HCC or any other Local Authority and would like to be considered as a Secondment contract, please ensure you complete the Secondment Form as part of your application. If you do not, your application will be considered as a Fixed Term Contract only.
Disability Confident
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.
Driving required
You'll need to have the ability to drive and/or travel around Hertfordshire, either using your own mode of transport or a company car to travel to other locations.
English Fluency
The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post (for those whose language is a signed language the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be required). Further information about the legal requirement can be found here.
Starting Salary: £33,366 with the opportunity to progress to £36,124 per annum
Hours: 37.0
Location: Hertfordshire
Contract Type: Permanent
Directorate: Childrens Services
Start date: September 2025
About the team
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 Coordinators who are 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 Coordinators. 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.
About the role
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
About you
Essential:
- You will need to be able to listen to and support parents, whilst also sharing important information regarding expectations around home education.
- You will need to have demonstrable experience of working with children, young people and families including those with special educational needs, disabilities, or mental health difficulties.
- You must be confident to provide challenge to parents when it is unclear as to whether the education they are providing is suitable
- You will need to be able to manage complex situations and be skilled at having difficult conversations whilst maintaining professionalism.
- You should be able to make independent decisions and also recognise when a collaborate approach is appropriate.
- Being competent in IT is important so you can navigate systems to find and record information. You should be proficient in Word and ideally Excel and PowerPoint.
- You will need to work as part of a team and also be self-motivated to work independently and unsupervised
- You will need a full driving licence and access to a vehicle.
- You will be educated to degree level or equivalent and have excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
- Experience of working with Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCPs)
- An in depth understanding of the home education government guidance and a good understanding of CME, safeguarding, SEND and the Gypsy, Roma, Traveller (GRT) community.
- You will need to effectively assess, evaluate and problem solve and also be alert to safeguarding concerns.
- You should have a methodical approach to information gathering, recording and reporting and you must be able to make accurate and detailed notes.
- Your organisational skills will help you to prioritise your workload effectively and to manage competing demands and pressures.
- You need to be able to travel between workplaces for meetings. Ideally, the successful candidate will support with covering the West of Hertfordshire, which may include home visits around this area.
EHE Officers are crucial team members helping the Local Authority to fulfil it's statutory duties and responsibilities relating to Elective Home Education. You will be making an impact by supporting parents to provide a suitable education for their child and therefore improving their educational experiences and outcomes.
You will have the opportunity to contribute to making the EHE team efficient and effective in order to manage the ever increasing numbers of EHE children being recorded.
We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.
This job role is within the Community Services, level COM9 job profile. Please locate this via:
Job profiles - Community services
To hear more about this opportunity please contact Anna Shaw at anna.shaw@hertfordshire.gov.uk
Interview Date: 12th and 13th May 2025
Benefits of working for us
How to apply
As part of your application, please upload your most recent CV. Ensure your CV is up to date with your employment history (including any employment gaps), and including any training/qualifications. We encourage you to include examples of where you have demonstrated the requirements/criteria in the advert / job profile to allow the panel to fully recognise your skills and abilities. You will have the opportunity to include a short covering paragraph within your application to give us a little more information about your skills, knowledge, and experiences.
Secondment
This position is open to secondments. If you work for HCC or any other Local Authority and would like to be considered as a Secondment contract, please ensure you complete the Secondment Form as part of your application. If you do not, your application will be considered as a Fixed Term Contract only.
Disability Confident
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.
Driving required
You'll need to have the ability to drive and/or travel around Hertfordshire, either using your own mode of transport or a company car to travel to other locations.
English Fluency
The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post (for those whose language is a signed language the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be required). Further information about the legal requirement can be found here.
Closing date: Sun 27/04/2025 at 01:00
Job reference: HCC27425