Job Introduction
Medway’s Education and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Division is committed to support all children and young people to learn and grow and to achieve their potential in education. The Education and SEND Division covers a wide scope of services, including school admissions, place planning, Medway Test, school transport, capital developments, high-needs funding and support for pupils with Education, Health and Care Plans, early years funding and sufficiency, school improvement and effectiveness, inclusion and attendance. The Government’s ambitions for the provision of quality education and improvement plans for the SEND and Alternative Provision system are important strategic drivers for our vision for these services.
The Education and SEND Division is seeking highly driven and experienced professionals to join these teams at an exciting time of change within this sector. Successful candidates will join a supportive network of professionals within the Division and across the wider People Directorate and Council. They will have the opportunity to contribute our journey of improvement and shape our service delivery to children, young people and families and Medway. They will gain knowledge and experience from highly skilled team members but will also be given the opportunity to showcase their own skills and knowledge. They will be expected to work in partnership with providers, other agencies and strategic networks.
As School Admissions Officer, you will administer the processes for school admissions in Medway and undertake tasks as allocated by the senior members of the team. This will include liaising with schools and families as necessary and handling any service-related enquiries ensuring that they are answered effectively within agreed timescales and processing, maintaining and monitoring data and information records relating to the work of the department.
You will be involved in the administration of:
- Co-ordinated admissions applications (entry to Year R, junior transfer and secondary transfer)
- In-Year admissions
- Admissions appeals for community schools
- The Medway Test
In this role, you will be required to ensure that data is accurate, up to date, useable and in accordance with departmental policies and procedures to assist in the effective management of the Department. You will assist with the administration and delivery of other functions within the wider School Services Department, as and when required.
You will be expected to utilise your skills and abilities in customer service, problem-solving, data recording and analysis, processing requests, paperwork and archiving and organisation to provide high-quality business support to your team and customers.
This job will involve manual handling of large quantities of data which must be processed accurately and quality assured.
In return we will offer you:
- Generous annual leave entitlement
- Generous local government pension scheme package
- Access to wider training and development qualifications
- Flexible working scheme
- Travel plan discounts
- Access to CAREFIRST advice & counselling service
- Employee discount scheme for national and local retailers
Career Progression Frameworks (CPF) have been introduced for all roles at Medway Council. These frameworks provide a mechanism for employees to take ownership of their development within their post and be rewarded accordingly. This means that the salary you will be offered will be at level A unless, based on an assessment against the CPF criteria, you demonstrate that you are meeting the criteria of level B or C. There will be further opportunity once in post to progress from level A to B, and B to C.
When writing your application, it is important to ensure you identify your suitability against the requirements of the job profile, as this information will be used for shortlisting and may contribute to the CPF assessment. Your application may be rejected if the minimum required criteria is not met. Further information relating to the requirements for this role can be found in the CPF Guidance document attached.
The person specification of a job profile is split into three levels:
Level A details the essential criteria that all applicants must be able to demonstrate through their application and interview.
Level B details the developed competencies that an individual who is practised in this role would be able to demonstrate and will be a progression of knowledge, experience and skills from level A.
Level C requires the highest level of competence and applicants would need to fully meet and demonstrate all aspects of the job profile, including qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience.
You can demonstrate knowledge, experience and skills to allow you to perform within this role. You will identify, through application, how you meet the elements detailed within the person specification, at either Level A, B or C. You will be supported to develop in your role through induction, probation and a supportive Performance Appraisal and Career Conversation. Through your induction you will be introduced to the Career Progression Framework (CPF), which will help you to identify your areas of strength and any development needs.
Our organisation:
Medway is a unitary authority in the South East of England, made up of the towns of Strood, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham and Rainham and more rural areas, including the Hoo Peninsula.
Situated in Kent in the South-East of England, the area has plenty of green spaces, excellent facilities and easy access to the national motorway and rail networks, facilitating superb transport links to London.
We provide all local Government services for a quarter of a million people, looking after education, environment, social care, housing, planning, business and much more - everything from frontline services such as rubbish collection and events like the Dickens Festival to work that goes on behind the scenes to ensure services in Medway run smoothly and cost effectively.
Working at Medway Council means that you get to be part of this journey working alongside talented, professional colleagues to drive forward change to transform the lives of our residents and the communities they live in.
Important Information-
Applicants must be able to demonstrate all essential requirements as listed in the job profile
Equal Opportunities Commitment Statement
Medway Council is committed to creating an inclusive work environment with a diverse workforce. All appropriately qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability or age
For further information please refer to the Medway information pack available as a download or to view online
Please be advised that if you are not contacted within 3 weeks of the advert closing date then you have not been shortlisted. All recruitment correspondence, including interview letters and contracts of employment will usually be sent out via email.
Please visit http://www.mindfulemployer.net/ for information on how Medway Council put good practices in place to ensure employees and job applicants who declare mental health issues receive the right level of support.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy at any time prior to the closing date.
If you are not contacted within 3 weeks of the advert closing date then you have not been shortlisted.
All recruitment correspondence, including interview letters and contracts of employment will usually be sent out via email, if you require documentation/correspondence in different format such as braille or large print, please contact the Resourcing Team on 01634 332878.
