Job Description

Achieving for Children is a Community Interest Company that has a public sector ethos, combined with the freedom to innovate enabling us to do things differently. As a not-for-profit social enterprise owned by three local authorities (Windsor & Maidenhead, Kingston and Richmond), we offer the freedoms of a social enterprise with the employment benefits of local government. To find out more about us .
Education Welfare Officer
We are seeking two passionate Education Welfare Officers to join our team, with one position being term-time (39 weeks) and the other a full-time (52 week) role. Please note for the term-time role the salary advertised will be pro rata.
In this position, you will be responsible for supporting children, young people, and their families to ensure a successful return to full-time education. You will work directly with schools across both boroughs to reduce student absence and manage a caseload with the goal of promoting school attendance and positive outcomes.
Operational area
Kingston and Richmond
Primary place of work
Civic Offices, 44 York Street, TW1
Appointment type
Permanent
Business area
Education
Full time/Part time
Term-time (39 weeks)
Salary from
39,855 (SCP27)
Salary to
42,324 (SCP30)
Hours
36
Estimated Interview date/s
TBC
Closing Date
22/09/2025
Ref No
2109
Documents
(PDF, 581.85kb)
About the role
In this role you will be expected to work across both the boroughs of Richmond and Kingston upon Thames as part of the joint service supporting schools.
We are looking to appoint dynamic and driven individuals who have a passion for supporting children and young people to ensure they access education entitlement and parents and guardians are fulfilling their legal responsibilities. The successful candidates will hold a caseload of schools. They will be required to carry out home visits as part of their duties.
The service works closely with schools, multi-agency teams, families and other partners and commissioners across Kingston and Richmond local authority areas to improve educational outcomes for vulnerable children and young people. The service's key role is ensuring that the statutory duties are fulfilled. Due to this team and the supportive work that they provide, attendance in our Kingston and Richmond schools are among the very best in the country.
Please note this is not a working from home role. Education Welfare Officers are out in schools and then office based on days when they are not in schools.
If you wish to have an informal discussion about the role please contact Diana Percival on
About you
To be an Education Welfare Officer for AfC, you will be passionate about making a positive difference to the lives of children and young people as well as demonstrating the following points:

• Experience of working with Children, young people and their families who are either vulnerable or at risk between their home and school environments.
• Experience in a similar role working with both schools and other services within an education setting or similar.
• Ability to analyse and understand attendance data in order to assist in the reduction of school absence.
• Strong communication and organisational skills with the ability to form good working relationships with a range of internal and external colleagues.
• Passionate about making a positive difference to the lives of children and young people.
• Solution focused with experience building and maintaining strong partnerships and working on solutions to challenges. with a diverse set of stakeholders; including children, young people and their families.
• Knowledge of statutory legislation, policy, guidance and procedures (for example Children's Act).

About our benefits
We are focused on creating a positive supportive environment, where you will have access to a really wide range of resources, as well as a competitive salary and all the perks to enable hybrid working. In AfC you will also have access to:

• 29 days annual leave, increasing to 33 days after 2 years and 35 days after 4 years with an additional day off in your birthday month (Or for term-time workers, your leave entitlement consists of the non-working periods in your contract)
• Tailored induction sessions commencing on the date you start working for AfC
• Local Government salary and pension scheme (LGPS or Teachers Pension)
• Flexible working options - helping to keep a good work life balance
• A comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme
• A range of staff benefits and discounts
• An excellent learning and development offer to support your career pathway

To find out about all of the breadth of benefits of working for Achieving for Children . For our social work offer . For our Recruitment Journey,
Important Information
Start dates: Achieving for Children have meaning successful candidates join on a set date in each month. Candidates are advised to prepare for this should a job offer be accepted to ensure eligible continuous service is not affected.
Right to work: The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the for right to work guidance.
Equality: We particularly welcome applications from sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our teams. Achieving for Children are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.
Safeguarding: We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
For more information about AfC: Drop in and meet Regina on the first Wednesday of every month at Civic Centre, Twickenham.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and return your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Skills Required