Salary: £45,000 - £50,000

Closing date:10th May

Interview Date:21st May

This role has strategic oversight of our schools across the Thames Valley region, including Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Hertfordshire, Greater London, Surrey and Kent. Candidates must be based within this geographical area as regular travel across these locations is an essential requirement of the role. While the position offers a level of remote working, a strong regional presence is critical to effectively support and engage with our schools.

Those huge small victories

Are you currently working as a DSL in school or have wider DSL/Safeguarding responsibilities within a Multi Academy Trust, if so, are you ready to take the next step and join a team of likeminded people who are passionate about safeguarding children or are you a Schools Safeguarding Officer or equivalent within a local authority and are already supporting DSLs in schools? If so, wed love to hear from you.

We are the highest Ofsted-rated provider in the country for special education and care. Our teams are fulfilled by the idea of making even the smallest positive changes in our young people, so we celebrate the little things.

For children with complex needs the level of care and education we provide must go above and beyond. Thats what drives us here at Witherslack Group. With our high staff-to-child ratio and in-house clinical teams, were proud to have won a reputation for excellence and market leading OFSTED ratings.

Get out what you put in

The Schools Safeguarding Officer will work closely with the Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) and Head Teachers to ensure that practice is robust and defensible in relation to safeguarding within the school.

You will work with the Head of Safeguarding to support schools and ensure compliance in accordance with safeguarding and wider legislation and in the development and delivery of training for DSLs and school-based staff. You will contribute to effective partnership working between different teams and departments within Witherslack Group.

You will undertake safeguarding audits in schools to ensure compliance within current frameworks and support schools in any actions plans resulting from findings within safeguarding audits. You will also support DSLs in schools and give advice to ensure that safeguarding concerns are managed in line with Local Safeguarding Partnership procedures and thresholds. You will work with DSLs in schools to ensure that safeguarding record keeping is robust and in line with best practice and will give advice and guidance in relation to safeguarding cases.

The ideal candidate will have experience as a DSL in a school and has worked in a variety of different agencies. If in addition to that you have wider agency experience of working within for example, early help or childrens social care, that would be even better. We are looking for someone who has experience of giving advice to and supporting DSLs/DDSLs in their work, has experience of developing and delivering training and undertaking audits in relation to safeguarding.

Bring your whole-self to work

Are you ready to apply Make sure you understand all the responsibilities and tasks associated with this role before proceeding.
Here at Witherslack Group, we celebrate everyones differences as thats what makes us the best at what we do. Our young people come from all walks of life, diverse backgrounds and with different needs and our workforce reflects that diversity, so that our teams can engage, encourage and inspire our young people to be themselves.

Well give you the chance to build an exciting career in a fast-growing organisation, where youre free to achieve your potential. Heres what we need from you;

• Extensive safeguarding expertise significant experience (5+ years) managing safeguarding and child protection cases, ideally as a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) or in a similar senior role.
• Strong policy knowledge up-to-date understanding of Keeping Children Safe in Education, national safeguarding policy, wider education legislation, and partnership arrangements.
• Proven advisory and training skills ability to provide expert safeguarding advice to schools, support the resolution of safeguarding deficits, and design and deliver effective training.
• Ongoing professional development a comprehensive portfolio of CPD in safeguarding and child protection, with evidence of applying learning from reviews and developments into practice.
• Excellent interpersonal and organisational abilities strong communication, problem-solving, and report-writing skills, with the flexibility to manage competing priorities and support schools in high-pressure situations.

What we do for you

We know youre going to do great things. For your hard work and commitment, we reward you with the best salary and benefits package in the care sector. With us, youll get to make a genuine difference to the lives of our young people plus youll get:

• Salary: £45,000 - £50,000 dependent on experience
• Medical coverso you can claim back the cost of things like an opticians or dentist appointment and a host ofhigh-street discounts
• Holiday: Youll work hard at WG, so youll be rewarded with 7 weeks holiday (including bank holidays)
• Flexible benefits package: meaning you can increase/decrease your holiday allowance, pension and life insurance check out our benefitshere
• Wellbeing: a host of wellbeing tools and advice including employee assistance
• Beautiful working environments with the very best facilities
• A recommend a friend scheme that offers a £1,000 bonus every time

Join the UKs best special education and care provider

Our young people deserve the best possible future and we feel the same about our teams. You deserve to have the career you want, with a purpose-led employer, in an environment that allows you to be yourself .

For a full job description please click here

To view our ex-offenders policy please click here.

The Witherslack Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of its young people. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check (we will cover the cost). We are an equal opportunities employer welcoming applications from all sections of the community. xbpsjku

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