Education Equity and Safeguarding Officer

Salary: GBP 39,862.00 - 41,771.00 per year

Details
Job Advertisement

Fixed‑term contract for one year, or a secondment may be considered under the terms of the advertisement (for individuals employed by Gwynedd Council). Applicants will need to check that they have permission for a secondment with their line manager before applying for the post

Gwynedd Council offers an attractive employment package, for more information please click on this Information Pack

Gwynedd Council operates internally through the medium of Welsh, and offers all its services bilingually. The applicant will be required to reach the linguistic level noted as one of the essential skills in the Person Specification.

We encourage everyone who applies for a job with Gwynedd Council to submit job applications in Welsh or bilingually.

( Applications submitted in English only or Welsh only will always be treated equally, but we ask applicants to consider carefully what the linguistic requirements of the job in question is and if it would be more appropriate to submit an application in Welsh.)

For further information about this post please contact Llion Williams on 01286 6793247 or via email: LlionWynWilliams@gwynedd.llyw.cymru

Interview date to be confirmed.

Application forms and further details available from Support Service, Gwynedd Council, Council Offices, Caernarfon, LL55 1SH

Tel: 01286 679076

E-Mail: Swyddi@gwynedd.llyw.cymru

CLOSING DATE: 10:00 AM,11/03/2026

The Council will request a Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service for the successful candidate.

If you are successful to be short listed for an interview you will be contacted by E-MAIL using the address provided on your application form. You need to ensure that you check your email regularly.

Person Specification

PERSONAL FEATURES
ESSENTIAL
•Strong oral and written communication skills with the ability to confidently present key information in a clear, clear and concise way.
•A person who can easily work and mix with people dealing with people confidently, politely and politely.
•Be able to work effectively with various partners (schools, region, Welsh Government).
•The ability to work under pressure and as part of a team.
•An energetic and flexible person by nature.
•The ability to relate well with children.
•Desire to continuously develop professionally.
•One that can prioritize work as needed, show progressivity and meet specific time limits.
•Flexible attitude with the ability to work independently.

DESIRABLE
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RELEVANT QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING

ESSENTIAL
•Graduate or with equivalent qualification.
•Evidence of continual professional and personal development.
•Good language skills and knowledge presentation and communication.

DESIRABLE
•Qualified teacher status

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
ESSENTIAL
Experience of;
•working in partnership with other agencies
•standardised reporting and data analysis
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•co-ordinating projects or grants.
•working in partnership with other agencies.

DESIRABLE
Experience of;
•work in an educational environment or from working in the field of child protection
•working as part of a successful team
•Successfully establish system/arrangements
•working with vulnerable groups of children and young people
•working on a management team

SPECIALIST SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE
ESSENTIAL
•Understanding education policies and grant funding (Pupil Development Grant (PDG): overview | GOV.WALES in Wales
•Knowledge and understanding of the key issues in the area/procedures of Safeguarding Children in Education as highlighted in the Government's guidance, Keeping learners safe | GOV.WALES.
•Knowledge and understanding of the main issues and current educational developments including the new curriculum.
•Knowledge and understanding of the key issues and developments in safeguarding as highlighted in social-services-and-well-being-wales-act-2014-the-essentials.pdf
•Data analysis and impact monitoring skills.
•Strong digital skills for information management and reporting.

DESIRABLE
•Understanding the Welsh Government's Hwb platform
•An understanding of Estyn's requirements in the area of Safeguarding children in education.

LANGUAGE NEEDS
ESSENTIAL
Listening and Speaking - Higher Level
Be able to follow a conversation or discussion through the medium of Welsh and English at a professional level and discuss general topics on a daily basis in the field in order to present information and express opinions. Be able to provide a pre-prepared presentation and respond to any comments and questions on it through the medium of Welsh and English.

Reading and Understanding - Advanced Level
Able to understand standard, formal and informal Welsh and written English. Be able to gather information from various sources such as letters, reports, articles, through the medium of Welsh and English in order to carry out the job.

Writing - Advanced Level
Present written information with confidence in the form of a letter, a more detailed and technical report and respond to written requests conveying information, ideas and opinions through the medium of Welsh and English. (It is possible to get help to check the language)

Those characteristics expected of the office holder should be described. Used
these as criteria in the assessment of all applicants.

Job Description

Purpose of the Post.
•To ensure that the children and people of Gwynedd are central to everything we do.
•To manage, co-ordinate and monitor the effective use of the Pupil Development Grant (PDG), to improve the attainment, attendance and wellbeing of pupils from low-income families and vulnerable learners across Gwynedd.
•To ensure specialist support and guidance for the Education departement and Gwynedd schools in the area of safeguarding and support for vulnerable pupils.
•Lead and support a strategic project to reduce the cost of attending school for families, including planning initiatives, collaborating with schools and partners, and implementing measures to alleviate financial barriers for learners.

Responsibility for Resources. . . .e.g. staff, finances, equipment
•Laptop, Mobile Phone

Main Duties.

Pupil Development Grant (GDD)
•Grant Co-ordination: Ensure that PDG allocations are passed on to schools and settings in full, in line with national criteria.
•Monitoring and Evaluation: Collect data, report on the impact of grant spending, and ensure that activity is evidence-based.
•Strategic Collaboration: Work with Grant leads, Region, and school clusters to share good practice and strengthen national consistency.
Supporting Schools and Settings: Provide constructive advice and challenge to ensure spending is focused on improving the outcomes of eligible learners.
•Communication and Reporting: Prepare standardised reports for Welsh Government, and ensure that school strategies are published correctly.
•Network Development: Facilitate local and regional networks of designated leaders for learners from low-income households.

Training

•To support the development and delivery of new training in the wake of a local or national priority.
•Work with the Learning and Development department and external agencies, where appropriate, to plan and deliver various training related to the requirements of the GDD and the area of child protection in education.
•Develop new packages to support schools/providers in child protection as required.
•Keep a record of all individuals who have attended Safeguarding training with specific details of the trainee and date.
•Check that each school/provider maintains an up-to-date training register of all staff.
•To support the (LEA) to keep a record of all individuals who have received other training specifying the details of the trainee and the date.

To ensure that the Department and Gwynedd Schools have current and suitable policies and procedures.

Policies and Procedures
•Prepare and review annually a package of model policies and procedures on all aspects of safeguarding and children looked after.
•Ensure that all model policies and procedures align with national guidance and the Local Safeguarding Board.
•Ensure that all schools receive up-to-date copies of the latest documentation on an annual basis.
•Ensure that Gwynedd schools implement their Safeguarding Children policy.

•Work with the Safeguarding and Wellbeing Quality Lead to review and prepare a new, where necessary, Policies and Procedures relating to key issues that may be relevant to child protection such as;
•health and safety, Reasonable Restraint, bullying.
•school trips, pupil transport, residential visits, exchange visits between schools;
•child employment, work experience;
•photographing and using photographs of children;
•pupils without a place in school;
•showers and changing arrangements;
•parents and other volunteer helpers;
•first aid and medication administration;
•arrangements for after-school clubs;
•using the internet safely;
•children with parents/carers who misuse drugs or substances, a
•children in boarding schools outside the local authority.

Ensure that the Department protects children who are out of mainstream education in accordance with the guidelines.
•Safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing of children who are not provided with a place in school, or who have been excluded from school, including those who are taught in pupil referral units or by the home tutor service.
•For children who are homeschooled by parents or carers, to build effective relationships with home educated children to safeguard the educational benefit and well-being of children and young people.

Ensure the Department of Education's input into strategic matters.
•Representing the Department and offering leadership at national, regional, authority-level meetings and in relevant sub-groups.
•Submit regular feedback from the meetings to the attention of the Quality, Safeguarding and Well-being Lead
•Participate fully in child practice reviews.

Ensure that the Department of Education and Schools in Gwynedd complies with guidelines that have been adopted.

Quality assurance
•Ensure that all schools submit specific information about their annual PDG expenditure to the attention of the Governing Body and the Department for Education.
•Ensure that each School annually submits specific information and the area of child safeguarding to the attention of the Governing Body and the Department for Education.
•Prepare an annual report to the attention of the Quality, Safeguarding and Wellbeing Lead on the content of these reports.
•Visit Schools to identify and share good practice in PDG spending and impact
•Visit Schools annually to check the quality of their safeguarding arrangements.
•Prepare an annual report summarizing the findings of the visits.
•Refer concerns about a lack of action to the attention of the Quality, Safeguarding and Wellbeing Lead.
•Personal Education Plans for children in care and PDG Grant applications

Ensure appropriate advice and support and guidance for schools and Department for Education staff.

•Provide advice and support to schools, and to designated senior staff on dealing with individual cases.

•To provide advice, guidance and support regarding:
•casework, court appearances, legal matters;
•new legislation;
•managing reports of missing pupils;
•allegations against staff/Governors;
•specific circumstances of abuse, e.g. genital mutilation in girls, self-harm, forced marriage, false or induced illness, domestic violence, abuse of a child by another child, sexual exploitation, and young migrants.

•Advising, monitoring and reporting any concerns regarding secure recruitment arrangements including a Disclosure and Barring Service in accordance with guidance from the Welsh Government.

Ensure that the Department of Education and Schools in Gwynedd works effectively with key agencies.

•Acting on behalf of schools where necessary to resolve any difficulties with partner agencies to obtain the appropriate support from them.
•Encourage and build understanding and good working relationships with children's social workers and staff in other agencies involved in child protection.
•Develop effective arrangements for partnership working.
•Ensure that the service is part of a process of continuous improvement.
•Ensure monitoring of progress against the priorities as required.

Supporting the (LEA) to ensure the Quality of Education Provision for Children from Vulnerable Groups

•Identifying, supervising and monitoring the progress of pupils from vulnerable groups.
•To support and delegate on behalf of the (LEA) as the lead responsible officer for ensuring that arrangements are in place to improve the experiences and educational outcomes of children looked after by the authority, including those based outside the county.
•Supporting schools to plan strategically to improve the overall outcomes of pupils from vulnerable groups.
•To influence and collaborate with headteachers and other professionals in education and social work to represent the interests of pupils from vulnerable groups.
•Contribute to multidisciplinary teamwork.
•Intervene directly in specific cases.

•Report the following outcomes on a regular basis:
oEducational progress of looked after children
oAttendance
oBehaviour and prohibitions
oEnsuring that the well-being and social needs of children from vulnerable groups are met
oEffectiveness of interventions
oGood practice locally and nationally
oSupport and resources needed to support children's progress
oMonitor the long-term outcomes of vulnerable children and drive their recovery.

•Ensure that Individual Development Plans or Individual Education Plans are developed and reviewed appropriately within the spirit of the individual-centred approaches.

Generic
•Attend training and commit to professional development.
•Contribute to quality evaluation activities.
•Responsibility for self-development
•Ensure compliance with Health and Safety at work rules in accordance with the responsibilities set out in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Council's Health and Safety Policy.
•To act within the Council's policies in relation to equal opportunities and equality.
•Responsibility for managing information in accordance with the Council's information management standards and guidelines. Ensure that personal information is treated in compliance with Data Protection legislation
•A commitment to reduce the Council's carbon emissions in line with the Carbon Management Plan and to encourage others to take positive action towards reducing the Council's carbon footprint.
•Undertake any other corresponding and reasonable duty that is consistent with the salary level and level of responsibility of the job.
•Responsibility to report concern or suspicion that a child or vulnerable adult is being abused

Special Circumstances. . . . e.g. need to work unsocial hours, special work arrangements, etc.
•Work outside normal working hours as required.

The duties of the post shown above are just an outline of the duties to give an idea of the level of responsibility involved. This job description is not exhaustive, and the duties of the job may change from time to time without changing its basic nature or level of responsibility.