We are looking for a passionate and dedicated individual to join The Virtual School for Children Looked After in Waltham Forest for a maternity cover to start in September 2025 for 10 months. The role involves liaising with schools, social workers, carers and young people to ensure the children in care to Waltham Forest get the education they deserve. You would be overseeing a caseload of children in KS2/3 and will be part of a team who is committed to ensuring the best possible outcomes for our young people.
You will be a champion for our children in care, coordinating Personal Education Plan (PEP) meetings to keep track of their progress, and intervening when needed to keep things on track for each young person on your caseload. You will be a key part of the professional network around the young people, working in partnership with the adults in their lives to raise aspirations, identify and address emerging issues, and ensure the young persons voice is at the centre of the educational decisions being made.
We are not a school, or indeed a tuition service, but rather a bridge between education and social care, to advocate for the children in care to Waltham Forest.
The Council's preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email so we can arrange an alternative application method.
Click here for further information on the ., Oversee a caseload of children in care, ensuring they have a suitable school and up to date termly Personal Education Plan.
Work collaboratively with schools, social workers, carers and others to promote high educational aspirations and intervene promptly to prevent or overcome difficulties and challenges in regards to education.
Contribute to the Virtual School's role in promoting inclusive practices, including trauma-informed and attachment-aware approaches, as well as involvement in training for schools, social workers and foster carers in understanding their role in supporting the education of looked after children, where appropriate.

To be considered for this position, you should meet the following requirements:
A passion for education, and a minimum of 2 years' experience working in a school setting.
Confident ability to communicate verbally and in writing along with the ability to advocate for children in care in a variety of professional settings.
Although we support flexible and hybrid working, this is not a remote-working role and the successful candidate must be available to work at Waltham Forest Town Hall and travel to schools across Waltham Forest and beyond when needed.
We would especially welcome applicants who are care-experienced or have lived-experience of children's social care.

Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work.
We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.
London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the employers. This accreditation is a proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment., Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives: - Promoting equality of opportunity - Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage - Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels. - Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all. Respecting Diversity is a core Council value.
To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.
We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview.