Education Safeguarding Lead

• Suffolk County Council
• Address: Beacon House, IP1 5BP - On-site working
• Salary: £48,163 - £58,805 per annum (pro rata for part time or under 12 months)
• Hours: 37 hours per week
• Contract: Fixed term/Secondment - for up to 12 weeks

This post is open to internal Suffolk County Council staff only.  

Fixed term/Secondment to support the Multi-agency Child Protection team, as part of the Families First Programme ending once the work is complete (12 weeks)

We’re focused on making a meaningful difference to communities across Suffolk. How? By listening to our people learning from what they say and creating a culture of mutual respect, where everyone works together to achieve great things. As an Education Safeguarding Lead in the Multi-agency Child Protection Team you’ll be as keen to collaborate and build a bright future as we are. So, to make a positive impact, connect with us and connect with a fantastic career.  

Reimagine the possibilities.  

Your role and responsibilities

This is an exciting opportunity to bring your education knowledge into a fast-paced, multi-agency safeguarding environment where your insight will help shape decisions for children and young people at risk of significant harm.

On a typical day, you may be working alongside colleagues from social care, health, police and education to consider safeguarding concerns, share specialist advice and ensure the education perspective is central to decision-making. The role entails providing specialist education input within the Multi-Agency Child Protection Team, ensuring safeguarding decisions, plans and interventions are fully informed by children’s educational context.

You will use your skills and experience to:

• act as the education representative within the MACPT, contributing specialist advice and analysis to safeguarding processes
• ensure educational factors such as attendance, exclusions, alternative provision, SEND and engagement in education are fully considered in risk assessments and decision-making
• contribute to multi-agency safeguarding activity, including strategy discussions, child protection processes and planning meetings
• provide education analysis and advice on individual cases to support robust, timely and proportionate safeguarding decisions
• work closely with schools, headteachers, designated Safeguarding Leads, SENCOs and other education professionals to share information, provide guidance and improve safeguarding practice
• identify and challenge educational risk, including persistent absence, inappropriate or reduced timetables, off rolling and unmet SEND needs
• act as a key link between the MACPT and education services, including Attendance, Children Missing Education, Elective Home Education, SEND and Alternative Provision
• contribute to multi-agency audits, reviews and learning activity, identifying themes and supporting improvement in practice.

You will play an important role in ensuring that vulnerable learners, including children with SEND, children not in school and those at risk of exclusion, are fully considered within safeguarding activity.

You will need

We hope you’ll bring a strong education background, sound safeguarding knowledge and the confidence to work collaboratively with a wide range of professionals. Just as importantly, you’ll bring curiosity, professional judgement and a commitment to improving outcomes for children and young people.

You will need:

• a degree level qualification or equivalent experience in education or a related field
• a strong professional background within education, such as teaching, safeguarding, inclusion or a related area
• evidence of continued professional development in safeguarding and/or education
• strong knowledge of safeguarding legislation and statutory guidance, including Working Together to Safeguard Children and Keeping Children Safe in Education.
• a good understanding of the education systems and responsibilities, including attendance, exclusions, alternative provision, Children Missing Education and SEND
• experience of working with vulnerable children and young people within an education or children’s services context
• experience of safeguarding practice within education settings, ideally including experience as a Designated Safeguarding Lead or equivalent.
• the ability to analyse complex information and apply professional judgement to safeguarding decisions
• confidence working in multi-agency environments, contributing to joint decision-making and planning
• strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build effective working relationships across agencies
• the ability to manage competing demands and work effectively under pressure in a fast-paced safeguarding environment
• an understanding of confidentiality, data protection and information sharing requirements in safeguarding contexts.

It would also be helpful if you have experience of working with children with SEND or additional needs, knowledge of local authority education and inclusion services, or experience of working with children at risk of harm or in child protection processes.

You can view a full list of requirements in the Job and Person Profile (JPP), which you can find in the ‘How to apply’ section towards the bottom of this advert.

If you believe you can succeed in this role, apply. Even if you don’t meet all requirements, still apply. We would appreciate the opportunity to consider your application.

The team

The Multi-Agency Child Protection Team brings together professionals from education, social care, health and police to provide a coordinated, timely and effective response to children and young people at risk of significant harm. The team focuses on strengthening information sharing, improving joint decision-making and ensuring safeguarding responses are robust, consistent and child centred. 

This role represents the education service within the MACPT and is co-located with the team, working as a core safeguarding partner alongside multi-agency colleagues. You will ensure education information, insight and statutory responsibilities are fully embedded within safeguarding activity, and that the education perspective is central to risk assessment, planning and intervention. 

You will also act as the key link between the MACPT and education services, settings and wider Inclusion teams, helping to ensure risks linked to attendance, exclusion, SEND and children not in school are identified, understood and addressed.

Empowering Everyone

We’re big believers in potential, possibility and the power of different ideas. We’re always searching for ways to encourage, respect and enable everyone to be the best they can be. We want to represent the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from all individuals, especially those from groups that are currently underrepresented in the organisation, as shown in our Workforce Equality Report.

At Suffolk County Council, our WE ASPIRE values set out the behaviours expected from everyone in the organisation, regardless of role, grade or where they work. These values were developed through feedback and input from employees and underpin how we go about our everyday work. 

For more information

Please contact Izzy Connell for a casual conversation. You can reach them by calling 01473 264937 or emailing [email protected]

If you wish to apply for a secondment, read the secondment policy first. Make sure you get permission from your current manager before submitting your application.

How to apply

Step 1: Read the Job and Person Profile (Word)

Step 2 - Click ‘Apply Now’ to start your online application. 

Step 3 - Upload a supporting statement answering the following questions below (no more than 400 words per question). You should use the Supporting Statement template (Word). 

1. Tell us about a time when you identified a safeguarding concern involving a child or young person. How did you assess the risk, what action did you take, and what was the outcome?
2. Give an example of when you used educational information, such as attendance, exclusions, attainment, SEND or engagement data, to inform decisions about a child's welfare or support needs.
3. What educational indicators or factors would you expect to consider when assessing the risk of significant harm to a child, and why are these important in safeguarding decision-making?

Step 4 - Upload a CV (without name and personal details). 

Please note: Without a supporting statement and CV, your interest will not be progressed. Any supporting documents must be in either PDF or MS Word format.  

For guidance on completing your application, please see our How to Apply page. 

Planning to use Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Please ensure your application still reflects your own skills, experience and ideas. If used inappropriately, your application may not be processed. Please read our guidance for using AI to understand what’s acceptable. 

Do you need any reasonable adjustments to help you to apply? If you are disabled and/or have additional support needs, you can request reasonable adjustments. You can do this by contacting our Recruitment Team at [email protected] or 03456 014412.  You can find examples of possible adjustments on our Reasonable Adjustment pages. 

Closing date: 11:30pm, 23 August 2026

Interview date: 4 September 2026

This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS checks or police vetting will be required for relevant posts.