Senior School Admissions Officer

Key responsibilities
The postholder will be responsible for overseeing the day to day management of a professional in-year admissions and pupil tracking service within the context of robust safeguarding and quality assurance procedures, ensuring compliance with statutory requirements and agreed service specification.

The primary functions of the post are to:

Discharge the local authority‘s statutory duties and responsibilities in relation to the allocation of school places outside the normal admission round, both at primary and secondary phases, ensuring schools maintain waiting lists in strict criteria order and offer places in accordance with the School Admissions Code and supporting legislation
Oversee and manage day to day operations relating to in-year admissions, ensuring every child is tracked from application to placement, including liaising with Islington and out of borough schools to ensure unplaced children are offered a school place as quickly as possible in line with local protocols and statutory timescales;
Monitor LA duties in relation to Day 6 provision for permanently excluded pupils, including PRU to PRU transfers. In addition, monitor that schools follow due process in relation to Day 6 provision for pupils suspended for a fixed period, escalating as necessary;
Develop and manage robust processes for identifying vulnerable children, including those placed in temporary accommodation by Islington LA, taking lead responsibility for referring potential cases of private fostering and other safeguarding concerns (eg. trafficking/sexual exploitation) to Children’s Social Care.
Take lead responsibility for implementing Islington’s Fair Access Protocol by undertaking casework as appropriate and representing the School Admissions team on Islington’s Primary and Secondary Securing Education Boards;
Oversee and manage day to day operations relating to off-rolling, ensuring efficient and speedy processes to minimise the time children spend out of school. Liaise with school staff, escalating as appropriate and working closely with colleagues who monitor the quality of education provision to ensure a speedy return to mainstream education where home education provision is deemed unsuitable.
Take a lead role in safeguarding children especially those missing education who move out of the local authority or move abroad to prevent them from slipping through the net;
Take lead responsibility for completing statutory returns to the DfE on children missing education and those being electively home educated
Ensure an outstanding customer-focused service through implementing, developing and managing agreed processes, coaching and mentoring staff, and prioritising tasks to meet statutory deadlines and service specification requirements;
Oversee the delivery of a child-focussed service that seeks, and takes into account, children’s views, ensuring any decisions taken are always in the child’s best interests
Use and assist others to keep accurate uptodate records of casework, school contacts, progress reports, and any other relevant management information, making full use of electronic recording via the local authority pupil database (ONE), as required by the local authority.Duties and Responsibilities
1. To ensure compliance by team members with the quality and performance standards outlined in the service specification, and to raise awareness of these standards among service users and team members
2. To produce high quality briefings and training to school administrative officers and Children’s Services professionals, providing advice and guidance on Islington’s local protocols for ensuring compliance with statutory guidance relating to in-year school admissions and offrolling
3. To oversee and manage the local authority’s administrative processes and procedures for inyear admissions, Fair Access, exclusions and off-rolling and act as the point of contact for related queries
4. To promote and safeguard the welfare of children and young people / vulnerable adults in the context of managing a front-line service
5. To take lead responsibility for overseeing and developing an on-line admissions application service to make it easier for parents to apply, and for schools to respond in a timely manner
6. To service the Primary and Secondary Securing Education Boards and induct new members on matters relating to Fair Access
7. To provide data and information in a timely way to support the completion of KPI reporting to the Directorate, Freedom of Information requests, Members Enquiries
8. To provide accurate, high quality and timely data and management information to the Team Leader as requested
9. To performance manage team members to ensure they are effectively supervised and supported in carrying out their work with schools, children and families;
10. To oversee the management and development of staff directly reporting to the post within an equal opportunities context
11. To carry out responsibilities and duties in accordance with all relevant legislation, codes of practice and Council policies and procedures
Only candidates based in UK and eligible to work in UK are allowed