Provide High Quality Data Relating to School Performance and the Educational Achievement

Job title:
Education Information Officer: Vulnerable Children and Young People / Directorate:
People
Post number: / Division:
Education
Grade: 6 / Section/team:
Vulnerable Children
Overall purpose of job:
To provide a comprehensive information, research, statistics and data service to Principal and Senior Officers in the Education Division and to North Lincolnshire schools
To be the first point of contact in terms of advice and support for all enquiries relating to data for Vulnerable Children and Young People, attendance and behaviour
Post holders will be expected to be flexible in undertaking the duties and responsibilities attached to their post and may be asked to perform other duties, which reasonably correspond to the general character of the post and are commensurate with its level of responsibility.
Main responsibilities:

Provide high quality data relating to school performance and the educational achievement of vulnerable children and young people in North Lincolnshire to Principal, Senior and Lead Officers in the EducationDivision,and other senior managers and officers as required
Deliver a comprehensive data service to all schools, academies, colleges and other educational settings in North Lincolnshire to support their self-evaluation and identification of appropriate improvement priorities
Deliver an enhanced data service to schools who have purchased the Data and Information Service Level Agreement
Use in-depth specialist knowledge of computer software to design, build, maintain and improve complex information technology systems and programs to provide pupil, school and local authority information as part of overall school improvement strategies.
Use the post-holder’s in-depth knowledge of computer systems and processes to provide comprehensive support to school staff in the use of the systems, providing advice, training, troubleshooting and system debugging.
Use own judgement to identify and implement new information system requirements, including bespoke analysis tools for schools to support the Narrowing the Gap and other important agendas
Retrieve and edit data and information from a wide range of internal and external sources relating to vulnerable children and young people, SEND, LAC, attendance and behaviour
Produce analyses of the above for senior leaders, managers and officers, and use these to provide statistical information and draft performance reports as required
Liaise with Education Support Officers over the design, creation, development and updating of documents, spreadsheets, systems and procedures relating to vulnerable children and young people, SEND, LAC, attendance and behaviour
Support Education Support Officers to maintain the Education Division’s database of standards and quality in all schools, academies and colleges in North Lincolnshire, including performance data for SEND, LAC, attendance and behaviour
Arrange and deliver training related to associated data for school senior leaders, School Improvement Partners and service colleagues
Be the first point of contact for enquiries and complaints relating to the performance of SEND, LAC, attendance and behaviourfrom headteachers, governors, senior officers and senior staff in external organisations
Attend and represent the team in a confident manner at relevant internal and external meetings and where necessary deal with senior officers and school leaders when the information provided shows them in a less favourable light
Ensure confidentiality of information in accordance with the relevant data protection rules and data sharing protocols

Knowledge, skill and experience:

Up-to-date knowledge of the Education division and priorities relating to Vulnerable Children and Young People
Knowledge of the Ofsted framework for inspecting the local authority’s arrangements for the protection of children
High level of skill and experience in the use of office systems, both manual and computer based
Excellent IT skills including word processing, spreadsheet, database and PowerPoint applications to an advanced level, with the ability to design spreadsheets
Ability to prepare and analyse statistical data
Effective literacy, numeracy and communication skills (both oral and written), and the ability to present information and data in a clear and concise form
Good interpersonal and people management skills
Ability to give clear verbal and written instructions to staff and contractors
Key contact for primary and secondary school leaders, including those in schools of concern, in relation to vulnerable children and young people
Ability to engage appropriately with and manage enquiries from headteachers and other school leaders, and senior officers
Good project management skills
Experience and expertisein writing school and service performance reports
Knowledge and understanding of Council, divisional and service policies, priorities, protocols, plans and strategies, including the Vulnerable Children and Young People Strategy
Good customer care skills
Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to plan and manage own and others’ workloads
Ability to work on own initiative on a daily basis, prioritise workloads and tasks and be flexible due to work demands

Creativity and innovation:

Coming up with creative and innovative ways of solving problems
Creating and refining the structures and layouts for important documents
Designing spreadsheets, databases and computer systems
Developing and improving current systems and processes
Determining appropriate methods of storage and retrieval of information
Creativity in organising workflow for specific short and long term projects
Applying deadlines on behalf of senior officers
Ensuring urgent tasks are dealt with straightaway and deadlines are met

Contacts and relationships:

Senior managers and officers within Vulnerable Children and Young People’s Service, Education and the wider People’s directorate
Managing the workloads of agency staff
Staff at all levels in schools (headteachers, managers, deputies, teachers, practitioners, secretaries and school governors): sharing confidential and sensitive information and data; having related individual conversations on a daily basis; developing strong relationships, trust and confidentiality
Vulnerable Children and Young People ‘s Service managers: identifying key sources of data to support and inform strategic meetings with senior managers, headteachers, managers, committees and governors on a weekly basis; following up key lines of enquiry in relation to school performance data
Work colleagues, via one to one, email and telephone conversations on a daily basis
Colleagues at all levels across the People’s Directorate, including on a weekly basis in relation to inspection outcomes
Contacting and instructing trainers and external services, in relation to CPD for and work with schools and service colleagues
External agencies providing data systems and information, including Capita
Contacting appropriate local authority personnel re Information Assurance practice/concerns: responding sensitively and confidentially following council guidelines; referring them to appropriate officers

Use in-depth specialist knowledge of computer software to design, build, maintain and improve complex information technology systems and programs to provide pupil, school and local authority information as part of overall school improvement strategies.
Produce analyses of the above for senior leaders, managers and officers, and use these to provide statistical information and draft performance reports as required
Liaise with Education Support Officers over the design, creation, development and updating of documents, spreadsheets, systems and procedures relating to vulnerable children and young people, SEND, LAC, attendance and behaviour

Decision making:

Decisions in respect of the main tasks listed above, as delegated by senior managers
Prioritisation of own workload and that of staff managed
Setting milestones for specific projects to ensure completion by pre-agreed deadlines
As first point of contact for queries from head teachers/managers and others, which may be serious, urgent and/or confidential, deciding on an appropriate response and course of action, including when to refer the matter to a senior colleague
Using knowledge of a school’s leadership and circumstances to decide on the level of response required and who to involve
Adhering to Council policy when responding to requests for information and data, and in referring matters to senior managers
As appropriate, filtering and responding directly to emails and telephone calls in order to minimise disruption to the workflow of senior managers
Determining the most appropriate methods of analysis and communication
Deciding which data to include and how to present it when drafting reports for senior officers
Making administrative decisions within the Council’s policies and guidelines
Dealing with equipment breakdown and minimising its impact on service delivery

Responsibility for resources:

ICT resources, such as laptops and audio-visual equipment for training and meetings.
Monitoring and supporting access to training materials and publications

WORK ENVIRONMENT
Work demands:

Responsible for processing a large volume of work, whilst maintaining a high standard
Provision of data to schools and services involving constantly changing legislation, organisational deadlines and conflicting priorities.
Management of numerous conflicting priorities whilst working to tight deadlines, e.g. dealing with an urgent query from an Elected Member or member of the public on behalf of a Principal Officer, whilst preparing reports for an urgent meeting.
Working at different venues/sites when required.
Fluctuating workload in terms of volume and type dependent upon the needs of schools and senior managers at the time and the number of reports being processed.
Following up unfavourable outcomes: informing key staff and prioritising this over daily tasks; quickly accessing, collating and summarising data/information needed for urgent response by Principal Officer s and other managers; enabling swift support to schools.
Provision of data, information and reports at short notice
Prone to interruptions from telephones, managers, visitors, and colleagues, with the ability to continue to address routine tasks efficiently.

Physical demands:

Desk based, using computer keyboard and VDU
Occasional need to lift packages/archive boxes
Printing, photocopying and faxing
Driving to other council premises, as required
Working across different locations when supporting the organisation of meetings/training

Working conditions:

Open plan office which can be noisy occasionally
A need to visit other council venues and schools to support organising of training or taking minutes of meetings

Work context:

Minimal risk to personal safety or injury, illness or health conditions
Policy documents in place that govern safe working practice.
VDU screen used regularly.
Large proportion of time spent sitting at a desk; adjustments made to chair and posture
Keyboard used regularly; wrist rests for keyboard and mouse made available
Occasional lifting/bending but taught to do so in the correct manner.

Position in organisation:
Indicate how many staff the post is directly accountable for:
Are posts in more than one location?
Is this at the same site? Are the posts managed highly mobile?
Is the supervision/management shared with another post in the structure?
Please indicate which post(s) ______
You must provide an organisation chart that shows where the job sits within the structure. This should be a simple diagram but with enough detail to put the job into context, i.e. the post holder may manage different groups of staff undertaking different tasks. The chart must show the job in question, the job to which it reports, those jobs which report alongside it and any subordinate posts.

The post is subject to:
Disclosure of convictions under the Rehabilitation of Offenders (Exemption) Act 1974 Yes □ No □
Political restriction Yes □ No□
Employee:
(signed) / (print) / Date:
Manager: (signed) / (print) / Date:

April 2014 Education Information Officer VC & YP