Overview
The main purpose of this post is to strategically lead and manage an overarching strategy for education provision ensuring we have sufficient school places that provide a high standard of education with good or outstanding outcomes for all pupils. To lead and develop the strategic planning and commissioning of school places including promoting choice and diversity. To recognise the majority of the work streams associated with the post will be within the education sector, certain aspects will have a wider brief across Children & Family Services. This will include, for example, leading on capital projects which are required by Director of Family Help and Children’s Social Care and Director of Quality, Partnership.
Working closely with schools, partners and wider Children & Families Services, the post will develop effective systems and mechanisms to ensure that children and young people receive high quality educational provision from the start and remain in such provision for the duration of their statutory education. This will require the postholder to form strong working relationships with schools and education providers and be responsible for the school effectiveness systems within Cheshire East. The role will also require close working with Diocesan bodies, multi academy trusts the maintained sector, in addition to the DfE and Ofsted. The postholder will manage a broad team which includes school governance, education improvement, SACRE, specialist SENCOs, lifelong learning service and school organisation. These may be subject to change from time to time.
Responsibilities
* Lead, develop and implement a strategic school organisation framework to ensure the Council meets its statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for children resident in the area.
* Strategically lead for the Council on its duty to champion for children and young people and their parents and local communities to ensure a high standard of education, reporting concerns to the DfE’s Regional Director where necessary.
* Work with all aspects of the Children’s and Families Directorate, and council, to ensure an integrated approach to service delivery to children, young people, families and education providers.
* Keep abreast of national and local policy developments and lead, develop and implement local strategies as necessary, including the development of local inclusion report cards and risk assessment.
* Lead on the implementation of the capital strategy which secures, allocates and quality assures capital resources (including S106/CiL) in line with the Council’s long-term plan for the provision of pupil places.
* Lead the implementation and development of a strategy to improve education outcomes for all children working with the family of schools to ensure effective school led support and alignment with the families first strategy.
* Lead the strategy around lifelong learning and skills and include a strategy to secure good school governance and leadership.
* Strategically lead on the development of the family of schools approach, facilitating infrastructure that maintains a focus on outcomes for local children and young people as the sector transforms.
* Lead, develop and implement a strategic framework for traded services to schools, developing a business/customer-led approach to delivery of high-quality services.
* Lead the implementation and development of services that support outstanding governance in schools.
* Lead the implementation and development of a high-quality school meals service that demonstrates value for money.
* Lead the strategic business processes to bid for, secure and commission wider Children & Families projects leading to improved provision for children and young people.
* Promote effective and accurate pupil forecasting methodologies to predict pupil trends and numbers across all localities and, where appropriate, lead on any reorganisation of education provision through potential relocation, closure or change of use of current education provision.
* Liaise and network with other authorities to ensure best practice is adopted, establish systematic reporting processes for regular updates to Senior Management, and ensure high customer satisfaction.
* Create, foster and maintain a safe and healthy working environment that encourages commerciality, creative thinking, innovative practice and acceptable well managed risk taking by all staff, seeking to provide added public value from limited resources.
* Design, document, implement and maintain service structures, methods of delivery, operating procedures and rules of engagement to define required behaviours and ensure standards are met for local needs.
* Ensure services/functions are delivered within budget, and to set and manage financial and other controls enabling frontline decisions within delegated authority.
* Manage all aspects of the team and individual staff performance, including the use of resources against agreed targets.
* Work closely with Elected Members at a local level to support them in undertaking their leadership role effectively and confidently.
For an informal discussion regarding this role, please contact Iain.Peel@cheshireeast.gov.uk.
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