Education inclusion worker - multi disciplinary team

Education Inclusion Worker - Multi Disciplinary Team

Fixed Term, Full Time

£31,879 to £37,504 per annum

Location: Harlow

Working Style: Community-based worker

Closing Date: 29th January 2026

Please note that this position is being offered as a Fixed Term Contract / Secondment with a planned duration of 24 months

The Team

The Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) comprises of subject matter experts specialising in housing, domestic abuse, education, drug and alcohol support, youth work and mental health for adults and children.  

MDT workers bring specialist knowledge and therapeutic insight. Their expertise is instrumental in re-engaging families, restoring hope, and fostering sustainable change. This team's work is not only impactful - it's transformative. 

We are seeking an experienced, motivated and passionate individual to join our team. Being led by the Team Manager, you will be working to create the conditions for sustainable change with families. 

The MDT team is situated within frontline social work teams where the referrals come from. The interventions from MDT are delivered within the community or in the families' homes. 

We want you to be a part of our vision and making this a reality. If you have the drive, creativity and enthusiasm to enhance and improve the lives of Children and Families, we want to hear from you. 

Are you ready for the challenge of being at the forefront of innovative and impactful practice?

This is an exciting time for Children's Social Work in Essex, and we are seeking experienced, motivated and passionate individuals to join our dynamic Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT).

Led by the Team Manager, you will help create the conditions for sustainable change, working alongside a diverse team of subject matter experts in housing, domestic abuse, education, drug and alcohol support, youth work and mental health.

Based within frontline Social Work teams, the MDT provides bespoke, specialist interventions in the community and in family homes, bringing therapeutic insight and expertise that re-engages families, restores hope and supports meaningful, lasting change. We want you to be part of our vision and help make it a reality. If you have the drive, creativity and enthusiasm to enhance and improve the lives of Children and Families, we want to hear from you.

To read more about us please visit: Children & Families

Please take a look at our 'No Magic' Children & Families video

The Role

We are looking for an experienced practitioner who is confident working within the education environment and who can work with multiple partners to support children and young people access an appropriate education.

The Education Inclusion Worker will support sustainable inclusion for children and young people through targeted support to educational settings, families and partners. The role requires knowledge, experience and expertise in dealing with a range of issues which may impact on education, including removing barriers to attendance to enable children and young people to access their education offer.

We are currently recruiting to multiple roles within our Multi‑Disciplinary Team. To find out more about these vacancies, please visit: Working for Essex - Multi-Disciplinary Team Vacancies

Accountabilities

* Provide targeted intervention, as part of a multi-disciplinary team, to families and professionals at points of change and transition to support longer term resilience and the dialogue essential to the success of educational placements and outcomes.
* Responsible for utilising and model enabling, collaborative and person-centred ways of working to ensure pupil and family voices are captured, valued and held at the heart of planning for children and young people.
* Identify and facilitate effective ways of gathering, recording and sharing information about a child or young person, their family, setting or situation, to inform the planning for them, through statutory or non-statutory plans.
* Support the partnership between educational setting staff, families and other stakeholders, to promote shared understanding of the aspirations, needs, outcomes and required provision for children and young people.
* Work directly with children and young people and their families to develop their understanding and participation pertaining to education attainment and aspirations.
* Provide expert advice and guidance to schools and families to ensure all parties have a clear understanding of the impact of non-attendance and to work with them to remove barriers to attendance and explore ways in which non-attendance can be mitigated.
* Work collaboratively with stakeholders to define school requirements and deliver timely, quality value for money services.
* Formulate action plans for high level targeted support, to ensure intervention measures are tailored appropriately to raise attainment and outcomes for all children, but with a specific focus on narrowing the gap for vulnerable groups. 
* Responsible for safeguarding children's welfare through the development of positive attendance strategies.  
* Responsible for providing regular progress reports clearly demonstrating improvements across schools, highlighting barriers and recommending solutions to evidence achievement of positive outcomes. 
* Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

The Experience You Will Bring

* Educated to RQF Level 3 (A Level) or equivalent by experience.
* Experience of working in the education field and with relevant experience particularly around school attendance and alternative provision.
* Ability to engage with and deal with families and young people who are often facing complex and challenging circumstances as well as a good understanding of the barriers to attendance and attainment.
* Strong track record of working creatively with children and young people as well as using initiative to ensure positive outcomes for young people.
* Demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills with an understanding of how to facilitate and mediate in situations which are perceived as challenging.
* Strong experience of working effectively in partnership with families and other professionals and education providers including schools.
* Good knowledge of DfE guidance around safeguarding, exclusions, attendance and alternative provision.

The role requires you to be mobile throughout a wider operational area including travelling around the county of Essex and beyond, transporting service users and their belongings and to be able to do so in an emergency. Driving licence and car or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means is essential.

Next Steps

Candidates shortlisted for interview will be invited to attend a face‑to‑face interview at one of our Essex County Council offices, with interviews expected to take place around the week commencing 11th February 2026.
If successful, the anticipated start date for this role will be from April 2026.

In February 2025, Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government's devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026. You can read more about devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR) on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We're committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We're also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you've secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

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If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email resourcing.team@essex.gov.uk

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