Education Partnership Officer | Education Improvement Service | Preston

Salary £47,665 - £53,051 | Full time, 37 hours per week | Permanent | Education Improvement Service | Preston

Please note, that sponsorship is currently unavailable for this role.

Join Lancashire County Council and make a difference

Lancashire County Council is looking to for an Education Partnership Officers to join our Education Improvement Service at an exciting time in the development of our locality-based approach to supporting schools, settings, children and families.

This is a key partnership role, working across allocated localities to bring together schools, early years settings, colleges, council services, health partners and voluntary, community and faith sector organisations. Through Lancashire’s Team Around the School and Setting (TASS) approach, you will help partners identify local priorities, understand the root causes of challenges and develop collaborative solutions that improve outcomes for children and young people.

A significant part of the role will be supporting the local delivery of Experts at Hand, providing schools and settings with a clear district route to advice, specialist expertise and appropriate support. You will help schools navigate available services, connect them with the right expertise and support effective triage, signposting and escalation where required.

This is a varied and outward-facing role. You will build strong relationships across education, SEND, health, children’s services and community partners, using data, local intelligence and feedback to identify gaps in provision, barriers to access and emerging issues. You will work alongside partners to develop practical, sustainable responses to challenges affecting children and young people.

You will also play an important role in ensuring that learning from individual schools and localities informs wider service development. By monitoring demand, recurring needs and access difficulties, you will provide valuable intelligence to support district and countywide priorities and contribute to the ongoing development of Lancashire’s locality and Experts at Hand arrangements.

Job Description & Person Specification

The role will consist of:

• Leading and chairing Locality Groups and SEND Clusters, bringing schools, settings and partners together to agree shared priorities, actions and outcomes.
• Supporting the delivery of the Team Around the School and Setting (TASS) approach within allocated localities.
• Acting as a named district contact for Experts at Hand, helping schools and settings access appropriate advice, support and specialist expertise.
• Using data, consultation and local intelligence to identify needs, gaps, emerging risks and barriers affecting children and young people.
• Building strong relationships across education, health, SEND, children’s services and voluntary, community and faith sector organisations.
• Supporting partners to develop collaborative and preventative solutions to complex local issues.
• Monitoring demand, outcomes and emerging themes and using this intelligence to inform service improvement and wider strategic priorities.
• Delivering briefings, training and development activity and contributing to the continued development of locality-based ways of working across Lancashire.

We are looking for someone who is confident working across organisational boundaries and can bring people together around a shared purpose. You will have experience of partnership or multi-agency working and an understanding of education, SEND, inclusion, early help or related children’s services. You will need excellent communication, influencing and problem-solving skills, alongside the ability to navigate complex systems and turn local intelligence into practical action.

This is a fantastic opportunity to play a central role in strengthening the connections between Lancashire’s schools, settings, services and communities, helping ensure that support is easier to navigate, expertise can be accessed earlier and local partnerships are able to respond effectively to the needs of children and young people.

To apply:

Please ensure you have uploaded and attached your supporting statement to evidence how you meet the criteria for the role. The panel may be unable to shortlist you for interview without this evidence.

For an informal chat, email Alison.Walsh@lancashire.gov.uk to arrange a call.

Closing date is Sunday 25th October and proposed interview dates are Wednesday 4th November and Thursday 5th November. Start date, as soon as possible.

You will be required to provide a car for use in connection with the duties of this post and must be insured for business use. However, we may consider you if you cannot drive because of a disability.

Local Government Reorganisation

The Government has confirmed that local government across Lancashire will be reorganised, with the current 15 councils being replaced by four new unitary councils covering North, South, East and West Lancashire from April 2028.

If you are successful in your application, you will initially join Lancashire County Council. However, as part of the planned transition, your employment will transfer to one of the new unitary councils from April 2028, subject to the implementation of the reorganisation and relevant employment legislation.

Throughout this period, our focus remains on delivering excellent services to our communities. By joining us now, you'll play an important role in shaping the future of local government and helping to build a strong new organisation that will serve residents for years to come.

We reserve the right to close down a vacancy early, before the closing date, if we receive sufficient applications.