Description | Salary £35,235 - £39,513 Per Annum | Fixed Term, 2 Years from date of Appointment | Full Time, 37 Hours Per Week | Chorley (with travel Countywide) | International Sponsorship – this role is not open to international sponsorship School Attendance Court Officer The Access to Education service works with colleagues, schools, children and families across Lancashire to improve attendance at school. As part of this, the School Attendance Legal staff undertake enforcement processes in order to discharge the local authority's statutory duty in respect of regular school attendance – including issuing penalty notices, parenting orders, education supervision orders, school attendance orders and delivering prosecutions in the magistrates' courts. Working in a challenging and high-pressure environment, you will use your assessment skills and professional, technical knowledge to investigate, undertake legal proceedings and represent the Local Authority as appropriate in response to allegations of school non-attendance. Key responsibilities: To investigate allegations of school non-attendance, analyse evidence, assess cases and provide advice and challenge to schools in order to discharge the local authority's statutory duty in respect of regular school attendance To make judgements based on the outcome of those investigations within a framework of technical expertise to inform decisions regarding the use of legal interventions To prepare/collate key documentation for legal proceedings relating to school attendance in partnership with fieldwork/school staff To represent the local authority in legal proceedings relating to school attendance as appropriate in various Magistrates' Courts across Lancashire To line-manage and develop technical support staff To ensure due process of education related penalty notices, prosecutions, education supervision orders and school attendance orders in accordance with the relevant legislation in force at the time Applicants must be educated to GCE A level or equivalent and possess a Level 3 legal qualification or be willing to work towards this and have excellent ICT skills (with experience of Microsoft Office software), along with organisational time-management, analytical and assessment skills and problem-solving capability. Applicants must have experience of delivering presentations, working independently and working with in-house specialised IT systems. Applicants must have an ability to provide clear professional advice to parents/carers, school staff and other professionals. Applicants must have excellent written and verbal communication skills, be able to build/maintain effective networks and relationships, manage and mentor staff and influence others based on technical legal expertise. More information regarding the role requirements is included in the attachment. Candidates must ensure they include a supplementary statement with their application that demonstrates how they meet the essential requirements in the person specification (pages 4-5 of the attached role document) in order to be considered for interview. The post holder will be required to travel to various locations across Lancashire and a driving licence and own vehicle will be necessary. The team are all currently working on a hybrid basis both from home and in the office. Flexibility and choice is offered however, there will be an expectation that the successful candidate will attend the office base regularly as part of their induction process. In return Lancashire County Council offers a range of benefits, which can be found on LCC Vacancies website. For a discussion about the role, call Lorraine Lenoir 01772 532687 Interview date 19/05/202 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. 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. We reserve the right to close down a vacancy early, before the closing date, if we receive sufficient applications. Job Description & Person Specification