Head of Education and Early Years - West Essex

*This role will cover the West Education Quadrant of Essex (Epping, Harlow and Uttlesford) and will involve going out to schools and home working as well as coming into the office for meetings, which could be at Goodman House, Harlow and County Hall, Chelmsford.

Job start: January 2025 however can consider a later start date for the right candidate.

Interviews will be held in person at County Hall in Chelmsford on 18^th December 2024.

ECC has transformed how it delivers education services across one of the largest counties in the country in order to continue to improve and to ensure the best possible outcomes for every single child and young person. We are determined to build on our journey of improvement which has seen 92% of schools being rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted, and to focus more effectively on areas such as our more vulnerable children and young people to ensure Essex provides a wholly inclusive education which can meet the needs of all of our children and young people.

Key to our approach is a decision to bring together our services and group our expertise around schools in geographical quadrants - allowing us to focus on local detail whilst delivering a joined-up approach on a county-wide scale. As a result, there is an Assistant Director of Education for each of our four quadrants, who deliver locally but collaborate effectively to deliver our holistic Education agenda. The Head of Education and Early Years post reports into the Assistant Director.

This leader will be passionate about education and the opportunities it creates, with extensive experience as a Head teacher or Deputy Head teacher, as well as significant experience in developing quality improvement frameworks to enhance education standards and drive the achievement of a good or outstanding Ofsted ratings across education provision. A proven track record of leading change is also key to the success of this role.

This is an outstanding opportunity for an experienced high-level Education professional to really make their mark, through driving innovation, commerciality, and strategic thinking, all whilst delivering the service that the children of our county deserve.

If you would like to have an informal conversation, please contact Nicola Woolf 07872 869522 (Assistant Director of Education - West).

Responsibilities include:

• Leading improvement in Early Years Childcare Settings (EYCS), schools and other educational providers, across the West Quadrant of Essex.
• Effective leadership of the Early Years and School Effectiveness teams, working collaboratively with EYCS, schools, Teaching School Hubs and other educational providers to identify areas for improvement, identify solutions and provide support to achieve these.
• Delivery of the educational strategy and overall performance of the quadrant.
• Leading the development and supporting the maturity of school partnerships as part of the School Partnership Strategy, to share expertise, enhance learning outcomes and broker support as required.
• Contributing to meeting income generation targets by maximising traded opportunities with schools.
• Collaborating with the SEND Quadrant Manager and to strategically influence inclusive educational practice in schools and school partnerships.
• Leading the quadrant attendance team to monitor the effectiveness of schools to manage attendance and reduce exclusions, offering advice and guidance and developing supportive plans to assist them.
• Managing the strategic development of intensive school improvement support to Essex schools identified as underperforming to make rapid improvement to ensure rapid progress to secure positive outcomes for children and young people.
• Ensuring innovative approaches are widely shared to improve quality of teaching, learning and effective partnerships.
• Delivery of a robust system of monitoring school performance and the outcomes of support and challenge, as a key driver in ensuring all Essex schools achieve a good or outstanding rating.
• Embedding safeguarding procedures across schools and settings within a specified geographical area to ensure the protection of vulnerable children from 0 to 25.

You will bring:

• Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or equivalent with extensive experience preferably as a Head teacher or Deputy head teacher in education.
• Evidence of continuing professional development and expert knowledge of legislative framework in relevant professional area.
• Experience at senior leadership level within an education setting, preferably in the roles of Head teacher or Deputy Head teacher. Ofsted training is desirable.
• Deep understanding gained through significant experience in developing solutions to improve standards within Early Years, schools, and other educational providers.
• Exemplar leadership and behavioural skills with the ability to focus on results, forging a strong workforce team from diverse backgrounds to achieve strategic objectives.
• Experience, knowledge and understanding of school practice and management of provision for pupils with the full range of education needs.
• Proven track record of building effective partnership and inter agency working, which is collaborative and influential in supporting the achievement of strategic objectives.
• Proven ability of proactively influencing, leading and delivering major cultural and organisational change in a complex environment.

Please note that the job role requires you to be mobile throughout an operational area. Therefore, the post holder will need to have a driving licence and access to a vehicle, or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means.

To read more about us please visit: Education

What's in it for you?

• Generous Time Off: Starting with 27 days of holiday, which increases with your length of service, plus 8 bank holidays and up to 4 paid volunteer days each year to give back to your community.
• Secure Your Future: Benefit from enrolment in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), ensuring your financial security for the future.
• Health and Wellbeing: Access to comprehensive medical insurance to keep you and your family healthy.
• Travel: Choose between our car provision scheme or an annual allowance to suit your needs.
• Professional Growth: We cover the payment of professional fees for approved professions, supporting your career development.
• Work-Life Balance: Enjoy the flexibility of hybrid working arrangements, allowing you to balance work with your personal life.

To read more please visit our Pay & Reward page on our careers site.

Why Essex? Essex County Council has a location to be proud of. Our 1,300 square miles stretch from Constable Country to the Thames Estuary, from the dynamic M11 corridor to the traditional seaside resorts of Clacton and Walton. England's oldest town, Colchester, and two of its newest - Basildon and Harlow - are right here. Along with the City of Chelmsford, the county town, they form our major population centres. It means real choice and makes Essex the ideal place for your career. Read more about us.

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.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) this role will require an enhanced DBS check and 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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