Multi-Agency Child Protection Team, Education Lead

Job Introduction

Job Title: Multi-Agency Child Protection Team, Education Lead
Starting Salary: £55,582 progressing to £61,460 per annum
Hours: 37 hours per week across 5 days (please note this post is not term time only)
Location: Travel is required; we have posts in;

• Watford & Three Rivers (Hemel Hempstead office base)
• East Herts (Stevenage office base)

Contract Type: Permanent
Directorate: Children's Services

About the team

The Multiagency Child Protection Team is a newly-established team formed as part of the DfE Families First Partnership Programme within Children's Social Care.

This team has been established to deliver a multi-agency approach to support the Local Authority in fulfilling their section 47 child protection duties.

Within this team, there are vacancies for the Education Lead posts to work alongside Leads from Health, Social Care and Police.

A Multi-Agency Child Protection Team (MACPT) is a key part of the Families First Partnership (FFP) Programme in England. It brings together professionals from different agencies, such as children's social care, health services, police, education, and other specialist services, to work jointly when there are concerns that a child is suffering, or is at risk of suffering, significant harm.

The team aims to:

• Improve the way agencies work together to protect children.
• Ensure that risks are identified and responded to quickly.
• Share information effectively between professionals.
• Provide a coordinated assessment and intervention plan for children and families.
• Reduce duplication and improve decision-making through multi-agency expertise.

How it Works

Within the Families First Partnership model, child protection is designed to be part of a seamless system of help, support, and protection. Children and families receive support from the most appropriate professionals, with specialist child protection practitioners leading cases where there are serious safeguarding concerns. Multi-agency teams work together to assess risk, plan interventions, and monitor progress.

Key Benefits

• Better information sharing between agencies.
• More timely safeguarding decisions.
• Stronger professional collaboration.
• Improved outcomes and safety for children.
• A balanced approach that protects children while supporting families where possible

About the role

A key function of the Multiagency Child Protection Team is to convene strategy discussions, to determine if the trigger has been reached for a section 47 enquiry - that there is reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm - and to make the threshold decision with input from practitioners who know the family

Within the role of the Education Lead you will:

• Act as the child protection expert for education and schools, participating in Multi-Agency Child Protection team meetings Actively promoting and supporting the development of inclusive practice across schools/settings and contributing to the sharing of effective practice
• Build upon or conduct thorough assessments of children's needs by considering various perspectives and expertise from across the team, as well as the wider system
• Act as liaison between the Multi-Agency Child Protection Team and Education Services to ensure vulnerable children and young adults receive their education entitlement, including those who are severely absent from school
• Work as part of the team to build an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the child's daily life to establish the likelihood of significant harm, and to ensure the effective safety planning for children and young people
• Provide consultation and advice to social care professionals in relation to child protection issues and education

About you

Essential

• Experience as Designated Safeguarding Lead, Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead or equivalent in an education setting
• Educated to at least degree level and hold Qualified Teacher Status
• Knowledge and understanding of the statutory child protection framework
• An applied understanding of what constitutes actual or likely significant harm, including indicators of abuse, neglect and exploitation
• Experience of contributing effectively to assessment of needs
• The ability to assess information for effective and reliable decision-making and planning
• Proven ability to make critical decisions in complex child protection and ensure statutory responsibilities are met
• Excellent knowledge of multi-agency safeguarding, including key legislation and guidance such as Keeping Children Safe in Education (2026) and Working Together to Safeguard Children (2026)
• Experience of effective multi-agency work and partnership work with children, young people and families at a child protection level
• Strong leadership skills and a proactive approach to building effective partnerships
• Hold a valid UK driving licence and have regular access to a vehicle for work purposes

Desirable:

• Hold relevant additional qualification(s) relevant to the role
• Recent training/CPD activities relating to safeguarding
• Recent experience of working in an education setting with vulnerable groups

This is a fantastic opportunity to be part of a newly developed team, bringing your education expertise, and experience of safeguarding in schools, to a multi-agency child protection team, working alongside colleagues from Social Care, Health and Police.

Please ensure that your application reflects your child protection expertise.

We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.

This job role is Level 13. Please locate the job profile here: Job profiles - Corporate services

To hear more about this opportunity please contact Sharon Coubray - Specialism Lead for SLCA (sharon.coubray@hertfordshire.gov.uk) for an informal discussion about the role.

Interview Date: 23rd & 25th November - Virtual

Benefits of working for us

How to apply

As part of your application, please upload your most recent CV. Ensure your CV is up to date with your employment history (including any employment gaps), and including any training/qualifications. We encourage you to include examples of where you have demonstrated the requirements/criteria in the advert / job profile to allow the panel to fully recognise your skills and abilities. You will have the opportunity to include a short covering paragraph within your application to give us a little more information about your skills, knowledge, and experiences.

Additional information

We are changing
Hertfordshire County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), creating a unique opportunity to help shape the future of local services. To find out more, visit https://www.hertfordshire-lgr.co.uk/

Disability Confident
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.

Safeguarding
This role has been identified as requiring a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.

Driving required
You'll need to have the ability to drive and/or travel around Hertfordshire, either using your own mode of transport or a company car to travel to other locations.

English Fluency
The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post (for those whose language is a signed language the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be required). Further information about the legal requirement can be found here.

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