Apprentice Send Transport Officer

Job Information

Achieving for Children is a Community Interest Company that has a public sector ethos, combined with the freedom to innovate enabling us to do things differently. As a not-for-profit social enterprise owned by three local authorities (Windsor & Maidenhead, Kingston and Richmond), we offer the freedoms of a social enterprise with the employment benefits of local government. To find out more about us

We are responsible for the entire range of children’s education, health and social care services in all three boroughs. We use a Signs of Safety practice model and approach which ensures the voice of the child is at the heart of everything we do. There’s never been a better time to join AfC, we are growing our workforce, implementing new flexible working arrangements and have increased our virtual wellbeing offer.

Kingston & Richmond’s SEND Transport team is looking for a level 3 Apprentice to take on the core admin for the team and complete tasks accurately. We have grown talent in this way before, previously two members of the current team have joined us as Level 3 apprentices, so we know that this can allow us to develop and align a young person’s skills to our business requirements, while also offering another opportunity to young people who may be struggling to gain experience in the workplace.

About the role

AfC is looking for an SEND Transport Apprentice to join our Kingston & Richmond SEND Transport team (SENT). Amongst other areas, work will involve interactions with taxi transport companies and schools on a regular basis, and liaising with parents of children using our service. Below are some of the main tasks for the role;
- Vetting the required documentation from transport crews, retaining accurate records, filing electronically, inputting the data generated from the vetting sessions into a database & maintaining accurate records within Googlesheets
- Making contact with taxi transport operators on a weekly basis to confirm which crew members are available for them to use and which ones require updated documents, by means of sending them an abridged version of the data within the Googlesheet
- Making contact with schools each term to obtain their term dates, and entering these into a different Googlesheet
- Learning how to run reports in our database and using those reports to make contact with our taxi transport operators to update information about certain young people using our service
- Answering calls, taking messages & dealing with queries e.g. shadowing situations where carers cannot receive the child at the end of the school day

About you
- Good communication skills with excellent spoken and written English
- An understanding of customer care and an understanding the importance of confidentiality, both within and outside the workplace, and the ability to deal professionally with callers
- An ability to learn to use own initiative and prioritisation skills (but open to asking for advice and support where needed), to follow procedures and learn to work to deadlines
- Punctuality, with an understanding of the impact which lateness and absence has on the effectiveness of the team

About our benefits

We are focused on creating a positive supportive environment, where you will have access to a really wide range of resources, as well as a competitive salary and all the perks to enable hybrid working. In AfC you will also have access to:

- 29 days annual leave, increasing to 33 days after 2 years and 35 days after 4 years.
- Tailored induction sessions commencing on the date you start working for AfC
- Stable and supportive leadership
- Hybrid and mobile working (between home and work) with latest technology to facilitate this
- Local Government salary and pension scheme (LGPS or Teachers Pension)
- Flexible working options - helping to keep a good work life balance
- A comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme
- A range of staff benefits and discounts
- An excellent learning and development offer to support your career pathway

To find out about all of the breadth of benefits of working for Achieving for Children

Important Information

**Right to work**: The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.

**Safeguarding**: We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).