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Education welfare officer
Hours
30-40 per week
Starting salary
£20,000 + per year
If you want to help children make the most of their school years, this could be perfect for you. Education welfare officers work with schools, pupils and families to find solutions to problems.
Employers will often expect you to have (or be working towards) a qualification in social work.
To become an education welfare officer, you will need to be a good listener. You will need to be able to build good working relationships with pupils, parents and teachers. You will also need a calm approach in difficult situations.
WorkDesc
The work
If you want to help children make the most of their school years, this could be perfect for you.
Education welfare officers (also known as education social workers) work with schools, pupils and families to find solutions to poor school attendance.
As an education welfare officer, your work would include:
- identifying attendance problems and possible solutions
- explaining to parents about their legal responsibilities to make sure that their children receive an education up to the age of 16
- taking action through the magistrates' court if necessary
- helping families get benefits, such as for school meals, transport and clothing
- referrals to other agencies and professionals, such as social services and educational psychologists
- making home visits or meeting pupils and parents in school to provide on-going support
- encouraging parents to build good relationships with the school
- helping to arrange other education for pupils who are excluded from school
- administration tasks, such as writing case notes, writing to parents and preparing court reports.
You would also be involved in checking that child employment meets regulations, advising on child protection issues, and preparing reports on pupils with special educational needs.
HoursDesc
Hours
You would usually work 9 am to 5 pm, but may have to go to school parents' evenings or make home visits in the evening.
You would be based at an office, but would spend a lot of your time visiting schools and pupils' homes.
IncomeDesc
Income
Salaries can range from around £20,000 to over £30,000 a year, depending on qualifications and experience.
Salaries vary between local authorities and geographical areas.
Figures are intended as a guideline only.
EntryRequirementsDesc
Entry requirements
Employers will often expect you to have (or be working towards) a qualification in social work. See the British Association of Social Workers website for details of social work qualifications. Other relevant qualifications and experience include teaching and youth and community work.
You may be accepted without a professional qualification if you have:
- a lot of experience of working with children or young people and their families
- and at least A levels or equivalent qualifications, or sometimes a degree.
Entry at assistant level is common.
You could build up your experience by volunteering - for example in youth work, mentoring or through Community Service Volunteers (see the website for details).
As you would be working with children, you would need Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) clearance. See the following website page for more information:
You would need a driving licence and use of a car, as your work would involve visiting schools and pupils' homes.
TrainingAndDevelopmentDesc
Training and development
When you start work as an education welfare officer, you would receive induction training from your employer.
You would be supervised by a senior colleague, and would have opportunities for on-going training and professional development.
If you are not already qualified, you would probably be encouraged to gain a relevant qualification, such as a degree in social work.
SkillsAndKnowledgeDesc
Skills and knowledge
To become an education welfare officer, you will need to have:
- good listening skills and a sympathetic approach
- the ability to build good working relationships with pupils, parents, teachers and other professionals
- an understanding of the law relating to education and childcare
- a calm approach in difficult situations
- accurate record-keeping skills and the ability to write detailed reports
- teamwork skills.
MoreInformationDesc
OpportunitiesDesc
Opportunities
You would be employed by local authority education welfare services departments.
With experience, you could progress to positions such as team leader, senior education welfare officer or head of service.
Other options include moving into other types of work such as social services, the probation service or youth work. You may need further training for some of these.
You may find the following links useful for vacancies and general reading (links open in new window):
Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework 
there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.
We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.
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Related industry information
Industry summary
Early years, children and young people’s services are represented by the Skills for Care and Development Sector Skills Council. This includes those working in early years, children and young people’s services, and those working in social work and social care for children and adults in the UK. The social care sector comprises two sub-sectors:
- Adult social care – with a workforce of nearly 1.5 million, accounting for 5% of England’s workforce, and 38,000 employers
- Children and young people – with an estimated workforce of 2.7 million
Early years, children and young people’s services provide publicly funded services accessed by between 1.5 and 2.5 million families per year, including early years education, childcare, children’s social care, family support, child protection, fostering and adoption services. There are more than 500,000 workers delivering these services in England.
[N.B. Following the change of Government on 11th May, all statutory guidance and legislation referred to here continues to reflect the current legal position unless indicated otherwise, but this document may not reflect Government policy.]
Key facts:
- The children and young people’s social care workforce includes:
- Over a quarter of a million people working within early years and childcare settings, with 165,200 employed in full day care and 58,300 workers in sessional day care
- An estimated 111,484 nannies
- An estimated 1,152 portage workers in England (who provide a home-visiting service for pre-school children who have developmental or learning difficulties, physical disabilities or other special needs)
- About 1,985 in the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS)
- An estimated 7,500 residential childcare workers in children’s homes and 2,100 in care homes for disabled children
- 25,460 full-time equivalent social workers
- Approximately 37,000 foster families in England
- Approximately 14,000 learning mentors
- 2,247 educational psychologists
- Between 3,000 and 5,000 education welfare officers in England
- 65% of full day care provision is privately run, with 22% of settings run by a voluntary organisation.
- The majority of sessional care settings are run by voluntary organisations or are privately run.
The children and young people’s workforce includes a wide range of workers, jobs and professional occupations, including:
- Early years and childcare – Early years/nursery teachers; Nursery nurses/workers; Portage workers; Nannies; Home Child carers; Heads of children’s centres; Volunteers in childcare settings
- Children and young people’s social care – children and family court advisory and support service officers, foster carers, residential childcare workers, children and family social workers
- Learning, development and support services (LDSS) – learning mentors, educational psychologists, education welfare officers, behaviour and education support teams, family support workers
National and regional data
[N.B. National and regional data are currently unavailable.]
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