School Appeals Clerk - Req24540

As a School Appeals Clerk, you'll thrive on being confident in producing high quality minutes, be able to work to tight deadlines, commit to on-going professional development by attending training, and be committed to providing an excellent service on behalf of the School Admissions Appeals Service., Leeds City Council's School Admissions Appeals Service is looking for a number of casual clerks to support the team on an ad hoc basis. You would be required to attend school admission appeal hearings to take accurate minutes and provide advice and guidance to the appeal panel members.

We can offer training and support on admissions and appeals legislation, leading to an excellent experience of working with appeal panel members, schools and parents/carers.

As our next School Appeals Clerk, you'll provide an effective procedural and administrative support role to school appeal panels at school appeal hearings.

The role is integral to our School Appeals team that supports schools and families through the school appeals process., Job purpose To provide an effective procedural and administrative support role to school appeal panels at school appeal hearings

Responsibilities

The post holder is specifically responsible for ensuring:

That a professional clerking service is provided at school appeal hearings.

The provision of professional and timely advice to school appeal panels on procedural, legal and constitutional matters and duties and powers, working within the current legislative framework.

That excellent customer service is provided, and confidentiality requirements are observed.

The range of duties are:

To work from home using IT equipment provided by the local authority, where necessary (own internet access is required).

To attend face-to-face appeals where required.

Adhering to strict administrative protocols in order to meet the service and data protection requirements.

Produce and distribute the agenda and papers for school appeal hearings in an efficient and timely manner to meet the stringent requirements of legislation and the service level agreement.

Advise the school appeal panels of the appropriate government legislation and procedural matters where necessary before, during and after hearings.

Attend and take detailed notes of school appeal hearings recording all aspects of the meeting accurately including the panel's deliberations and subsequent decisions.

Produce and send out decision letters to parents which accurately reflect the factors taken into consideration by the school appeal panel within tight government timescales.

Maintain an up-to-date database of school appeal hearing results.

Ensure that the school appeal panel complies with the appropriate regulations and admissions law during the school appeal hearing.

Ensure that the school appeal panel is aware of statutory policies and statutory responsibilities and give appropriate advice and guidance to enable the panel to meet them.

Attend training sessions when necessary to ensure up-to-date knowledge of the appropriate legislation.

Ensure the Senior Appeals Officer is aware of good practice or any issues that may affect the performance of the school appeal panel.

Deputise for other clerks at school appeal hearings as required.

The duties outlined are not meant as an exhaustive list and will also comprise any other duties within the spirit of the post commensurate with the job evaluation outcome for this post., Communicate effectively in both written (including word processing), email correspondence and spoken word.

Use databases, spreadsheets and templates.

Work to deadlines and balance conflicting priorities / needs.

Work on own initiative.

Attend clerk meetings and record key information accurately.

Present information clearly and produce standard letters and minutes.

Work as a team member to ensure that services are effective and maintain good channels of communication.

Time management to ensure deadlines are met at all times, including hot spots throughout the year.

To develop good customer relations.

To motivate others.

Essential Behavioural and other Characteristics

Understand and embrace Leeds City Council Values and Behaviours and codes of conduct.

Committed to continuous improvement in all areas and work towards delivering the Best City Ambition of Health & Wellbeing, Inclusive Growth and Zero Carbon

Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council equality and diversity policies.

Carry out all duties having regard to an employee's responsibility under Health and Safety Policies.

Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade.

Participate in appraisal, training, and development activities.

Be aware of and comply with Leeds City Council policies and procedures.

Be aware of and support difference and ensure equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding, equality & diversity policies of Leeds City Council.

Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimisation, and any form of abuse, reporting any concerns to the appropriate person.

The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and the role will be expected to work within these parameters.

Do you have experience in taking and writing minutes?, Desirable requirements It is desirable that the candidate should be able to demonstrate the following criteria for the post. Candidates are not required to meet all the desirable requirements however these may be used to distinguish between candidates.

Have proven skills in clerking meetings.

Knowledge of the School Admissions Code (2021) and the School Admission Appeals Code (2022).

Knowledge of meeting procedures (notice, confidentiality etc).

Geographical knowledge of Leeds with regards to schools.

A basic knowledge and understanding of the context of the education system.

Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions.