Attendance, Prosecutions and S19 Complaints Officer

The Service & Team
This role sits within Cornwall Council's Attendance and Alternative Provision services and works closely with Education, Legal Services, Social Care, Health, Police, Youth Justice and other partners. The team is responsible for delivering the Council's statutory duties relating to school attendance enforcement, Section 19 provision, and complaints, with a strong focus on safeguarding, fairness and achieving positive outcomes for children and families., Cornwall Council is seeking a Senior Attendance, Prosecutions and Section 19 Complaints Officer to lead the delivery of its statutory school attendance enforcement and complaints function.
The role provides strategic and operational oversight of the full legal process, from the issuing of Penalty Notices through to the preparation and authorisation of Section 444 prosecutions, ensuring all actions are lawful, proportionate, robust and compliant with statutory requirements. You will also lead on complex, high-risk and Ombudsman-linked complaints, delivering clear, thorough investigations and resolutions that protect children, families and the Council's legal and reputational position.
The postholder will provide strategic oversight of the Council's Section 19 duties, ensuring children with medical needs, SEND or safeguarding vulnerabilities are properly assessed and offered suitable education before any enforcement action is pursued. Working collaboratively with schools and multi-agency partners, you will help ensure consistent, evidence-based decision-making and strong safeguarding practice across the county.
This role includes line management of two Senior Business Support (Legal Intervention) Officers and two Attendance Officers responsible for Section 19, along with ad-hoc operational oversight of staff across the wider Attendance and Alternative Provision services where needed. You will support performance management, quality assurance, and professional development within the team.
This is a public/customer-facing role, where the statutory English language requirement for public sector workers applies.
This position will be subject to a criminal record disclosure check.
Working Pattern
The role is offered on a full-time basis and operates within Cornwall Council's flexible working arrangements. Hybrid working and other flexible options may be available in line with service requirements and Council policy.

The successful candidate will bring a solid foundation of knowledge and experience relevant to education, safeguarding and statutory attendance work.
You will be educated to degree level in a suitable field and able to demonstrate clear analytical thinking, sound judgement and strong organisational skills. Effective written and verbal communication will be important, along with the ability to approach complex situations calmly and professionally.
Experience in managing staff or leading within an education or local authority setting is desirable , as is familiarity with attendance legislation, safeguarding responsibilities and the processes linked to penalty notices and Section 444 prosecutions. An understanding of handling complaints, including those of a complex nature, and experience preparing or presenting casework will also be beneficial.
Overall, we are looking for someone who can work collaboratively, respond thoughtfully to challenges, and contribute positively to a service focused on achieving the best outcomes for children and families.

What you'll get in return:
Cornwall Council's ambition is to be an employer of choice, a high performing Council and a learning organisation. We commit to providing a reward and benefits package to attract, motivate and reward our employees. We offer a range of flexible working options to our staff. This helps provide our employees with a greater work/life balance. Whilst still ensuring that service needs are met.
Our core employee rewards and benefits include:
· a competitive salary.
· a defined benefit pension scheme, based on your career average earnings. This includes the option for extra voluntary contributions
· a generous annual leave entitlement with the potential to purchase additional leave.
· A national award-winning employee health and wellbeing programme
· Employee benefits scheme giving employees access to a wide range of discounts to local and national goods and services.