Learning Support Lead

Learning Support Lead

Permanent, Full Time

£29,467 to £34,667 per annum

Location: Colchester

Working Style: Fixed-base worker

Adult Community Learning (ACL) is ECC’s provider of lifelong learning experiences for Essex residents. ACL offers qualifications to help people move nearer to, enter, or progress within the workplace or gain skills to enhance life chances. The service focuses many of its programmes and activities on the hardest to reach communities within Essex. ACL learners have access to a diverse range of accredited and non-accredited courses which encourage creativity, healthy lifestyles, social inclusion, and engagement.

The Learning Support Lead is forward thinking, proactive and a committed individual to managing the cross-service Learning Support team to support and identify the needs of ACL learners (including apprentices) with difficulties or disabilities, literacy, numeracy and language needs. 

This role is primarily based at the ACL Centres in Colchester and Clacton however, you may occasionally be required to travel to and support other ACL centres across North Essex as and when required.

To read more about our business area, please visit: Policy, Economy, Investment and Property

Accountabilities

• Plan, manage and deliver high quality, learner centred support services that respond to individual needs and drive continuous improvement.
• Provide clear and timely advice and guidance to staff, learners and families, supporting informed decisions and removing barriers to learning for a wide variety of customers such as those with English as a second language, mental health needs, disabilities, and additional needs.
• Ensure learners receive effective, inclusive support that enables them to achieve their potential and contributes to positive outcomes.
• Apply Funding Agency and ALS criteria accurately to ensure timely compliant practice and reliable financial & funding reporting.
• Support the coordination of exam access arrangements, ensuring adjustments reflect learners’ normal ways of working in collaboration with the Exams team
• Implement and review quality standards, identifying improvements that strengthen inclusive practice that leads to demonstrable impact on professional practice and outcomes for learners.
• Contribute to the achievement of individual and service wide objectives set within the performance management framework.
• Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

The Experience You Will Bring

• Holds a Level 3 teaching qualification (or equivalent); L3 coaching/mentoring desirable, with evidence of ongoing professional development.
• Strong understanding of inclusive practice, equality and diversity, and the ability to remove barriers to learning for adult learners.
• Proven experience delivering or coordinating high‑quality learner‑centred support, with developed knowledge of adult learning support needs.
• Ability to apply Funding Agency and ALS criteria accurately, ensuring compliant processes and reliable financial reporting.
• Skilled in monitoring and improving quality standards, contributing to quality assurance, self‑assessment and service improvement.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills, able to provide clear advice, engage confidently with stakeholders from diverse, and maintain confidentiality.
• Experience of engagement with a diverse range of learners with a wide range of needs and culturally diverse backgrounds
• Requirement to travel between centres as and when needed - driving licence desirable.

Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this role. Applicants must have a current, unrestricted right to work in the UK.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In March 2026, the Government announced that councils in Greater Essex will be reorganised into five new unitary authorities from April 2028. In addition to this, Greater Essex has been accepted on to the devolution priority programme, where we will work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority. You can read more about these changes, and what this may mean for this role, on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email resourcing.team@essex.gov.uk

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