Alternative Provision Quality Assurance Officer

 Full Time, Permanent

Are you passionate about improving the quality and safety of Alternative Provision and ensuring the best outcomes for children and young people?

Bristol City Council is transforming its approach to Alternative Provision (AP) as part of the IncludED service, with a clear focus on improving quality, oversight and accountability.

We are seeking an AP Quality Assurance Officer to play a key role in strengthening how we monitor, support and challenge provision across the city, ensuring that all placements are safe, effective, and focused on positive outcomes.

About the role

This is a critical role within the IncludEd service, working under the direction of the Deputy Service Manager to strengthen quality assurance, safeguarding oversight, and system accountability across Alternative Provision.

You will work in close partnership with:

• Commissioning and procurement teams to ensure providers meet expected standards.
• Safeguarding in Education to ensure placements are safe and appropriate.
• Operational colleagues across IncludEd to ensure provision aligns with the needs of children and young people.

 

This role directly responds to key system challenges to:

• Improve oversight of children placed in Alternative Provision.
• Strengthen quality assurance processes and follow-through.
• Ensure consistent and robust safeguarding and governance arrangements.
• Improve visibility of provision, outcomes and provider performance.

 

As a result, this role is central to ensuring that Alternative Provision is high-quality, needs-led, and part of a clear pathway for children and young people - not an endpoint

What you’ll be doing

You will:

• Carry out quality assurance activity across Alternative Provision providers, including visits, reviews, and monitoring.
• Work alongside colleagues to ensure there is clear oversight of children placed in provision, including their progress and experience.
• Identify and escalate safeguarding, quality or suitability concerns, working closely with Safeguarding in Education and other partners.
• Support the development of a more consistent and robust quality assurance framework, ensuring clear standards and expectations.
• Contribute to improved governance and auditability, ensuring decisions, actions and outcomes are clearly recorded and followed through.
• Work with commissioning and procurement colleagues to ensure provider performance informs contract management and future commissioning decisions.
• Support the service to better understand and improve the quality and impact of provision across the system.

 

Through this work, you will help ensure that Alternative Provision in Bristol is safe, effective, and delivering meaningful outcomes for children and young people.

About you

We’re looking for someone who:

• Has experience working with children and young people, ideally within education, safeguarding, or Alternative Provision contexts.
• Understands the importance of safeguarding, quality and oversight in education settings.
• Has knowledge of Alternative Provision, SEND, behaviour and inclusion, or a willingness to develop this.
• Is confident in challenge and professional curiosity, and able to raise concerns constructively.
• Has strong organisational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage and track information effectively.
• Can work collaboratively across teams and services, contributing to a joined-up system response.
• Is committed to improving outcomes and ensuring children receive safe and appropriate education.

 

You will understand that this role is not only about monitoring provision, but about driving improvement, strengthening accountability, and ensuring children’s needs are met.

 

About the IncludEd Service

IncludEd is central to Bristol’s ambition to ensure that all children and young people:

• Feel a sense of belonging in education.
• Receive early, coordinated support.
• Are supported to achieve positive outcomes.

 

We are building a more integrated and accountable system, where decisions about provision are informed by:

• Quality, safeguarding and outcomes.
• Stronger coordination between services.
• A clear focus on children’s experiences.

 

What we offer

 

• A key role in shaping how Alternative Provision is monitored and improved across the city.
• The opportunity to influence quality, safeguarding and system accountability.
• A collaborative and supportive working environment.
• The chance to make a meaningful difference to the safety and outcomes of vulnerable children and young people.

The role is primarily office-based, with some flexibility for hybrid working depending on service needs.

Please note that this role is subject to an Enhanced DBS Check.

Why Bristol City Council?

At Bristol City Council, we go that extra mile for our people; we offer a work environment which is fast moving and supportive, giving you the chance to use your skills and develop new ones within a high-profile organisation. For the majority of our roles hybrid working arrangements are available, giving teams the opportunity to work in a way that suits them, balancing service need and individual choice - mixing both home and office working.

Join us and you’ll receive an excellent rewards package including flexible working and flexitime, membership of the Local Government Pension scheme, and a generous annual leave allowance. In addition, you’ll be working in a supportive environment where you’ll have the chance to make Bristol a better place and contribute to its future.

How do I apply?

If you share our values and are ready to be part of our exciting journey please select the apply button below.

To be shortlisted for interview you’ll need to demonstrate how you meet each of the essential criteria in the Person Specification within the Further Information section of your application. On occasion we will receive high numbers of applications, we may then shortlist against the desirable criteria along with the essential criteria, so if you can, please demonstrate how you meet this in your application.

We're a Disability Confident employer which means we value recruiting and retaining disabled people. Any job applicants who consider themselves to be disabled and meet the essential criteria in the Person Specification are guaranteed an interview. We'll make reasonable adjustments throughout the interview process and provide continued workplace support throughout your career.

For an informal discussion, please contact: Henry Chan, IncludEd Service Manager henry.chan@bristol.gov.uk

Bristol City Council strives to have a workforce that reflects the communities it serves, we are therefore committed to ensuring diversity in our hiring process. We welcome, develop and promote people from all sections of the community. Appointments will be made on merit. 

The personal information section (including your name) you’ll complete as part of the application form will not be visible to hiring managers, but is used confidentially to make sure that everyone is treated fairly.