Education Development Consultant

Education Forum

One of our key achievements of 2007 has resulted in the creation of a new post at Bolton Council of Mosques. Results had shown that one of the groups of young children that consistently underachieve in education are young Pakistani males. BCOM worked closely with Bolton Council to find a method to tackle this challenge and successfully lobbied and negotiated for a development consultant to specifically target young people who are underachieving. This is a full time post with a 36 month fixed term contract, which may be extended subject to funding. The successful candidate will work with the Bolton Council of Mosques and the local community to improve the achievement of young people. The success of this project will then be shared to ensure all communities with issues around achievement can access specialist advice and support. A council spokesman said: "We have a whole school improvement service which targets schools where there is under-achieving in any group of young people. It is a key area. This is a really positive move towards improving the achievements of Pakistani heritage boys in Bolton.” This post was advertised in both local and national press, with many applicants. The criteria included experience of developing young people's services and/or educational services and commitment, drive, motivation, the ability to think innovatively and the wish to make a difference. This post is an exciting opportunity to help improve attainment amongst young people. The consultant will be required to develop partnerships and formulate new ways of working with schools, to improve liaison with the community, parents, Governors, Mosques and Maddrassahs. She will also be working closely with the BCOM Education Forum. The BCOM Education Forum exists to stimulate interest in, and discussion of education at all levels from primary to higher education and in all corners of Bolton. The forum is facilitating the formation of a borough-wide strategy which addresses the educational needs of the Muslim community. The group aims to identify key issues affecting the community’s educational needs and formulate strategic policies and plans to address any deficiencies/issues identified. The role of the new consultant will complement and add to these aims. In addition, she will be required to develop a strategy and programme to improve educational attainment across the borough, working as part of the LA School Improvement Team and will be required to represent the Local Authority at meetings and partnerships. Her task will also include developing initiatives that assist in improving attitudes and perception towards education amongst young people and parents She will contribute to the development of community role models, advocates, mentors and the BCOM education forum and their respective action plan. She will also work with leading teachers and advancedskilled teachers in order to support school improvement.