Purpose

Education settings play a critical role in identifying vulnerability, building protective factors, and providing early support to children and young people who may be at risk of serious violence, exploitation and related harms. Schools, colleges and alternative provision settings are often the first agencies to recognise changes in behaviour, attendance, wellbeing or safeguarding concerns.

The GMVRU adopts a public health approach to violence reduction, recognising that preventing violence requires coordinated action across multiple sectors. Education is a key partner within this system, and strong educational leadership is essential to ensure prevention activity is embedded across schools and colleges and aligned with wider safeguarding, youth justice, community safety and health interventions.

Education Community Partnership has been identified as the appropriate delivery organisation because the role requires specialist education-sector leadership and the ability to operate credibly across schools, colleges, alternative provision, local authorities and wider safeguarding and violence reduction partners. The organisation will enable the VRU to access senior education expertise and sector knowledge needed to progress this work at pace.

Janice Allen will act as the named Education Lead. The role requires an individual able to operate at a senior level within a complex partnership environment, work with multiple stakeholders, identify and share best practice, support strategy and effective intervention activity, and provide advice and briefings to senior colleagues and elected leaders where required.

The appointment through Education Community Partnership will support a coherent Greater Manchester-wide approach to violence prevention within educational settings, strengthen strategic relationships across the sector, promote evidence-informed practice, facilitate the sharing of learning and good practice, and support the delivery of education-focused priorities within the Greater Than Violence Strategy.

The appointment will also improve coordination between education providers and existing GMVRU commissioned programmes, ensuring that schools and colleges are better connected to available support and that interventions are informed by local intelligence, safeguarding considerations and emerging need.

Decision

The VRU will appoint a Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit (GMVRU) Education Lead for the period 1st August 2026 till 31st March 2027 at a total value of £38,186 (excluding VAT) based on a rate of £550 per day for 2 days a week.

Funding will be awarded to Education Community Partnership, with Janice Allen named as the Education Lead for delivery of this work.

The Education Lead will provide strategic leadership and coordination across the education sector to support the prevention and reduction of serious violence through a public health approach. The role will strengthen engagement with schools, colleges, alternative provision settings, local authorities and wider education partners to improve the identification of vulnerability, support early intervention activity, and promote evidence-informed approaches to violence reduction.

The Education Lead will provide expert advice to the GMVRU, contribute to the implementation of the Greater Than Violence Strategy, support partnership development across Greater Manchester, and ensure that education settings are effectively connected to wider violence reduction, safeguarding and prevention activity.