Education Welfare Officer
The Thetford Academy, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 1LH21 days remaining to apply
Start date details
December 2025
Closing date
30 October 2025 at 12am (midnight)
Date listed
9 October 2025
Job details
Job role
- Learning support or cover supervisor
- Pastoral, health and welfare
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Working pattern
- Full time
Contract type
- Permanent
Full-time equivalent salary
- Salary: Support Staff Pay Scale G: £27,702 to £29,601 pro-rata per annum (Actual) (£31,537 - £33,699 full time/full year equivalent)
Education Welfare Officer job summary
Salary: Support Staff Pay Scale G: £27,702 to £29,601 pro-rata per annum (Actual) (£31,537 - £33,699 full time/full year equivalent)
Working Weeks: 39 weeks
Start Date: December 2025
Thetford Academy is seeking two reliable and responsible Education Welfare Officers to help drive the attendance strategy at the school.
The role involves working with pupils, their families, staff and external agencies to unlock barriers to attendance and ensure that all pupils can engage with school as fully as possible.
The ideal candidates for this post will be organised, professional, able to establish good relationships with pupils and their families, act as a role model and be innovative in their responses to the attendance challenges that they discover. In addition, the ideal candidate will have excellent communication skills, be able to confidently present information when required and possess excellent IT skills.
Candidates will need to be able to manage their time effectively, work under their own initiative as well as contribute to the attendance team as a whole and work with team members to implement attendance initiatives for individuals and across the school. You will be required to monitor and manage an ever changing caseload and monitor the impact of actions that are taken.
Before applying, please read the attached Recruitment Pack and Job Description, for more details about the role. We ask that you read this pack carefully, especially the “Planning your application” section from page 11. This will support your application ensuring you have the opportunity to tell us about your relevant skills, experience and qualifications that relate to the job description and person specification in addition to details of your references covering the last 5 years.
The main responsibility of this role will be
- To identify those children in need of support by reason of their behaviour, absence from academy, family dysfunction, disability, social or emotional needs or any other special educational needs and to support children whose education is at risk
- To assess need, plan interventions, implement effective action and evaluate outcomes against agreed objectives, whilst involving service users in decisions whenever possible
- To work with parents and other stakeholders in relation to student support.
- To assist the Academy to safeguard students through joint work with partner agencies
- To maintain appropriate records and prepare reports as necessary
The ideal candidate will have:
- First degree or NVQ Level 4 in social work, teaching, counselling, psychology or youth and community work or other work related to work with children and/or relevant experience
- Training on safeguarding
- Experience of using social work or counselling approach to working with parents and children
- Knowledge of school systems and pastoral systems
- Ability to undertake assessments and write reports to a high standard
Thetford Academy is a remarkable place to work and is at the academic and cultural heart of the community. Pupils are taught a curriculum to prepare them for challenges they may face whilst building an appreciation and understanding of the world and achieve this by teaching pupils to develop a set of values and habits to allow them to contribute to their community, and beyond.
The school’s vision is that every pupil can succeed, both in their academic results and as an outgoing and positive member of the local, national, and global communities. Thetford Academy achieves this by ensuring that everyone commits to achieving outstanding progress, enjoying, and engaging in their learning, and being prepared to take on challenge without the fear of failure.
We are part of the Inspiration Trust, twice ranked as the country’s top family of comprehensive schools for pupil progress, and strongly believe in the importance of giving the widest educational opportunities to all young people, regardless of their background. We have strong networks across the Trust, with opportunities to work with a diverse range of schools and partners. We are committed to offering excellent professional and learning opportunities for our staff, with a busy programme of continuing professional development courses delivered by some of the country’s best educational thinkers and practitioners.
The Inspiration Trust is a Multi Academy Trust, committed to delivering the very best educational experience for the young people of Norfolk and Suffolk, across 17 schools. We are ambitious for our schools and communities and want to create Britain’s highest performing federation of 3-19 schools and transform education in the East. Inspiration Trust specialises in transforming schools in disadvantaged areas and taking academies from failing to outstanding.
For information on what it is like to live and work in Thetford, click here. Thetford Academy has been rated as Good overall by Ofsted, after an inspection in March 2020. The report says that the school has 'a curriculum that ensures pupils deepen their thinking' and that pupils 'feel valued and cared for.'
When you join Inspiration Trust's thriving network of talented teachers, leaders and support staff, you join an organisation that supports you to be the best you can be. The Trust offers a varied professional development programme for employees.
We are committed to offering excellent professional opportunities for our staff, through careful support and personalised CPD. We offer a structured and specific induction programme.
The Trust also offers:
- Generous holiday entitlement
- Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with generous employer contributions
- Health Plan and Employee Assistance Programme giving access to a range of services including claim back costs for Eye Care and prescriptions and access to 24/7 virtual GP Service and mental health support (Terms and conditions and restrictions apply).
- Cycle-to-work scheme
- Retail Benefits offering discounts with many shops and suppliers
- Corporate membership of the Norwich Theatre Royal
- Salary sacrifice schemes, including home technology, smartphones and healthcare plans, including Dental insurance and Gym membership discounts (Terms and conditions and restrictions apply).
- Free Parking (on most sites)
*Some benefits are only available following successfully passing probation
If you would like to know more about this exciting opportunity, then please contact Ilona Haye, PA to Principal (ilonahaye@inspirationtrust.org).
To apply for this role please click the Apply button to complete the online application form.
Closing date for applications: 9am on Thursday 30th October 2025
Interview date: Tuesday 11th November 2025
Inspiration Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
All staff appointments are subject to satisfactory references and enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks. We are an equal opportunities employer.
When you start your application, you will receive several emails from our application provider, Vacancy Filler. Please be aware that some email providers may mistakenly mark these messages as spam. To avoid missing important updates, we recommend checking your spam or junk folders regularly throughout the application process and marking these emails as safe.
Further information about the job
Commitment to safeguarding
Inspiration Trust is committed to safeguarding and all staff appointments are subject to satisfactory references and enhanced DBS checks. You will be required to provide references and undertake an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Check.
This school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We are an equal opportunities employer.
Applying for the job
This school accepts applications through their own website, where you may also find more information about this job.
CVs will not be accepted for this application.
View advert on external website (opens in new tab)About The Thetford Academy
- School type
- Academy, ages 11 to 19
- Education phase
- Secondary
- School size
- 1361 pupils enrolled
- Age range
- 11 to 19
- Ofsted report
- View Ofsted report
- School website
- The Thetford Academy website
Thetford Academy is a community secondary school and sixth form, close to the Norfolk-Suffolk border. We help our students get the best possible GCSE results, and guide them through A Levels and vocational studies that prepare them for university and the world of work.
We are part of the Inspiration Trust, a close-knit family of schools in East Anglia, dedicated to providing high-quality education for all of our young people, combining academic attainment with rich cultural experiences.
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