Family Liaison and Pastoral Lead

Hammond Academy, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 5TD

10 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  September 2024

• Closing date

  10 July 2024 at 11:59pm

• Date listed

  23 May 2024

Job details

• Job role:
  • Teaching assistant
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Part time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full-time equivalent salary: £29,777.00 - £32,076.00 Annually (FTE) H7

Family Liaison and Pastoral Lead job summary

Are you looking for the next step in your career? Are you passionate about making a positive difference to children and families? Are you experienced at supporting learners pastoral needs, liaising with families and ensuring every child thrives? If so, we would love to hear from you!

Due to the relocation of the current post holder, we are looking to recruit a new Family Liaison and Pastoral Lead to start in September 2024.

Purpose of the role

This role is a crucial role within our school. The Pastoral and Family Liaison leader will be expected to effectively support vulnerable learners to thrive and to ensure that their social, emotional and mental health needs are well supported. They will need to liaise effectively with families and take a key role in the safeguarding of all learners.

Summary of role:

To work with children, parents, carers, staff and external services to enable children at risk of not achieving, due to low level unmet needs, to have full access to educational opportunities and overcome barriers to learning.

To prevent needs escalating to require intervention by more specialist services

To effectively support vulnerable learners and their families to be able to thrive

To be a role model of excellence for pastoral support and family liaison

To work strategically alongside the leadership team to develop our pastoral provision and support for families

Key Responsibilities

Pastoral support

Undertake direct intervention work with children, e.g., Protective Behaviours, Drawing and Talking

To be the Deputy Mental Health Lead, providing advice and support to children, staff and parents.

Coordinate transition processes for in-year admissions, entry to Nursery and Reception as well as transition to secondary school. This to include: leading school tours for prospective parents/carers, home visits for new Nursery and Reception children, and meetings for in-year admissions families.

To manage medical needs including developing and reviewing individual health care plans

To support learners who need support with self-regulation

To coordinate the schools lunch club provision

To be one of the schools STEPs trainers and support staff with implementing a therapeutic approach

To ensure our school environment is well equipped to support learners social, emotional and mental health needs.

To monitor attendance and develop plans to tackle persistent absence

To work closely with external agencies such as DESC & ESMA to ensure the right support at the right time is sought

Make sure each member of staff has access to, understands and can apply consistently, the school’s pastoral procedures and strategies, especially new staff

Act as the lead point of contact for parents/carers in relation to pastoral and behavioural issues, involving relevant staff members as necessary

Communicate with parents/carers following behavioural incidents to discuss the effectiveness of the support in place for their child

Family liaison & Safeguarding

To provide targeted support to children and their families with unmet needs by engaging them in one to one support by:

Working with children to build their engagement in learning

Providing appropriate intervention programmes for vulnerable children and their families

Providing targeted work with children who have persistent absence

Provide information and advice to families, including signposting and referral to relevant services in response to identified need.

To engage in the Early Help Module, Families First Assessment process and organisation of the Team Around the Family (TAF).

Attend Child Protection Conferences, Core Groups meetings and Child in Need meetings, providing reports and acting as the school’s representative.

As a Deputy DSP, be responsible for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children.

Support class teachers in meeting with and liaising with parents and carers.

Plan and implement a range of workshops and programmes of support to help families

Record, maintain and share data as appropriate, including evaluation of outcomes following planned programmes of work.

Skills, Abilities & Personal Qualities

1. Ability to engage positively with families and to negotiate with professionals from a range of services to access appropriate support for children and families.

2. Good written and oral communication skills.

3. Good organisational, administrative and time management skills including record keeping and computer literacy.

4. Ability to work flexibly without close supervision and to work effectively as part of a team.

5. A full driving licence and use of a car with business class insurance in order to travel to meetings (e.g. child protection, child in need)

6. Ability to remain calm under pressure and be able to prioritise effectively

7. Positive and solutions focused attitude and work ethic

8. Fully committed to safeguarding, equality, diversity and inclusion

Knowledge and Experience

1. Experience of direct work with children and parents and carers, and the knowledge and understanding of how to respond to a diversity of needs, challenges and backgrounds.

2. Secure knowledge of safeguarding policies and procedures including knowledge and experience of integrated practice and processes, including the Common Assessment Framework and the role of the Team Around the Family and the Lead Professional.

3. Knowledge of confidentiality, professional boundaries, child protection and safeguarding policies and procedures.

4. Experience delivering interventions to support children and their families demonstrating a positive impact.

This job description will be reviewed annually and may be amended at any time following discussion between the Senior Leadership Team and member of staff.

Please note: The salary for this role is pro-rata

We can offer:

A friendly and welcoming working environment.

A comprehensive benefits package including: local government pension scheme, competitive salary, Employee Assistance Programme, Refer a friend payment, free flu vaccination, milestone birthday day off.

A free school lunch for all staff.

Opportunity to collaborate across the trust with other Pastoral Leads, Family Liaisons & DSLs

Excellent training and development opportunities.

Safeguarding & Equal Opportunities

Aspire Academies Trust is committed to protecting and safeguarding children and young people and our recruitment checks will always assess the suitability of the candidate to work with children. The successful candidate will be subject to an enhanced DBS check.

Aspire Academies Trust is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sectors of the community.

If you are interested in the role, please get in touch.

Visits are warmly welcomed.

Please note: We reserve the right to close this advert early should sufficient and strong applications be received before the closing date. Therefore, please submit your application ASAP.

Commitment to safeguarding

Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment.

Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance.

Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant):
childcare disqualification
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
medical
online and social media
prohibition from teaching
right to work
satisfactory references
suitability to work with children

You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.

Applying for the job

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Using the application form

This school accepts applications through their own website, where you may also find more information about this job.

Visas cannot be sponsored.

About Hammond Academy

• School type: Academy, ages 3 to 11
• Education phase: Primary
• School size: 384 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 3 to 11
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report (opens in new tab)
• School website: Hammond Academy website (opens in new tab)
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/hammond-academy (opens in new tab)

Hammond Academy is a large 2 form entry school in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire which is part of Aspire Academies Trust and the West Herts Teaching School. We are able to offer both a supportive and enthusiastic staff which boasts excellent continuous professional development through the teaching school and opportunities for progression within the Trust and its other schools.

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