Head of Safeguarding, Attendance, Behaviour and Culture
St Joseph Catholic Multi Academy Trust, Liverpool, L3 1BYThis job expired on 13 May 2026 – see similar jobs
Start date details
As soon as possible
Closing date
13 May 2026 at 9am
Date listed
29 April 2026
Job details
Job role
- Other leadership role
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Working pattern
- Full time: Monday to Friday
Contract type
- Permanent
Pay scale
- L14 - L19
What skills and experience we're looking for
This is a Trust-wide leadership role.As Head of Safeguarding, Attendance, Behaviour and Culture, you will provide Trust-wide leadership for safeguarding and child protection, ensuring strong practice, consistent systems and a child-centred culture across all academies. Alongside this, you will lead the development and implementation of SJCMAT’s Trust-wide attendance and behaviour strategy. Working alongside leaders across the Trust, you will help academies remove barriers to attendance, reduce persistent absence, and embed consistent, high expectations for behaviour—ensuring pupils can learn and thrive. Your work will have a direct impact on pupil outcomes, particularly for our most vulnerable children and young people.
Key responsibilities (highlights)
- Safeguarding leadership (Trust DSL):lead and quality assure Trust-wide safeguarding and child protection practice, ensuring a strong culture of vigilance, timely action and child-centred decision-making across all academies.
- Compliance, audits and assurance:ensure policies, procedures and record-keeping meet statutory requirements and best practice; lead regular safeguarding audits and follow up actions, reporting risk, gaps and improvements to Trust leaders and governance.
- Expert advice, supervision and multi-agency working:provide specialist guidance and supervision to academy DSLs; support complex casework and escalation; build effective partnerships with families and external agencies to secure the right help at the right time.
- Training and professional development:plan and deliver high-quality safeguarding training (including updates linked to statutory guidance), and create resources that strengthen practice and consistency across the Trust.
- Strategic leadership:set and drive Trust-wide priorities for safeguarding, attendance, behaviour and culture, aligned to SJCMAT’s mission, values and improvement strategy.
- Insight and reporting:establish and oversee data tracking and reporting systems to inform intervention, policy and professional development; provide clear updates to Trust leaders and governance.
- Attendance excellence:develop and embed policies and systems aligned to the DfE framework for securing full attendance; work with academies to remove barriers and reduce persistent absence.
- Line management:lead and support Trust attendance officer(s) to ensure statutory processes are followed consistently and effectively.
- Behaviour culture:develop and implement a Trust-wide behaviour strategy that promotes high standards, inclusion, safety, wellbeing and belonging.
- Impact evaluation:track, monitor and evaluate interventions; analyse safeguarding, behaviour and attendance information and report on impact.
Who we are looking for
We are looking for a leader with:
- A strong personal commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, with the confidence to challenge where practice falls short.
- Proven experience leading safeguarding and child protection practice at senior level (including acting as a Designated Safeguarding Lead), with the credibility to support and quality assure DSLs across multiple settings.
- Strong working knowledge of statutory guidance and education legislation relating to safeguarding, child protection, information-sharing and safer recruitment.
- A commitment to SJCMAT’s Catholic ethos and a belief that every pupil deserves an excellent education, regardless of background.
- A proven impact improving attendance and leading behaviour at Trust-wide level or within a senior leadership role.
- Confident use of data and tracking systems (e.g., Arbor or equivalent MIS) and safeguarding systems (e.g., CPOMS or equivalent) to inform policy, practice, targeted intervention and assurance.
- Excellent relationship-building, influencing and multi-agency working skills—able to collaborate with pupils, families, leaders and external partners to secure timely support and improved outcomes.
- The ability to prioritise competing demands, work with discretion, and lead through change in a fast-paced environment.
- An education to degree level (or equivalent experience) with GCSE English and Maths (or equivalent) at grade C/4 or above.
- A full clean driving licence and access to a vehicle for business use (travel across Trust sites required).
What the school offers its staff
In return for your leadership, SJCMAT offers a package designed to support excellent professionals and help them do their best work:
Financial
- Competitive salaries and pay progression
- Generous pension scheme
Professional
- Access to extensive professional development opportunities
- SJCMAT is a growing trust and as such there are plenty of opportunities for progression
Personal
- Meaningful mission. Join SJCMAT’s Central Team in a role with genuine scope to shape strategy, build consistency and improve life chances across our academies
- The opportunity to be part of a multi-academy trust that has collaboration at its heart and will support you every step of the way
- A supportive Senior Executive Team, committed to developing people and transforming children’s lives
- Flexible working
- Employee benefits. Wellbeing support, employee assistance programme, and cycle-to-work scheme
Further information about the job
Commitment to safeguarding
St Joseph Catholic Multi Academy Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff to share this commitment. Successful applicants will be required to undergo an enhanced disclosure and barring service check. In addition, as part of the shortlisting process, and in accordance with statutory guidance, we will carry out an online search (for publicly available material) to help identify any incidents or issues that have happened which we may want to explore with shortlisted applicants at interview.
About St Joseph Catholic Multi Academy Trust
- Type
- Multi-academy trust
- Email address
- lkelly@sjcmat.co.uk
St Joseph Catholic Multi Academy Trust (SJCMAT) is a growing family of Catholic schools serving communities across the North West, united by a shared mission to provide the highest quality Catholic education for every child. Inspired by Gospel values and the teachings of the Catholic Church, we are committed to ensuring that every young person flourishes academically, spiritually and personally.
As a Trust, we believe that every child deserves access to an ambitious curriculum, exceptional teaching and enriching opportunities that enable them to achieve their full potential, regardless of their starting point or background. Our schools are committed to high standards, strong outcomes and a culture of continual improvement, ensuring that children are equipped with the knowledge, skills and character needed to succeed in modern Britain and contribute positively to society.
SJCMAT is entering an exciting period of sustainable growth, with an expanding family of primary and secondary schools across the Liverpool City Region and beyond. Working in close partnership with the Archdiocese of Liverpool, we are building a collaborative network of schools where expertise, resources and best practice are shared for the benefit of all pupils and communities.
Our Trust is committed to investing in people. We provide high-quality professional development, leadership pathways and career progression opportunities for colleagues at every stage of their careers. Through initiatives such as our Teacher Training Hub and wider workforce development programmes, we are helping to develop the next generation of outstanding teachers, leaders and support professionals.
We are creating a Trust where children thrive, staff are supported to excel, and schools work together to deliver transformational outcomes. As we continue to grow, our ambition remains clear: to become one of the leading Catholic Multi Academy Trusts in the country, providing exceptional education and life-changing opportunities for every child we serve.
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