Home School Liaison Worker

Woodeaton Manor School, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX3 9TS

370 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  As soon as possible

• Closing date

  14 October 2025 at 9am

• Date listed

  28 September 2024

Job details

• Job role:
  • Pastoral, health and welfare
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Part time: 30 hours per week
• Contract type: Permanent
• Hourly rate: 16.63 - 18.06

What skills and experience we're looking for

Qualifications and training

• English and Maths GSCE’s at grade 4-9 (A* - C) or equivalent.
• Relevant NVQ at level 2 or 3 e.g. Health and Social Care (Desirable)
• DSL (or willingness to complete it)
• Driving licence (Essential)
• Minibus licence (Desirable, relevant training will be provided)

Experience

• Evidence of being part of a successful team
• Ability to organise and manage their own time and workload effectively and flexibly
• Ability to be pro-active and creative in sourcing avenues of support for pupils and families
• Experience of supporting pupils with SEMH, SLD, PMLD, ASC or in an Early Years setting
• Experience of working in a school/special school
• Experience of using alternative means of communication e.g. signing, PECs, communication aids etc.

Skills and knowledge

• To be self-motivated, enthusiastic, creative, adaptable and solution focused
• Use own initiative as well as follow detailed instructions
• Be a car driver and with own car
• Communicate effectively with pupils and their families
• Ability to support parents and carers to improve outcomes for their children
• To be effective in facilitating parent groups and leading training events.
• Demonstrate good verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to work effectively with a range of professionals to share information and improve outcomes for pupils
• Participate and effectively lead meetings with parents and other professionals ensuring there is a clear agenda and outcomes from the meeting
• Proactive in getting to know our pupils and their families
• Awareness of Safeguarding procedures
• Knows of and how to implement the recommendations of ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ (2021/2022) Statutory Guidance for Schools and Colleges
• Secure knowledge and understanding of best practice and procedures for safeguarding children and young people (Desirable)
• Has received training in Safeguarding and Child Protection (Desirable)
• Excellent IT skills
• Excellent time management and organisational skills
• Understanding of data protection and confidentiality

Personal qualities

• Demonstrates empathy and a caring approach
• Communicates effectively
• Commitment to supporting and understanding pupil needs
• Commitment to upholding and promoting the ethos and values of the school
• Commitment to maintaining appropriate confidentiality at all times
• Commitment to safeguarding, equality, diversity, and inclusion

What the school offers its staff

We can offer:

• A friendly work environment and a supportive leadership team.
• A team dedicated to making a difference to pupils who need it most.
• Employee Assistant Programme.
• Continuous CPD opportunities.

This is an outstanding opportunity for someone who wants to join a high performing school and gain significant experience to further enhance their career.

Further details about the role

Woodeaton Manor School

“Reducing Barriers to Expand Horizons”

• Application Closing Date: 9am on Monday 14thOct (unless a suitable candidate has been appointed prior to this date)
• Interview Date: Wednesday 16thOct
• Start Date: As soon as possible
• Contract/Hours: Up to 30 hours per week, Part time, permanent, term time only plus 5 inset days.
• Salary Details: Grade 9
• Location of Role: On site
• Contact Email Address: recruitment@woodeaton.oxon.sch.uk
• Reporting to: Deputy Headteacher (Lead DSL)

Home School Liaison Worker

Job overview

Woodeaton Manor is a Special School catering for pupils with Social Emotional and Mental Health Needs. We are a small school with 80 pupils, located in a Georgian Manor House, 5 miles outside of Oxford City in beautiful Oxfordshire countryside

The Home School Liaison Worker (HSLW) is a new role for Woodeaton Manor School. We recognise the great importance of effective communication between home and school and are keen to ensure that the relationships the school has with families is productive and supportive. The HSLW will be at the forefront of building and maintaining these relationships.

The HSLW will work collaboratively with families, children, and the school to provide early intervention, signposting, support and guidance. They will have strong links to other professionals and outside agencies and form positive working relationships with families to enable effective support for pupils and their families.

The successful candidate will have

• Experience of working with children.
• Pastoral experience / safeguarding experience
• SEN / SEMH experience
• Excellent communication skills
• Ability to work with outside agencies & signpost concerns
• Confident, personable, and determined in nature
• Effective behaviour management skills
• A background in education / safeguarding / social work
• De-escalation strategies and techniques
• Some experience of safeguarding protocols

We can offer:

• A friendly work environment and a supportive leadership team.
• A team dedicated to making a difference to pupils who need it most.
• Employee Assistant Programme.
• Continuous CPD opportunities.

This is an outstanding opportunity for someone who wants to join a high performing school and gain significant experience to further enhance their career.

Main purpose

To work collaboratively with families, children, and the school to provide early intervention, signposting, support and guidance, the Home School Link Worker will need to have strong links to other professionals and outside agencies and form positive working relationships with families to enable effective support for pupils and their families

They will provide focused family support to parents/carers of children with a range of needs which:

· Empowers parents/carers to support their children and meet their needs · Improves educational attendance of children resulting in enhanced life-chances · Reduces the risk of behaviours which cause risk to children · Facilitates early intervention to avoid escalation of issues Key responsibilities

• Operating in a family-centred way to support children with a range of needs that are identified by pastoral/safeguarding staff in school or are flagged by other agencies
• Offering emotional and practical support to children and their families both individually and in groups, particularly focusing on parenting skills and behaviour management as well as providing support with form filling, referrals, and entitlements.
• Acting as a conduit between stakeholders, school and other agencies to promote high levels of school attendance and emotional and physical well-being
• Developing trusting relationships with families and students to help alleviate or break their social isolation and/or risky behaviours
• Building up knowledge and understanding of local resources and community and statutory services, including Mental Health Teams, Social Services, Health, CAMHS, Schools and voluntary services, and communicate effectively with them in the best interests of the child and family
• Supporting and upholding WMS values and ensure personal/institutional compliance with relevant legislation within your relevant area of responsibility
• Working alongside colleagues to assess the needs of the families referred for support and participate in the reviews and evaluation of the work.
• Helping to plan creative and innovative responses to families’ needs, keeping high quality records and assisting with the preparation of reports.
• Leading Early Help Assessments, attending/occasionally leading TAF and EHCP annual review meetings. Attending conferences, supervision and training sessions as required
• Keeping up to date with current support available to families and children through the Local Offer
• Working with other professionals and colleagues such as the Lead DSL, the Out of School Liaison Officer, LCSS and Social care
• Working with the Senior Leadership Team to ensure pupils and their families receive information, advice and guidance on transition options from Year 9 upwards
• Establishing and maintaining positive and trusting relationships with students and families by attending events such as coffee mornings and parent’s evenings
• Providing pastoral support to pupils as required, supporting pupils with their social and emotional development
• Attending in service training after school, whole inset days, parent meetings, staff meetings and other CPD as required.
• Providing training events for families on subjects such as understanding autism and signing
• Having the ability to work flexibly to meet the needs of children and families including responding to emergencies and able to travel to, and access a variety of, locations including safely transporting children and families
• Being proactive, motivating and creating change within complex family situations. Dealing effectively with challenging situations with resilience, confidence and the ability to listen, mediate and negotiate.
• Communicating any concerns through the appropriate channels, playing an active
• part in the team by participating in decision making as appropriate
• Dealing effectively and sensitively with difficult inter-personal and crisis situations creating opportunities to be proactive, motivating and creating change within complex family situations.
• Being committed to working with pupils with special needs who may have a wide range of learning difficulties such as autism, SEMH and challenging behaviour.
• In addition to the above, WMS employees have a legal duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations to take care of their own health and safety, and that of their fellow employees, they also have a responsibility to pupils and ensure this policy to be successfully implemented.

Safeguarding

• To work in accordance with Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) safeguarding children policies and procedures and undertake the role, in liaison with the school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead.
• Read and follow the relevant school policies
• Undertake training required to develop in the role

Other areas of responsibility

This job description sets out the main duties of the post at the date it was drawn up. However, it is not intended to be an exhaustive or definitive list. Such duties may vary from time to time without changing the general character of the post or the level of responsibility entailed. Such variations are a common occurrence and cannot themselves justify a reconsideration of the grading of the post. You may be required to carry out other duties commensurate with your role.

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

Please download the application form using the link below, and once completed send to recruitment@woodeaton.oxon.sch.uk

CVs are not accepted.

Visas cannot be sponsored.

If you're interested in teaching or training to teach in England as an international citizen, we can help you understand your next steps.

Upload additional documents

If you need these documents in an accessible format, please contact the school.

Job Advert - WMS HSLO.docx - 70.6 KB (opens in new tab)

About Woodeaton Manor School

• School type: Special school, ages 7 to 18
• School size: 89 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 7 to 18
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report (opens in new tab)
• School website: Woodeaton Manor School website (opens in new tab)
• Email address: recruitment@woodeaton.oxon.sch.uk
• Phone number: 01865558722
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/woodeaton-manor-school (opens in new tab)

Woodeaton Manor School is a Foundation Special School located four miles to the north east of the city of Oxford. The school serves young people aged 7 to 18 with Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties (SEMH) and where many also have a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Arranging a visit to Woodeaton Manor School

To arrange a visit and increase the chance of a successful application email recruitment@woodeaton.oxon.sch.uk.

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