Medway Strategic Attendance Officer

Barnsole Primary School, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 2JG

9 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  1st February

• Closing date

  12 December 2025 at 10:59pm

• Date listed

  22 November 2025

Job details

• Job role:
  • Administration, HR, data and finance
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Part time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full-time equivalent salary: £17,562.85 - £22,055.78 Annually (Actual) Medway C1 (6 - 19) £17,562.85 - £22,055.78 (Actual) + for experience

Medway Strategic Attendance Officer job summary

Hours: 30 per week Term Time Only: 39 Weeks Actual Salary: Medway C1 (6 - 19) £17,562.85 - £22,055.78 plus more for the right experience Location: Barnsole Primary School, Danecourt School, Bligh Primary School or Featherby Partnerships Schools

Exciting New Opportunity as our Medway Strategic Attendance Officer across the Maritime Academy Trust Medway Hub

Are you passionate about supporting children and families to overcome barriers to school attendance, while also influencing strategic improvements across multiple schools? Do you have the confidence, professionalism, and expertise to work both compassionately with families and robustly with systems to drive meaningful change? If so, we’d love to hear from you.

Maritime Academy Trust is seeking a Strategic Attendance Officer to work across our Medway Hub of schools: Barnsole, Bligh, Danecourt, Featherby Infants and Featherby Juniors. This is a unique cross-school role combining the relational work of a school-based officer with the objective, advisory, and case management functions often associated with independent attendance services.

In this role, you will provide strategic guidance and professional challenge to schools on attendance policy and practice, while supporting teams with complex cases such as persistent absence and emotionally based school avoidance. You will build strong relationships with families, staff, and external agencies to address barriers to attendance, lead on data analysis to inform inclusive strategies, and advise on legal processes in partnership with local authorities. Across all schools, you will model high standards of safeguarding awareness, professional curiosity, and inclusive engagement.

This role is ideal for someone with a strong background in education or attendance advisory work who is ready to operate with a level of autonomy and strategic responsibility. You will be a key part of our Trust-wide approach to inclusion, wellbeing, and safeguarding.

About the Role

As Strategic Attendance Officer, you will play a key role in promoting a culture of excellent attendance across our Medway Hub schools. Working in partnership with leadership, safeguarding and inclusion teams, you will identify trends, advise on effective interventions, and ensure schools are responding to attendance concerns in a timely, consistent, and inclusive way.

This is a varied and high-impact role that combines operational support with strategic oversight. Your responsibilities will include:

• Monitoring and analysing attendance data to identify pupils and groups requiring support.

• Contributing to school attendance improvement plans and advising on best practice in line with DfE guidance and Ofsted expectations.

• Leading on targeted interventions, including formal correspondence, case meetings, and early help referrals.

• Conducting home visits to build relationships with families and understand contextual barriers.

• Collaborating in multi-agency forums, attending safeguarding meetings, and supporting legal processes such as penalty notices and court proceedings where appropriate.

• Acting as a professional voice within the Trust, helping schools evaluate and strengthen their attendance systems and policies.

This role offers a unique opportunity to work both within schools and as an adviser, ensuring attendance is championed as part of every child’s right to a full, high-quality education.

What We’re Looking For
We’re seeking a committed and confident professional who brings both practical experience and strategic insight to the challenge of improving attendance across multiple school settings.

You will be someone who:

• Has a strong background in education, or attendance advisory work, with a clear understanding of the legal and pastoral dimensions of attendance.

• Demonstrates professional curiosity, sound judgment, and the ability to manage sensitive situations with empathy and authority.

• Is an effective communicator who is able to engage with families, staff, and external agencies in a solution-focused and inclusive manner.

• Is confident in working independently across multiple sites, managing a varied caseload and building positive relationships in each school community.

• Is skilled in interpreting data, producing high-quality reports, and using evidence to inform practice.

• Holds Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) training, recognising the close link between attendance and safeguarding.

• Holds a full UK driving licence and has access to a vehicle, as travel across our Medway schools is a key part of the role.

If you're ready to take on a role that combines relational work, strategic leadership, and safeguarding impact, we’d love to hear from you.

What We Offer

At Maritime, we do things differently. We are a Trust with a friendly, collaborative culture, and a commitment to helping all children succeed. When you join us, you’ll be part of a supportive team where your contribution is valued and your career development is taken seriously.

As a Maritime employee, you will benefit from:

• A flexible and supportive working environment

• Tailored induction and training programmes

• Opportunities for cross-Hub and Trust-wide collaboration

• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme

• Local Government Pension Scheme

• Membership of a forward-thinking and values-driven trust

Find Out More and Apply

For more information or to arrange an informal chat, please contact Helen Rixon at office@barnsole-maritime.org, Further information can be found in the attached candidate pack and all applications much be made via My New Term. Do not delay in applying as we may close the role early due to number of applications.

Maritime Academy Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We embrace diversity and equal opportunity, striving to build a team that reflects a range of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. The more inclusive we are, the stronger we become. All appointments are subject to an Enhanced DBS check and online checks in line with the latest safeguarding guidance.

Further information about the job

The candidate will be required to undergo a full enhanced DBS check and must be eligible to work in the UK.

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.

Commitment to safeguarding

Maritime Academy Trust is committed to recruiting with care and safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Appointment will be subject to a satisfactory enhanced DBS and pre-employment checks.

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.

About Barnsole Primary School

• School type: Academy, ages 2 to 11
• Education phase: Primary
• School size: 665 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 2 to 11
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• School website: Barnsole Primary School website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/barnsole-primary-school-gillingham

Barnsole Primary School is part of the Maritime Multi-Academy Trust, an innovative partnership of schools in Greenwich and Kent. Our schools transform through collaboration and an entrepreneurial curriculum which equips children with life skills.

Barnsole Primary School and Nursery is a three-form community school, located in the heart of Medway. Relationships with children, parents, carers and our wider community sit right at the top of our agenda; together we are stronger.

We are a friendly, inclusive school with a caring ethos and are committed to providing a safe and stimulating learning environment where each one of our children can achieve their potential and flourish both academically and socially.

At Barnsole, we believe that school is the start of a life-long learning journey. Our curriculum is carefully designed, delivered and reviewed to encompass our school values, which underpin everything we do inside and outside the classroom:

Children at Barnsole acquire new knowledge and skills through a progression of exciting topics. We embrace diversity, encourage individuality and strive for excellence. By developing a positive mind-set in our children, they are confident to take risks, work as part of a team and apply this to making a difference within their local community and our wider world.

We firmly believe that every child should be taught by only the best teachers and have the highest of expectations for achievement and behaviour. Self-confidence and self-esteem are nurtured so our children can shape their own futures and be the best they can be.

Overall, we want our pupils to leave Barnsole with a passion and curiosity about the world, thriving from the best possible education, empowered to flourish in life beyond their primary years.

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