To improve life chances and outcomes of children and young people (CYP) by managing a caseload of students not currently attending or engaging with school due to Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA). The post holder will deliver tailored 1-to-1 or small group educational and pastoral support to students and their families in a caring, constructive, and supportive manner, with the ultimate aim of facilitating and sustaining successful re-integration into the school environment.
Main Responsibilities and Duties:
Direct Student and Family Support
- To liaise closely with the Pastoral Team, the student, and their primary carer to build trust and open lines of communication.
- Hold a designated caseload of students, identified by the Vice Principal and Assistant Principal.
- Deliver tailored programmes of academic lessons and targeted interventions. This will be achieved through face-to-face learning, remote learning platforms, home visits, and in-school sessions to support gradual, full re-integration.
- Focus lesson delivery primarily on core subjects, ensuring content is highly structured around the individual academic and emotional needs of the student.
- Develop positive, trusting working relationships with students and families, acting as a dedicated advocate for a relationship-based, trauma-informed approach.
- Conduct dynamic risk assessments for home visits to ensure personal safety and compliance with lone-working policies.
Curriculum and Collaboration
- Design and deliver individually tailored academic programmes that meet the needs of the identified students, the school, and families.
- Collaborate directly and closely with subject teachers to ensure learning content is appropriate, sequential, and aligned with the school curriculum.
- Work alongside pastoral and attendance staff to ensure a comprehensive, wraparound support package is in place for every student on the caseload.
- Attend, lead, advise, and contribute to multidisciplinary reviews and planning meetings for identified students.
Administration, Reporting, and Compliance
- Maintain meticulous records on student engagement, attendance, and academic progress, keeping relevant staff updated in real-time.
- Report bi-termly to the Assistant Principal and Vice Principal with a clear data breakdown of Tier 1, 2, and 3 students and attendance velocity.
- Report to external stakeholders, including United Learning (UL), Ofsted, and the Governing Body, using the school's approved reporting framework and templates.
- Complete all statutory paperwork and facilitate meetings for modified timetables and attendance contracts, ensuring legal compliance.
- Work closely with the Local Authority, making timely and high-quality referrals to Education Engagement Services (EES) and Team Around the Family (TAF) processes.
Wider School and Professional Contribution
- Contribute to the wider attendance strategy of the school, sharing specialist EBSA advice, guidance, and strategies in meetings and with fellow professionals.
- Maintain high standards of behaviour expectations, character, and model professional working practices at all times.
- Participate actively in the school’s CPD programme, leading staff training on EBSA strategies and alternative provision techniques where appropriate.
- Contribute to the development and review of operational alternative provision policies and working practices.
- Comply fully with all school policies and procedures, including health and safety, data protection (GDPR), and equality boundaries.
Safeguarding
- To comply fully with all school safeguarding procedures, ensuring student welfare is paramount. Actively apply the latest statutory guidance from Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), identifying and reporting any signs of vulnerability, neglect, or abuse immediately through the school's reporting software.
General
- Other general duties appropriate to the role, workload, and grade as directed by the Principal, Deputy Principal, or Vice Principal.
Facts and Figures:
Robert Blake School is an 11-16 Secondary School with approximately 1,040 students and 140 staff. The school serves an area of high deprivation, with numbers of Pupil Premium (PP) and Special Educational Needs (SEND) students well above Somerset and national averages. The post holder must be equipped to support vulnerable families experiencing complex socio-economic challenges.
Problem Solving and Creativity:
The post holder must work with extreme flexibility and resilience. Casework will frequently involve complex, deep-rooted emotional barriers where intensive, creative support is required. A proactive, relational approach, strong problem-solving skills, and clear, calm decision-making are essential. The post holder will be expected to advise and support colleagues through potentially challenging and emotionally demanding situations. The role requires an individual who is highly organised and able to use their own initiative to determine the most effective way to support a student within the framework of established school policies.
Decision Making:
The post holder will directly affect the life chances, mental health, and educational outcomes of vulnerable young people. In liaison with external professionals and senior school leaders, the post holder's decisions will significantly impact student safety and reintegration success. While complex or systemic decisions (such as long-term curriculum exemptions or legal safeguarding escalations) must be referred to the Vice Principal, most day-to-day operational decisions must be taken by the post holder immediately to manage situations as they present themselves
Physical Effort and Working Conditions:
Some of the time will be spent within a normal school working environment, but some time may be within a student’s home. There will be regular use of ICT for learning and office-based systems. The post-holder will largely determine their own timetable, working around the needs of students and families, and some flexibility will be required. All necessary equipment will be provided.
Contacts and Relationships:
The post-holder is expected to develop positive relationships and effective working practices with young people and their families. There is frequent contact with staff, particularly senior leaders, Progress Leaders and Student Services staff as well as teachers to receive and provide information and guidance about work set, student behaviour, conduct, attendance, and progress. Maintaining consistent and positive relationships is a key element of the post. The post-holder needs the ability to work independently and as part of a team and will need to attend appropriate meetings regarding CYP in their caseload.
Knowledge, Skills and Experience:
The post-holder will:
- Have a minimum of 5 GCSEs (or equivalent) at grade 4 and above, including English and Mathematics.
- Be able to deliver lessons on core subjects and preferably the wider curriculum.
- Possess excellent organisational, communication and interpersonal skills. A commitment to young people, their welfare, education, and personal development.
- Have good ICT skills.
- Will be required to deliver face to face and remote lessons.
- Possess adaptability, be able to use their initiative, be reliable, resilient, organised, efficient & keep all administration detailed and up to date.
- Have direct experience of working in a school/education setting and delivering learning.
- Be able to work independently and as part of a team.
- Be student focused and able to establish positive relationships.
Pay: £24,816.00-£27,821.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Cycle to work scheme
- Gym membership
- On-site gym
- On-site parking
Education:
- GCSE or equivalent (preferred)
Work Location: In person
