Student Support Officer

Job content

Job Description

POST:Student Support Officer

RESPONSIBLE TO:Head of House, Deputy/Assistant Headteacher - Relationships

SALARY:NJC Scale 5

LOCATION:The Telford Park School

WORKING PATTERN:30 hours, (Term Time plus 1 week)

DISCLOSURE LEVEL:Enhanced

KEY RELATIONSHIPS:Other Student Support Officers, Heads of House, Teachers, External Agencies, Parents

RESPONSIBLE FOR:N/A

MAIN PURPOSE:

The core purpose of this role is to support student progress, behaviour, well-being and safety.

This post provides a complementary service which enhances existing provision in order to improve behaviour and to support learning and academic achievement. The post holder will work within an extended range of networks and partnerships to broker support and learning opportunities and improve the quality of services to students and families.

The post holder will have the appropriate skills, ability and confidence to deal with individual student issues, maintain good order and to keep students on task. They will be required to respond to questions and generally assist students whatever their needs.

SPECIFIC RESPONSBILITIES

Managing Behaviour

· Respond to calls, removing students from lessons where necessary.

· Contact parents, as and when required.

· To meet with parents and students as appropriate.

· To regularly inform the appropriate pastoral staff of the progress of individual students and forward information to the key members of the leadership team.

· At lesson changeover encourage students to move to their next lessons quickly.

· Identify students who are regularly late for lessons/at risk of truancy, communicating this to students/parents/relevant staff.

· To record and take action on any misbehaviour recorded.

· To be proactive in encouraging students to behave in a positive manner.

· Record all incidents dealt with.

· Maintain up to date records of all meetings with adults and students.

· Maintain up to date records of any on-going support work with students.

· To provide/facilitate the necessary pastoral support to students with a view to assisting them to identify their own solutions to move forward.

· To work in conjunction with the academy’s internal support mechanism

· To facilitate appropriate levels of mediation between students and also between students and teaching staff.

· Challenge and motivate students, promoting and reinforcing self-esteem

· Liaise with SLT, adopting a proactive approach to lateness and attendance issues with all students and their families/carers.

· Adopt a partnership approach to working alongside outside agencies. To promote a link between academy and other services in providing the necessary links with CAMHS, Counselling services etc.

· Maintain a working knowledge and comply with policies and procedures relating to child protection, health, safety and security, confidentiality and data protection, reporting all concerns to the appropriate person

· Maintain behaviour records for students

· Recognise own strengths and areas of expertise and use these to advise and support others.

Managing Attendance, Welfare and Family Support

· Improve information sharing and communication across agencies working with children and young people

· Introduce integrated working processes (Common Assessment, Team Around the Child and the role of the Lead Professional)

· Create Locality based multi-agency teams for children who are vulnerable to reduce social exclusion through early intervention and preventative strategies

· Develop collaborative ways of working to involve the private and voluntary sector, parents, children and young people to provide and influence services required for that community to achieve ownership and lead sustainability

Support for the Academy

· Liaise between managers/teaching staff and support staff

· Attend regular team meetings with managed staff

· Be aware of and comply with policies and procedures relating to child protection, health, safety and security, confidentiality and data protection, reporting all concerns to an appropriate person

· Be aware of and support difference and ensure all students have equal access to opportunities to learn and develop

· Contribute to the overall ethos/work/aims of the academy

· Appreciate and support the role of other professionals

· Attend relevant meetings as required

· Participate in training and other learning activities and performance development as required

· Assist with the supervision of students out of lesson times, including before and after academy times and at lunchtimes

· Accompany teaching staff and students on visits, trips and out of academy activities as required

· Assist with exam invigilation when necessary

Support for Students

· Take a key role in managing and delivering pastoral support to students

· Manage the supervision of students excluded from, or otherwise not working to, a normal timetable

· Attend to students’ personal needs and provide advice to assist in their social, health & hygiene development

· Undertake comprehensive assessments of students to determine those in need of particular help

· Assist the teacher with the development and implementation of Individual Education/Behaviour/Support/Mentoring plans

· Provide support for students with special needs

· Establish productive working relationships with students, acting as a role model

· Provide information and advice to enable students to make choices about their own learning/behaviour/attendance

· Challenge and motivate students, promote and reinforce self-esteem

· Provide feedback to students in relation to progress, achievement, behaviour, attendance etc.

· Manage liaison with feeder schools and other relevant bodies to gather student information

· Support students’ access to learning using appropriate strategies, resources etc.

Support for the Teacher

· Work with other staff in planning, evaluating and adjusting learning activities as appropriate

· Monitor and evaluate students’ responses and progress against action plans through observation and planned recording

· Provide objective and accurate feedback and reports as required, to other staff on students achievement, progress and other matters, ensuring the availability of appropriate evidence

· Manage record keeping systems and processes

· Take key role in the development and implementation of appropriate behaviour management strategies

· Establish constructive relationships with parents/carers, exchanging information, facilitating their support for their child’s attendance, access and learning and supporting home to academy and community links

· Contribute in the development, implementation and monitoring of systems relating to attendance and integration e.g. registration, truancy, pastoral systems etc.

· Administrative support e.g. dealing with correspondence, compilation/ analysis/reporting on attendance, exclusions etc., making phone calls etc.

· Effectively deploy the Behaviour, Attendance and Rewards policies and actively review these policies

· Assist with the review, monitoring and evaluation of the Behaviour, Attendance and Rewards policies

Support for the Curriculum

· Implement agreed learning activities/teaching programmes, adjusting activities according to student responses/needs

· Display the ability to manage the most challenging and disengaged students

· Demonstrate a passion for learning and the education of young people

· Actively seek information regarding, and utilise, the range of activities, courses, organisations and individuals to provide support for students to broaden and enrich their learning

· Determine the need for, prepare and use specialist equipment, plans and resources to support students

Safeguarding Children

The trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We expect all staff to share this commitment and to undergo appropriate checks, including enhanced DBS checks.

The above responsibilities are subject to the general duties and responsibilities contained in the Statement of Conditions of Employment. The duties of this post may vary from time to time without changing the general character of the post or level of responsibility entailed.

The person undertaking this role is expected to work within the policies, ethos and aims of the Trust and to carry out such other duties as may reasonably be assigned by the Line Manager. The post holder will be expected to have an agreed flexible working pattern to ensure that all relevant functions are fulfilled through direct dialogue with employees, contractors and community members.

English Duty –

This role is covered under part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016 and therefore the ability to speak fluent spoken English is an essential requirement for this role.

Person Specification

Our Values and Vision

These are our values. They can be thought of as our ‘non-negotiables’ – beliefs, expectations and standards that underpin how we work with the young people in our care, and the community we serve. We believe that if we work in the context of these values, students will achieve more than they ever thought possible. They are also values that have evolved following a sustained period of success for our school.

Our Young People

We value three main types of achievement for our young people, and the vision for our school is that we ensure our students are empowered to achieve to a consistently outstanding level.

Achievement – Academic: We believe all young people have the potential to achieve great things. Intelligence can be developed regardless of emotional and social background, given appropriate teaching and bespoke, individualised support.

Young people should be encouraged to develop autonomy and meta-cognitive control (‘knowing what to do when they don’t know what to do’) in their learning and to gain inspiration from learning. They should be equipped with a crucial sense of possibility based on a well-developed self-awareness and ambition – ambition not only for themselves but for the communities in which they live and work.

Achievement – ‘letting your light shine’: All young people achieve things they can be proud of every day in addition to academic success and outside our school’s planned curriculum. We have a vital role in ensuring individuals develop their own talents and interests and have a responsibility to instil in them a sense of pride in who they are and what they achieve. We must recognise and celebrate these achievements.

Achievement – relationships (Starfish Principle): Excellent relationships for learning are a prerequisite for all other achievements. Relationships that result in mutual respect between young people and all other members of our school community will ensure learning can be fun in a disciplined and caring environment where the highest expectations are the norm.

Our Staff

Our Values extend to how we challenge, support and work with each other. All staff (support and teaching) play a crucial role in the education of young people. We all understand how our work has a direct influence on the life chances of the young people in our care. In the same way that we all have a duty of care to them, we have a duty of care to each other and have regard for each other’s professional and personal wellbeing.

The Trust Board sees all members of the Trust’s staff community as learners. They are empowered to make decisions, be creative and to lead. Mutual respect pervades all relationships working together to enhance professional learning and practice and collaboration; collegiality and a sense of team identifies how all staff work together. Staff co-operate with each other and are not in competition with each other – they are part of a team that ensures the academies throughout the Trust strengthen their positions among the best academies in the country.

Person Specification

Essential

Desirable

Qualifications and Experience:

· Level 4 qualification or equivalent or experience

· Excellent numeracy/literacy skills – equivalent to NVQ Level 3 in English and Maths

· Several years’ experience working in a relevant discipline in a learning environment

· Experience of working with children of relevant age

· Experience of working with students with additional needs particularly social, emotional and behavioural difficulties

· Experience of working with teenagers and adults in difficult circumstances

· An educational, military or law enforcement background

Professional Attributes:

· Excellent communication skills

· Full working knowledge of relevant polices/codes of practice /legislation

· Ability to plan effective actions for students at risk of underachieving

· Understand range of support services/providers

· Ability to relate well to children and adults

· Understanding of principles of child development and learning processes and in particular, barriers to learning

· Ability to plan effective actions for students at risk of underachieving

· Understand range of support services/providers

· Ability to self-evaluate learning needs and actively seek learning opportunities

· Work constructively as part of a team, understanding academy roles and responsibilities and your own position within these

· Effective use of ICT packages and good keyboard skills

· Use of relevant equipment/resources

· Knowledge of relevant polices/codes of practice & awareness of relevant legislation

· Ability to relate well to children and adults

· Work constructively as part of a team, understanding academy roles & responsibilities and your own position within these

· Ability to identify own training & development needs & cooperate with means to address these

· Develop good relationships with others by behaving with integrity, treating people with respect and leading by example

· Reliable, approachable and non-judgemental

· Able to encourage positive traits / behaviours

· Able to challenge negative behaviours and assumptions

· Be an active supporter of students, parents, carers and staff

· Able to handle sensitive information and maintain confidentiality

· Able to work with individuals and small groups of students

Application deadline: 24/01/2022

Job Types: Part-time, Permanent

Salary: £15,539.00-£17,785.00 per year

Benefits:

• On-site parking
• Sick pay

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

COVID-19 considerations:
All Government Guidelines for Secondary Schools are followed.

Education:

• GCSE or equivalent (preferred)

Work remotely:

• No