Pastoral Support Officer

Dear candidate,

Thank you for considering Chaselea Alternative Provision Academy as a potential next step in your career. I would like to take a moment to offer background information on Chaselea itself and the role within the district as a whole.

Chaselea is located in the heart of Cannock Chase, designated an area of outstanding natural beauty. The school is forward-thinking, truly innovative, well-resourced, and has a dedicated, motivated and enthusiastic staff body. Chaselea offers a mixture of full and part-time places to pupils who are permanently excluded, at risk of permanent exclusion, hard to place or who are having their special educational needs assessed. In all cases, there is an expectation of clear learning plans, performance targets and for individual achievement targets to be met. Learners follow parts of the National Curriculum at KS3 and an innovative GCSE and vocational programme at KS4. We aim to enrich and improve pupils’ educational experiences and academic outcomes during their time at Chaselea.

Throughout the week, all staff participate in enrichment activities ensuring continuous supervision and structured social interaction. Staff have the benefit of a PPA allowance well above national expectations. Lessons have a high staff-to-student ratio, and the school is highly regarded for its approach to behaviour management and progression made by the young people.

The focus at Chaselea is teamwork, where learners are supported by staff; and the staff body is strengthened by unity and trust based on open communication, sharing of best practice and empathy to colleagues’ roles within school. Chaselea is community-oriented, working with local high schools to improve inclusion across the districts of Cannock Chase and South Staffordshire (the two districts that Chaselea supports).

The Local Advisory Committee (Governors) are supportive and represent a diverse group of external stakeholders all with extensive experience in both education and support services. At Chaselea, we aim to reinstate pupils into suitable mainstream provision as soon as possible; by which time their behaviour and learning needs have been assessed and strategies developed to promote their chances of success. All staff are encouraged to participate in this process and share the satisfaction of the pupils’ achievements.

If mainstream is not the right answer then we will ensure, through the SEND process, that a pupil has their needs identified and a suitable specialist placement or alternative provision is sought. A small number of pupils will see out their statutory education at Chaselea. They leave with a number of recognised qualifications and the support to make sure they have a future destination be it college, apprenticeship etc. We are very proud to have completed the 2025-2026 academic year with ZERO NEETS (Not in Education, Employment or Training) reported.

Staff pride themselves on developing a culture of mutual respect where pupils progress and enjoy their learning. The ethos of the school is designed to promote new initiatives and to support staff development in order to achieve a stimulating atmosphere where learning can be most effective.

Since June 2019, Chaselea has been part of the very successful and highly-thought-of academy trust called Manor Hall. This Trust is specific to special schools and alternative providers, making it the perfect partner as Chaselea continually moves into the next phase of its journey, particularly following the extremely successful Ofsted Section 5 inspection in May of 2026.

The role we are after is that of a full-time, permanent, whole year, Pastoral Support Assistant from January 2027. Due to the support available and the ethos within our school, we want the right person. This may mean that you do not think that you have, what you perceive, the right amount of experience; or it may be that you feel you are at the other end of the experience scale. Either way, we are looking for the right person. I cannot think of many more important roles than giving young people hope and helping them reach their aspirations and secure a future, can you?

Paul Archer, Headteacher