Attendance Officer

MEA is seeking a dedicated and resilient Attendance Officer to join our team and play a key role in improving attendance and engagement across the school. This is a vital role working closely with students, families, school leaders, and external agencies to remove barriers to attendance and ensure every child can access high-quality education.

Key responsibilities

• Implement and support school attendance policies and procedures, ensuring staff understand their impact on pupils and families.
• Manage a caseload of attendance cases, maintaining accurate documentation and preparing evidence to support legal action, including court proceedings where required.
• Track, analyse, and report on attendance data, identifying patterns and trends to inform interventions and strategic planning.
• Work closely with SLT, teaching staff, and external agencies to plan and deliver attendance initiatives, campaigns, truancy sweeps, and school blitzes.
• Coordinate and carry out home visits, including lone visits, cold calls, and joint visits with partner agencies such as Police, Health, and Social Care.
• Support the monitoring and enforcement of attendance parenting orders and post-prosecution casework.
• Deliver training to staff, governors, and key stakeholders on attendance regulations, legislation, and best practice.
• Conduct interviews in line with child protection and other relevant legislation.
• Liaise with staff to support appropriate learning provision for pupils facing barriers to on-site attendance.
• Promote equality, inclusion, and accessibility in all aspects of service delivery.
• Maintain high standards of health and safety and engage in ongoing professional development.

Candidate qualifications

• The successful candidate will bring experience of working with children, young people, and families in education, social care, or community settings and will have a strong understanding of safeguarding, child protection, and relevant legislation.
• Experienced in supporting children, young people, and families.
• Knowledgeable about safeguarding, child protection, and attendance-related legislation.
• Confident in managing complex cases and making sound, balanced decisions.
• Resilient, organised, and able to work calmly under pressure.
• Skilled in building positive relationships with pupils, parents, staff, and external agencies.
• Committed to inclusive practice and improving outcomes for all students.

Applicants must have the right to work in the UK; we do not sponsor visa applications. Job offers are contingent on satisfactory pre-employment checks, including references.

About the school

Manchester Enterprise Academy is a vibrant secondary academy in Wythenshawe, South Manchester, serving 1,200 students. Our campus features modern facilities, including Theatre, Art, Fashion, Dance studios, new Science labs, and a £1 million multi-sport facility with a 3G pitch. We also offer a cafe, dining facilities, Food Technology rooms, and updated ICT, Business, and Language classrooms. Our vision, “A Fantastic Future for All Our Students,” focuses on achieving top academic results through the MEA Way: Safe, Respectful, Ready and Kind. MEA has been graded as good by Ofsted.

This is a Grade 6, permanent post working 35 hours per week, term time only plus 3 weeks (total 41 weeks worked per annum). The starting salary is £29,969 and the full-time equivalent is £33,143. This role is expected to commence once the pre-employment checks are complete.

Benefits and opportunities

• Be part of a supportive and committed team.
• Make a real difference to the lives of children and families.
• Ongoing professional development and training opportunities.
• A school community focused on inclusion, high expectations, and student success.
• High quality CPD for all roles.
• Bupa Level 1 Health Plan – annual cash back allowance for a range of everyday health care expenses.
• Generous Pension Contribution – over 26% for teachers and over 17% for support staff.
• Good holidays – teachers as per School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document; non-teachers receive 26 days annual leave plus bank holidays, increasing to 31 days with 5 years' service.
• Cycle scheme – save up to 39% on a bike and accessories and get Strava for free.
• Employee Assistance Programmes – including access to free counselling and 24/7 helplines.
• Credit Union – regular savings, Christmas saving scheme and access to affordable loans.
• Flexible working options – we’re happy to talk flexible working where possible.
• Mental Health First Aid in every school.
• Blue Light Card – discounts on holidays, cars, days out, fashion, gifts, insurance, phones and many more.
• Beyond cashback card – spend smarter with a prepaid cashback card for your everyday purchases.