School-Home Support Practitioner in Bacup

Reports to: Family support supervisor

Line Location: Bacup, Lancashire

Salary: £22,274 - £24,796 per annum depending on experience (actual salary)

Vacancy Type: Permanent

Hours: Full time, 35 hrs per week Monday to Friday Term time only + inset days

Closing date: 19/05/2026

1st Stage interview: (online interview) 16th April 2026

2nd Stage interview: (In person at the school setting) 10/06/2026

Work Context: Based at The Valley Leadership Academy, the SHS Practitioner will work from a child centred approach and primarily be concerned with developing and maintaining good working relationships with parents/carers, children and young people, teachers, head teachers and various educational support staff and other agencies. The workload is varied and is negotiated with the schools prior to the appointment of the SHS Practitioner.

Level of contact with children and young people: The responsibilities of the post require the post-holder to have substantial, unsupervised and daily contact with children, young people and their families and is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check. SHS will organise and pay for this certificate.

Work with families:

• Work with parents/carers in a school context, supporting them and building their engagement with their child’s learning and improving school attendance.
• Work alongside severely absent students with multiple barriers to attendance, supporting them to improve their school attendance and engagement in learning.
• To design and/or facilitate a flexible range of programmes of intervention to support parents/carers of children identified as vulnerable.
• To undertake outreach work which may include home visits, to offer a flexible support service in accordance with the SHS lone worker policy, in order to improve parental engagement with the school and with the child’s learning.
• To act as advocate, mediator and negotiator in confrontational situations, maintaining communication with young people, parents/carers, schools and other agencies. This will include initiating and participating in meetings to discuss and develop ways of resolving problems.
• To provide targeted support on a one to one basis or for small groups with parents/carers, children and young people through either self-referral or school staff referral.
• To advise and inform parents/carers about relevant local services and where appropriate to make referrals to other agencies.

Additional requirements depending on the needs of the school:

• Where appropriate to provide transition support between secondary school and feeder primary schools and between infant school and junior school. This will also include mid-term admissions.
• To plan, prepare and run high quality, outcome focused informal and formal parenting groups, workshops and courses, in line with the project objectives and local authority Parenting Strategy.
• To monitor and track the attendance and punctuality of children and young people and work with families and School attendance staff to gain improvements though identifying and tackling underlying issues.

Other Organisational Responsibilities:

• To attend out of hours meetings, for example parent evenings and school events.
• To regularly attend local area meetings and conferences and other meetings or working groups for exchange of information and “best practice”.
• To take ownership and develop a learning plan and review this with the SHS line manager to ensure reflection and development of own practice.
• To ensure that good practice and equal opportunity principles are complied with and promoted in accordance with SHS values and Diversity/Equal Opportunities Policy.
• To conform to health and safety legal requirements as laid down by the school and SHS.
• To ensure that a high level of confidentiality is maintained in all aspects of working with children, young people and their families.

As an employer, we offer:

• Employee Assistance Programme, providing confidential support for you and your family.
• Life assurance for added financial security.
• Pension scheme.
• A structured induction programme with training throughout your first 6 months to help you feel confident and supported in your role.
• Regular supervision and reflective practice to support your wellbeing and professional development.
• The opportunity to make a meaningful difference to the lives of children, young people and families.
• A supportive and collaborative team environment where your experience and ideas are valued.
• Opportunities to build strong relationships with schools and communities through varied and rewarding work.

To Apply: If you feel you are a suitable candidate and would like to work for School-Home Support, please click apply to be redirected to our website to complete your application.