Home School Link Worker at John Mason School in Abingdon

About this Role

Home School Link Worker

Do you have the experience, resilience andprofessional judgement to help children and families overcome significantbarriers to education?

John Mason School is seeking an experienced,compassionate and highly proactive Home School Link Worker to join ourteam and play a key role in improving attendance, removing barriers to learningand strengthening relationships between home and school.

This is an important and rewarding role for someonewho is able to build trusting relationships with families while also having theconfidence to explore difficult issues, challenge barriers and support familiesto make sustainable changes.

You will work with children and families who may beexperiencing complex or significant barriers to regular school attendance,engagement, behaviour or well-being. You will take a holistic approach tounderstanding the circumstances affecting a young person and work alongside thefamily, school colleagues and external professionals to develop and implementeffective support.

The role involves working both in school and withinthe wider community. You will undertake home visits, work directly with youngpeople and their families, contribute to multi-agency work and develop strongpartnerships with parents and carers. You will work closely with pastoralteams, the Attendance and Welfare Office, the Inclusion/SEND Team, social careand other professionals to identify barriers, coordinate appropriate supportand help families achieve positive and lasting change.

What we are looking for

We are particularly interested in candidates whohave experience of working with young people with high levels of need and/orfamilies experiencing complex circumstances, and who can demonstrate howtheir work has helped to bring about positive change.

Experience of working directly with families,particularly where this has involved building relationships, identifyingunderlying barriers, providing targeted intervention and working alongsidefamilies to improve outcomes, would be highly desirable.

You will need to be someone who:

• Has significantexperience of working with children, young people and/or families in aneducational, social care, family support, youth or community setting.
• Has experience of working with young people with high or complex levels of need andunderstands the factors that can affect attendance, engagement, behaviour andeducational outcomes.
• Can demonstrateexperience of working with families to address barriers and support positivechange, rather than simply providing information or signposting toservices.
• Is confident indeveloping positive relationships with parents and carers, including whencircumstances are challenging or conversations may be difficult.
• Has the resilience, empathy and professional judgement to work effectively with families experiencing complex or difficult circumstances.
• Can workconfidently with colleagues and external professionals as part of a multi-agencyapproach, including contributing to meetings and coordinated support plans.
• Has a soundunderstanding of safeguarding and child protection and understands theimportance of professional boundaries, confidentiality and accurate recordkeeping.
• Has excellentcommunication and interpersonal skills and can adapt their approach to theneeds of different young people and families.

Key responsibilities

• Build trustingand purposeful relationships with children, young people and their families.
• Identify andexplore the underlying barriers affecting attendance, engagement, behaviour orwell-being.
• Work directlywith families to develop practical strategies and support plans that lead topositive and sustainable change.
• Undertake homevisits and community-based work where appropriate.
• Work closely withschool colleagues to identify students and families who may benefit fromtargeted support.
• Provide early andtargeted intervention, recognising when a situation requires escalation orinvolvement from other professionals.
• Have appropriateand sometimes challenging conversations with parents and carers whilemaintaining a supportive, respectful and non-judgemental approach.
• Workcollaboratively with pastoral, attendance, inclusion/SEND, safeguarding andother school teams.
• Work effectivelywith external agencies and contribute to multi-agency meetings and plans whererequired.
• Signpost and,where appropriate, actively support families to access relevant services andsources of help.
• Contribute tosafeguarding processes and respond appropriately to concerns about children andfamilies.
• Maintainaccurate, timely and confidential records of interventions, contacts andoutcomes.
• Monitor theimpact of support and adapt approaches where interventions are not resulting inthe desired change.

Why join us?

This is an opportunity to take on a role where thequality of your relationships, professional judgement and persistence can make a genuine difference to the lives of young people and their families.

You will become an important link between school,home and the wider professional network around our students, working withfamilies who may need both practical support and someone who can help themnavigate the barriers preventing their child from succeeding at school.

If you are an experienced family, youth, education,social care or community practitioner who is motivated by helping young peopleand families make meaningful change, we would be very interested to hear fromyou.

As a school we are committed to supporting ourstaff to make a difference with young people. We will offer proactive support to access training and developmentopportunities and to help you grow in this role and in your future career.