Parent Support Advisor And Attendance Officer in Wakefield

The children, staff, Headteacher and Governors of this 'Excellent' Church School (SIAMS February) and 'Good' school (Ofsted, March) are excited to appoint for a new role in school. The role will be for someone to work as a compassionate, friendly and committed Parent Support Advisor and as Attendance Officer to report and monitor whole school attendance, working closely with pupils, staff, parents and carers to reduce levels of absence.

Founded in hope, St. Mary's CE (VA) Primary School is a place where all can find their voice, grow in wisdom and live well in community and service. This ethos underpins all aspects of school life and the actions of everyone within our school community. There is a strong team commitment to improve the outcomes and aspirations of all in the culturally diverse community it serves.

The purpose of the PSA role is to help parents by signposting to appropriate services, offering advice and support to families to overcome barriers to learning and participation, in order to improve future outcomes and enable all pupils to have full access to educational opportunities. This post will involve working in a variety of settings, including in schools, the community and family homes of young people and their families, and will work to support them and their families to make positive and sustainable change.

Multi-agency working will be at the core of this work, but the ability to work independently is also essential. School attendance is very important for children to make good progress, and the Attendance Officer will manage the process in school to enable the children to achieve their outcomes.

The successful candidate will have:

• Knowledge of the social and emotional factors that affect a child's capacity to learn and understanding of children within the family context.
• The ability to engage constructively with adults and children to support progress towards agreed outcomes.
• Ability to co-ordinate and lead support for parents dealing with challenging behaviour at home or in the community.
• The ability to manage a caseload, prioritise work and organise paperwork to a high standard.
• The ability to work with multi-agencies to support children, young people and families.
• Be able to demonstrate creativity and flexibility in their approach to engaging families, identifying family strengths, assessing their needs and supporting them to make sustainable, positive change.
• Have excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to communicate clearly and appropriately with pupils, their families and supporting professionals.
• Have experience of working with and engaging children and young people with complex needs.
• Be able to identify unmet needs and risks surrounding pupils and respond to them appropriately, in accordance with local area safeguarding policies and guidance.
• Have experience of working with and supporting vulnerable families and children.
• Be sensitive and empathetic with patience, flexibility, a sense of humour and be resilient.
• Understand the challenges our families face.
• Able to lead training and workshops for families.
• Have a clean driving license and be prepared to drive your own vehicle.
• Have strong communication and excellent interpersonal skills.
• Have a good standard of English and numeracy, GCSE grade A to C or equivalent in both subject areas.
• Play a role in the wider life of the school.
• Manage daily attendance procedures.
• Track vulnerable groups' attendance and work with families to improve attendance.
• Manage the process of issuing penalty notices.

At our school, the successful candidate will benefit from:

• A school with a Christian ethos with close links with the local church.
• Friendly and well-behaved children.
• A dedicated and supportive Staff Team and Governors who care passionately about our school and the local community.
• A strong community ethos.
• A high-quality learning environment with excellent resources and facilities.
• A strong commitment to CPD.

The best way to get a feel for St Mary's is to come and visit us. To arrange to look round our wonderful school please telephone the School Business Manager or email. Closing date is Friday 6th March at 12 noon. St Mary's is strongly committed to safeguarding and expects all staff and volunteers to share the responsibility of promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. All staff are subject to an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references prior to appointment. Completed application forms should be returned to school by 12:00pm Friday 6th March. The interview date will be Thursday 12th March.