Family Liaison Officer

Please note that this is a year-round role, and is not term-time only. You will be given a standard annual leave allowance.

For children with complex, challenging needs, the level of care and education must go above and beyond. That’s what drives us, here at Witherslack Group. With our high staff-to-child ratio and in-house clinical teams, we’re proud to have won a reputation for excellence and market leading OFSTED ratings.

There’s a certain kind of person who can build bridges between families in challenging circumstances, the carers working with them and local authorities. As Family Liaison Officer at Witherslack Group, your experience and passion for the role will bring about enhanced life opportunities for families all across the region. Our aspirational homes, schools and ethos help us achieve the best possible outcomes. Our Family Liaison Officers are a huge part of making sure our children and young people’s needs are fully recognised and comprehensively met.

This is your chance to make a lasting, positive impact on the lives of families experiencing educational (and potentially other) difficulties. Supported by a brilliant and dedicated team, you’ll work closely with parents, young people, carers and the local authority to explore the circumstances and see how collaborative, effective, life-changing resolutions can be agreed and put into place. It will also be up to you to coordinate visits to see parents, where you’ll talk at length and work out strategies for coping with whatever life throws at them. Then you’ll draw on your broad knowledge of local resources to help direct them to all the additional support they might need. Not to mention organising and taking part in admission interviews in partnership with the Head Teacher and making sure full and detailed inductions are given.

Pontville School is an independent specialist day & residential school providing high quality education. With a record of continual outstanding and good Ofsted results, the school based in Ormskirk is regarded by many as the first choice for speech, language and social communication in the UK.

We know you’re going to do great things. For your hard work and commitment, we reward you with the best salary and benefits package in the education sector. With us, you’ll get to bring learning to life and make a genuine difference to the lives of our young people – plus you’ll get:

• Training: A full induction and on the job training
• Holiday: You’ll work hard at WG, so you’ll be rewarded with 35 days holiday including bank holidays
• Progression: If career development is your thing, most of our head teachers and leaders have been promoted from within our group
• Flexible benefits: meaning you can increase/decrease benefits such as life insurance
• Wellbeing: a host of wellbeing tools and advice including employee assistance
• Medical cover: so you can claim back the cost of things like an opticians or dentist appointment and a host of high-street discounts
• Beautiful working environments: with the very best facilities
• A recommend a friend scheme: that offers a £1,000 bonus every time
• Contributory pension scheme: matched up to 5%

Our young people come from all walks of life, diverse backgrounds and with different needs – and our workforce reflects that diversity, so that our teams can engage, encourage and inspire our young people to be themselves. You’ll be more than a Family Liaison Officer, it’s a truly special type of person that will thrive here, who has:

• Previous experience with SEN and with working with families in challenging circumstances and expertise to support and resolve difficulties
• Strong contacts within the local authority, including education, social services and healthcare professionals
• Experience of multi-agency work with an understanding of legislation, policies and guidance around safeguarding and child protection
• Genuine passion for wanting to enhance the life opportunities for our young people and their families and the ability to be empathetic and understanding

Our young people deserve the best possible future and we feel the same about our teams. You deserve to have the career you want, with a purpose-led employer, in an environment that allows you to be yourself. The Witherslack Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of its young people. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check (we will cover the cost) and an online search. We are an equal opportunities employer welcoming applications from all sections of the community.