Pastoral Support Officer - Fixed Term until Dec 31st 2025

Grade: F, SCP 14-19 Annual Salary: £28,624 to £31,067 actual approx. £25,152 - £27,298 Contract: Fixed Term Maternity Cover for one year from December 2024 Hours: 37 per week, Monday to Friday -term time only. We seek to appoint a Pastoral and Attendance Support Officer to our school. This role is pivotal to the success of the young people at Whickham School as we believe that if we can maximise pupil attendance and behaviour, we can also maximise our pupils' life chances. Whickham School is a high-performing and over-subscribed 11-18 school in Gateshead. Staff and students enjoy working and learning at our school and have created a culture that facilitates high levels of attainment and progress. Student progress is significantly above regional and national averages. The school has built an excellent reputation for the quality of provision provided to students. The school has made significant progress in becoming a place where students fulfil their potential. We want to recruit a colleague who demonstrates the ambition, drive and commitment to play a significant role in continuing this journey. The school is seeking to recruit a Pastoral Support Officer who is passionate about making a difference in the lives of young people. The role of a Pastoral Support Officer is a an important position within Whickham School where the successful applicant will have the opportunity to:

• Demonstrate core beliefs and values that are aligned with restorative approaches, being able to mediate and resolve conflicts among students and between students and staff.
• Lead intervention for pupils with regard to behaviour and emotional and social development.
• Understands and believes in the link between attendance at school and achievement, and can ensure that all other stakeholders hold the same belief.
• Will ensure that some of our most challenging pupils and families are managed in a robust and unrelenting manner, and to ensure that all pupils are given every opportunity to succeed by being present in as many lessons as possible.
• Will ensure that internal attendance systems such as registers and first day response are a priority.
• Undertake telephone calls and home visits to support parents / carers, encourage students to come into school and discuss the link between absence and attainment.
• Ensures that pupils understand the importance of engagement with education by building relationships with pupils and their families.
• Work tirelessly to improve the attendance of a cohort of persistently absent pupils.
The successful applicant will be responsible for maintaining our very high standards. This will involve a range of skills from tackling persistent poor behaviour and working with some particularly vulnerable pupils, to nurturing and supporting pupils who may be going through difficulties which have impacted their attendance at school. Our aim is to ensure every young person is the best they can be and, whilst we have already achieved much in achieving our goal, we recognise that there is so much more we can do. We are proud of our good reputation within the region and the positive feedback we receive from students, parents, staff and external organisations such as Ofsted. Hours of work - you must be at work between the hours of 8.15am and 4:15pm when the school is open to pupils, you may be required to work any time between 8:00am and 5:00pm and some days in school holidays (evening meetings and training are in addition to this requirement). Specific details regarding the role, skills and qualities that the successful candidate will need to demonstrate, are in the attached job description and person specification. We welcome visits by prospective applicants to the school. Please contact Lucy Saint (HR) via email: lsaint@whickhamschool.org if you wish to arrange a time to see the school.
• Whickham School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our students and young people. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
• We have a robust Safeguarding Policy and all staff will receive training relevant to their role at induction and throughout employment with the school.
• This post is subject to a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service criminal records check for work with children.
  
  We seek to appoint a Pastoral and Attendance Support Officer to our school. This role is pivotal to the success of the young people at Whickham School as we believe that if we can maximise pupil attendance and behaviour, we can also maximise our pupils' life chances.
Whickham School is a high-performing and over-subscribed 11-18 school in Gateshead. Staff and students enjoy working and learning at our school and have created a culture that facilitates high levels of attainment and progress. Student progress is significantly above regional and national averages. The school has built an excellent reputation for the quality of provision provided to students. The school has made significant progress in becoming a place where students fulfil their potential. We want to recruit a colleague who demonstrates the ambition, drive and commitment to play a significant role in continuing this journey.