Pastoral Assistant, ACE Tiverton School

Job Purpose

 The post holder’s primary purpose is to promote a positive, optimistic attitude to learning, progress and achievement within the school and home, acting as a role model with pupils, families and the wider community. They will support the Pastoral Manager in the development of pastoral and family support in the school community.

Responsibilities 

The job involves working within recognised procedures, which leaves some room for initiative. The post holder will have access to the Pastoral Manager, DSL, head teacher or other members of the SLT for advice and guidance on unusual or difficult problems. The work may involve responding independently to unexpected problems and situations e.g. supporting young people in a variety of circumstances.

 General Duties

• They will be available to attend professional meetings, EHAT/TAM meetings and parental consultations to support families where there are welfare concerns, at the direction of the Pastoral Lead, DSL or head teacher.
• To monitor attendance and liaise with the EWS and other agencies as appropriate to provide families with support to ensure good pupil attendance.
• To work directly with families identified (or self-referred) as requiring support to ensure the good parenting and welfare of their children both in school and their homes (after appropriate risk assessment and given parental consent). This may on occasion be in the evenings, early mornings or weekends.
• High direct impact on the wellbeing of the young people supported by ACE Tiverton by working with Families to support their parenting and providing advice to parents.
• Work in partnership with other agencies; doctors, Social Services, CAMHS etc. They will collate information in order to help the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) to make informed and timely safeguarding decisions, including contacting social care or other partner agencies for advice or assessment if necessary.
• To run a well-planned ‘Family Support Group’ with measureable impact on family engagement, parenting skills and mental health. They will prepare a written termly report to the Head Teacher and Governors/Trustees on the impact of their work.
• They will convey the views of parents and families in the school community to the leadership through conducting an annual parent questionnaire and seeking feedback informally whenever appropriate.
• They will be familiar with the range of therapies and support available in the school and take a lead in identifying students who will benefit from extra support. They will run individual and small group interventions with a focus on peer relationships, friendships, restorative approaches and mediation.
• They will liaise with class based staff to ensure good communication of goals/outcomes/issues within families ensuring joined-up team working.
• They will plan special events such as ‘New Parent Meetings’ and class open days in conjunction with school staff to maximise parental engagement with school and to build positive and trusting relationships with families.
• To support the admissions process for new pupils in order to build positive relationships with new families.
• To attend all school family attended events, such as parent’s evenings, assemblies and sporting events.
• Undertake a range of administration duties including record keeping, report writing,  Handling and processing some of the personal information of the young people being supported by the school
• Have a high direct impact on the wellbeing of the young people supported by Ace Schools through the assessment of their needs and the implementation of the appropriate personalised welfare and support programme.
• Provide support and tutoring when necessary to pupils, including those who need support reintroduction to school, or other placements and those with SEN.
• Creating bespoke timetables for pupils with differing needs.
• Deploying support staff effectively.
• Ordering of resources to meet the needs of the young person.
• Teaching of emotional regulation 
• Committed to a policy of diversity and inclusion that recognises the potential of all young people to make progress and achieve.
• Undertake home visits as necessary and visit other sites as needed.
• Undertake other duties appropriate to the grade of the post. 
• Holidays cannot be taken during term time

Skills:

Essential

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills to establish contact and build relationships with parents, carers and families, establish useful links with local groups, agencies and organisations that work with families and provide advice or guidance to parents on FAMILY issues
• A proven track record of working directly with families, providing for the educational support and welfare needs of parents and families including experience and knowledge of support agencies to use with families
• Experience of working in a school setting
• Experienced in teaching SEMH and SEND
• A proven track record of effective project management and delivery in relation to the target group of young people; including writing progress reports and presenting these to formal audiences.
• Proven record of communicating effectively with parents
• Experience of working strategically and collaboratively in multi-agency settings, with statutory and third sector youth services.
• Experience of initiating and leading EHAT/TAMs for vulnerable families and coordinating and communicating with other professionals to ensure appropriate support put in place
• Ability to work under pressure, handle a variety of situations and people and self-manage time.
• Experience in using IT and Microsoft Office.
• Demonstrative ability to communicate in written and oral context with wide cross section of social and cultural backgrounds.
• Full driving licence
• Knowledge of and experience in using emotional and behavioural concepts, anger management, emotional literacy.
• Substantial experience of working effectively as a practitioner with young people who would be considered disadvantaged and hard to engage.

Desirable 

• Mini bus driving licence 
• STORM trained
• Thrive/Motional Trained
• Postgraduate qualification in education, youth work or related coaching / tutoring CPI trained
• Experience of teaching in a school setting
• Experience of working with KS3 and KS4 children

Knowledge & Qualifications

 Essential

• GCSE (A*-C) in English and (A*-C) in mathematics or equivalent Knowledge of relevant procedures and practices relating to working with young people.
• Knowledge of Special Education Needs code of Practice, Child Protection Procedures, keeping children safe in Education 2018, the National Curriculum.
• Some safeguarding training or experience up to Level 3 multi-agency Safeguarding training such as Hidden Harm, Child Sexual Exploitation etc  

Desirable

• Further qualification in dealing with young people – PGCE, PTTLS, KTTLS, DTTLS or equivalent.