Home Academy Liaison Officer and Safeguarding Administrator

HARRIS FEDERATION; London; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job description

About Us

Harris Academy Beulah Hill is an extremely popular 11-19 academy. We deliver a broad and challenging curriculum to all our students in a calm and well-ordered environment. We have high expectations of all members of the school community. This is reflected in our consistently high student performance at GCSE, progression to post 16 study at our sixth form and then on to some of the best universities in the country.

Beulah Hill is a wonderful place to learn and teach. We have a very hardworking team of teachers and support staff; they provide a caring and welcoming atmosphere for our students. Beulah Hill is a huge site with close to 8 acres of school buildings, sports halls, gymnasium, tennis courts and large playing fields / athletic track thus providing excellent facilities for our students. The academy also has full-time basketball and football coaches through its partnership with Greenhouse and Kinetic. We have recently invested over £1 million to further improve our outstanding facilities including the development of a state-of-the-art Design Technology room equipped with laser cutters and 3D Printers, Food room and a newly laid sports field to ensure all year-round sporting opportunities. The Academy has a limit of 800 places across Year 7-11. We are unlike other schools; we do not want to expand at this moment in time, in fact we wish to remain small for as long as possible! This will ensure a small school where each child is known to staff and a caring environment can be provided.

Beulah Hill is traditional in our approach to discipline and uniform, yet forward-thinking and at the cutting edge of curriculum development, learning and pedagogy. The Academy aims to develop the whole child. We have a real focus on progress and attainment, yet ensure students develop their cultural awareness. We have a breadth of extra-curricular activities including Drama, Creative writing, Chess, Food and Art Clubs alongside support and extension in traditional subjects. We are proud of our Campus; we are proud of our students and proud of the education that they receive.

Main Areas of Responsibility

Do you have experience within a school environment in a pastoral capacity? Support Harris Academy Beulah Hill in the smooth running of our educational welfare and safeguarding administration. We are looking for a Home Academy Liaison Officer and Safeguarding Administrator to work within our Safeguarding Office.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Overseeing educational welfare across the academy.
• Managing a caseload of ‘at risk’ students, where attendance falls below 85% and implement strategies to improve attendance.
• Monitoring and improving the attendance of most vulnerable students at the academy.
• Managing the process of addressing poor attendance.
• Ensuring compliance with statutory duties, including reporting persistent and severe absenteeism.
• Conducting home visits to engage families and address barriers to school attendance.
• Maintaining accurate attendance records and preparing reports.
• Representing the academy at external meetings e.g. Social Services Case Conferences, Child in Need Meetings, LAC Reviews.
• Liaising with Senior Leadership Team to address attendance or welfare concerns.
• Communicating effectively with all external agencies including possible alternative providers.
• Ensuring effective communication/consultation as appropriate with the parents of students.
• Leading on legal interventions for non-attendance where necessary.
• Being a part of the safeguarding team as DDSL.
• Providing overall administration support to the Safeguarding Team.
• Monitoring and interrogating CPOMS.
• Attending safeguarding meetings under the direction of the DSL.
• Coordinating CLA students and ensure they are effectively supported.
• Working with the DSL on actively keeping the safeguarding register up to date.
• General administrative duties.
• Preparing of reports and maintaining records relating to student referrals and subsequent counselling or support.
• Providing support to the attendance team when required and supporting with cover in the event of absence of the Attendance Officer.
• Providing administrative support to coordinate internal seclusion.

We would like to hear from you if you have:

• Three years’ experience of working in an inner city school or educational establishment in a pastoral capacity.
• Training in child protection and safeguarding procedures.
• Experience of dealing successfully with a range of issues influencing poor attendance.
• Experience of working with staff to ensure excellent standards of attendance and punctuality are maintained.
• Experience of working with families.
• Experience of working with challenging students and parents, and finding ways in which we can meet their needs more successfully.
• Ability to build and sustain professional standards, relationships and personal boundaries with children and young people.

For a full job description and person specification, please download the Job Pack.

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please send us an email, or call to arrange a conversation.

Before applying, please download the Job Pack for full details on the job responsibilities and person specification. This will be helpful for you when completing your application, and throughout the recruitment process.

We encourage you to apply as soon as possible as we may interview and offer to a candidate before the closing date. Please note that we only accept applications submitted before the closing date via our careers website.

The Harris Federation and all our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, references, an online search, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed.

The Harris Federation is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

We value the diversity of our staff and students, and everyone at the Harris Federation is equally valued and respected. We aim to be an inclusive employer that reflects the communities we serve. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment.

Professional Development & Benefits

In addition to the opportunities for career development and progression, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes our Harris Allowance for teachers on MPS/UPS, a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme with generous employer contributions, a Wellbeing Cash Plan and many other benefits. Learn more about our benefits on our website.