The posting
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Main Tasks:
To work in partnership with families, students and other professionals as part of our school community to safeguard pupils. The Family and Student Support Worker will work with families, pupils and school staff to help improve the attendance and emotional wellbeing of our pupils. This will include working with our EBSNA students as well as others across the school who require some additional support. The Family and Student Support Worker will support with learning behaviour and participation of students in school life, helping families to overcome any barriers that exist to personalised success. The Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL) role is to support the DSL to manage the day to day safeguarding requirements of the school (within a wider safeguarding team).
Main Duties:
- To promote good attendance inside and outside school through innovative solutions to raising attendance for EBSNA students and those with medical needs
- To have the wellbeing, physical and emotional safety of the student at the heart of every decision made
- To build relationships with families whose child has a low attendance record, improving their attendance and considering the students’ circumstances and underlying needs. This may require working with different agencies
- To ensure that students with long term absence receive quality education, personalised to their circumstances and their journey to improved attendance
- To help families get the right types of support for their personal circumstances and signpost them to services that might support their circumstances
- To make home visits with families of low attending students.
- To meet parents either in the home, virtually or in school to make sure the pupil has the support they need to access education
- To keep accurate and professional safeguarding and visit records using the CPOMS system
- To maintain confidentiality
- To build relationships with families, developing trust and helping them access support to improve the students’ circumstances and support with underlying needs. This may mean helping families to complete benefit forms and other official documents.
- To work with different professional agencies to gain support for families
- To work closely with key staff in school to identify and resolve safeguarding concerns
- To use the KCSIE, Working Together to Safeguard Children documents and Stony Dean Child Protection Policy to safeguard pupils
- To regularly attend CPD sessions to continue developing skills and knowledge around safeguarding
- To support the school at Strategy, Child Protection, Child In Need and Professionals meetings as required
- To write safeguarding referrals (MARFs), Section 17, Section 47 reports and welfare check information
- To provide emergency cover for Strategy meetings on a rota basis with others in the safeguarding team during school holidays
This will involve:
- Being a role model for other professionals with regards to attitude, confidentiality and general behaviour
- Being aware of, and complying with, policies and procedures relating to child protection, equal opportunities, Health & Safety and security, confidentiality and data protection, reporting all concerns to an appropriate person
- Supporting pupils’ who are vulnerable or who have access to a social worker
- Supporting families to be successful by helping them help their child/children
- Liaising with families and external agencies through running workshops and training events
- Providing regular feedback to ensure that each family have a joined-up approach to their circumstances
- Undertaking administration tasks associated with supporting good levels of safeguarding
- Participating in training and other learning activities, that ensures a broad knowledge base is developed when supporting complex learner’s needs
- Participating in the school’s professional development programme
- Contributing to the ethos, work and aims of the school
- Providing support to students during periods of contact and help promote a general feeling of well-being with the school
- Participating in the school's appraisal system
- Taking responsibilities for personal and team Health and Safety, ensuring that all accidents and near misses are reported
- Participating in the helping with Safeguarding training and contributing to the school's duty of care to safeguard all pupils
- Being a role model for progressive and innovative approaches to supporting attendance of EBSNA Students
- Working with schools professionals to ensure that there is appropriate education for learners struggling with their education
- Supporting pupil's learning on an individual basis at school and at home
- Making a positive contribution to the wider life and ethos of the school
The duties of this post may vary from time to time, as required by the Head Teacher, without changing their general character or level of responsibility.
Other Information
Further details on this post can be obtained by contacting Rachel Franklin, HR & Compliance on 01494 762538 or email [email protected] for an application form and information pack.
Recruitment Activity:
Closing Date: Monday 02 November 2026, midday
Interviews: WC 09 November 2026
Start Date: ASAP, to be discussed at point of interview
Safeguarding
Stony Dean School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff to share this commitment. An offer of appointment is subject to satisfactory references, Enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service), PO (Prohibition Order) check, social media checks and medical clearance.
This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:
- All unspent convictions and conditional cautions
- All spent convictions and adult cautions that are not protected (i.e that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020).
