The posting
About the Role
Leeds City College is seeking a Pastoral Coach to join the School of Travel, Food and Drink, supporting learners across a range of Level 1 to Level 3 programmes.
Travel, Food and Drink is a vibrant and exciting department with strong links to industry. We work closely with key industry partners to give our learners real-world experiences, develop their skills and help them prepare for their future careers.
The role of the Pastoral Coach is to ensure that learners are fully supported throughout their journey with us. Working closely with teaching staff, Course Leaders and wider college support teams, you will help learners overcome barriers, stay engaged with their studies and make positive progress.
You will provide a range of pastoral support, including supporting attendance and engagement, delivering personal development activities, providing targeted support where learners may be struggling, and helping learners develop the confidence, skills and resilience they need to succeed.
This is an exciting opportunity to join a growing department and play a key role in ensuring our learners feel supported, valued and able to achieve their potential.
What You Will Do
- Plan and deliver engaging pastoral lessons within the PDBA framework, linked to the needs of learners across the School of Travel, Food and Drink.
- Work closely with Course Leaders, teaching teams and Maths and English colleagues to make attendance, punctuality and engagement a priority across the department and provide academic encouragement, mentoring and pastoral support to learners.
- Build positive and professional relationships with learners, providing regular 1:1 support to review progress, identify barriers and agree actions to help them succeed.
- Work closely with teaching staff to support positive behaviour, particularly where individual learner needs or behaviours are impacting on the learning experience of others.
- Support teaching teams to ensure learners achieve positive outcomes, providing targeted intervention where learners are at risk of disengaging, underachieving or leaving their programme.
- Support the department's attendance strategy by identifying concerns early, working with learners to address barriers and contributing to the department's continued strong attendance performance.
- Deliver additional Skills Builder and Navigate sessions to develop learners' confidence, employability skills, resilience and ability to successfully progress.
- Support learners with financial processes and signpost them to appropriate college support where financial circumstances may impact on their ability to participate fully in their programme.
- Undertake the responsibilities of a Designated Safeguarding Officer following appropriate training, supporting the department's commitment to learner safety and wellbeing.
- Assist with learner induction, helping new learners understand the expectations, opportunities and support available within the School of Travel, Food and Drink.
- Support staff with educational visits, industry activities and off-site learning, helping ensure learners are appropriately supported and able to benefit from these experiences.
About You
We are looking for someone who is passionate about supporting young people and helping learners overcome barriers to achieve their goals. You will be approachable, positive and able to build strong relationships with learners from a wide range of backgrounds.
You will have:
- Experience of working with young people, particularly learners aged 16 and above, in an education, training, youth or similar setting.
- Experience of providing pastoral, mentoring, welfare or learner support.
- Experience of working with parents, carers, teaching teams and external support agencies to support learner needs.
- A good understanding of positive behaviour management and strategies for supporting learners to make positive choices and experience of using learner-centred approaches and adapting your support to meet individual needs.
- The ability to build positive, trusting and professional relationships with learners while maintaining appropriate boundaries.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the confidence to engage with learners, colleagues, parents and external partners.
- Good organisational and administrative skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and maintain accurate records.
- A proactive approach to identifying barriers to attendance, engagement and achievement and taking appropriate action.
- The ability to work positively and effectively as part of a busy curriculum team, while also using your own initiative.
- A commitment to safeguarding, equality, diversity and the wellbeing of learners.
- A positive and enthusiastic approach, with the ability to motivate learners and help them recognise their potential.
- An understanding of the importance of preparing learners for their next steps, whether that is employment, further study or progression within the Travel, Food and Drink industries.
