School Home Support Practitioner

Role Overview:

Arco Academy is seeking a School Home Support Practitioner works collaboratively with schools, families, and external agencies to address barriers to learning and improve outcomes for children. This key role focuses on promoting attendance, emotional well-being, and social development while fostering strong partnerships between home and school.

Key Responsibilities:

The School Home Support Practitioner will be responsible for the following areas, though this list is not exhaustive:

• Promote parental/carer engagement to support and build their engagement with their child’s learning 
• Advice and inform parents/carers about relevant local services and where appropriate to make referrals to other agencies 
• Maintain effective communication between Arco and parents/carers  
• Provide transition support for students and parents/carers support between referring secondary school and Arco 
• Advocate and mediate in confrontational situations, maintaining communication with students, parents/carers, Arco, referring school and other agencies. This will include initiating and participating in meetings to discuss and develop ways of resolving problems 
• Keep accurate records, reports and documentation of meetings, contacts and any other relevant information of students and their families 
• Ensure that a high level of confidentiality is maintained in all aspects of working with students and their families 
• Ensure you're up-to-date on your knowledge of local service provision for appropriate signposting and referrals 
• Promote and safeguard the welfare of students 
• Support the welfare team in student pathway progression and Post 16 development 
• Attend weekly welfare meetings with members of Welfare Team 
• Keep up to date with governance 

Candidate requirement: 

Qualifications and Relevant Experience: 

• A good standard of education to at least GCSE Grade C level or equivalent in English and Maths 
• At least 2 years experience in a similar role 
• Experience of working with children or young people who are vulnerable or disaffected. 
• Experience in dealing with difficult and challenging behaviour 
• Experience of setting strategic goals and implementation plans 
• Experience using Bromcom system or similar 

Skills and Knowledge: 

• Knowledge and commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people 
• Up to date knowledge of Keeping Children Safe in Education, Safeguarding and GDPR compliance 
• Demonstrable knowledge of the range of additional support/agencies which can be of assistance to vulnerable pupils/students and families 
• Demonstrable knowledge of the principles involved in giving advice and guidance to children/young people and adults, including the place of confidentiality 
• Ability to form and maintain appropriate relationships and personal boundaries with children and young people and adults 
• Excellent oral and written communication skills including grammatical accuracy and the ability to adapt content and style to a specific audience with all age groups and abilities 

Personal Profile  

• The ability to work with individuals from diverse backgrounds 
• Ability to work constructively on your own and as part of a team 
• Ability to self-manage, and prioritise workloads effectively using initiative 
• Ability to maintain confidentiality 
• Ability to foster constructive relationships with, and gain the confidence of, young people, parents/carers and colleagues 
• Ability to be proactive, flexible and adaptable 
• Ability to be resilient and cope with emotionally-draining and traumatic situations 
• Willingness to undertake additional training 
• Willingness to lead and/or support with offsite visits as well as staff and student meetings 

Desirable qualities include: 

• Educated to a degree level 
• Counsellor or Social Worker qualification 
• Current First Aid certificate 
• Hold an up to date fully enhanced DBS (must have before role commence) 

Why Join Arco Academy?

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a vibrant, fast-paced environment where your contributions will directly impact the future of the school and its students. If you are ready to take on a challenging role that offers both flexibility and the chance to make a significant difference, we encourage you to apply.