Walworth Academy is a thriving school in the heart of central London. We serve a vibrant, diverse community in Zone 2, with excellent access to all the city has to offer for students and staff alike.
We are looking to appoint a highly motivated and inspiring Family Support Worker for our young people. As our Family Support Worker, you’ll be responsible for working with families, parents and carers to enable young people to have full access to educational opportunities and overcome barriers to learning. As well as your key responsibilities, you’ll be an inspirational role model to our pupils and work with both staff and the wider school community to establish a supportive and nurturing environment in which children can progress. Walworth Academy needs staff who are driven, passionate, committed and resilient. Our staff must be driven by a strong moral purpose and really want to make a difference to the lives and futures of our students. The successful candidate will have experience of working with young people and have a genuine passion and belief in the potential of every child.
Our staff are:
· Committed, enthusiastic practitioners seeking to support excellent progress for our students
· Educators who aspire to the highest standards of behaviour, academic success, and wellbeing for all in our community
· Resilient, reflective and thoughtful professionals, seeking to develop themselves with us
In return, we offer:
· An externally recognised progression route with the support of a nationally recognised network
· A fully accessible, well resourced, multi-million pound building in which to practice
· Attractive pay and conditions, as well as high quality continuing professional development (CPD) and opportunities for career progression
· A school community with a genuine family ethos, investing in staff wellbeing with sports and events
· Varied routes into teaching and industry-recognised professional qualifications (ATT, PGCE, TeachFirst, NowTeach, NPQML, NPQSL, BA and Masters programmes)
· A comprehensive support and induction programme for all staff including accommodation in zone 2 available for NQTs and trainees
· A dedicated Employee Assistance and benefits package from Ark
Further details about the post and how to apply can be found on our website: www.walworthacademy.org.
We look forward to receiving your application.
The closing date for receipt of applications is: 16 January 2019
Proposed date for interviews: 21 January 2019
Ark is committed to safeguarding children; successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check
Job Description: Family Support Worker
Reporting to: Senior Lead Team for Inclusion
Location: Ark Walworth Academy
Contract: Permanent
Working Pattern: Part Time (0.4), Flexible Hours
Salary: Ark Support Scale: Band 6, point 19-26 £22,858 - £27,676 (pro rata)
The Role
To work with Families, Parents, Carers and the school to enable children and young people to have full access to educational opportunities and overcome the barriers to learning. This may include working with the wider family and community, and other agencies.
Key responsibilities
Developing and maintaining good working relationships with Parents/Carers, children and young people, teachers, senior leaders and various educational support staff and other agencies. The workload is varied and is negotiated with the school.
Work with families
- Work with young people, parents/carers in a school context, supporting them and building their engagement with their child’s learning.
- To design and/or facilitate a flexible range of programmes of intervention to support parents/carers of students identified as vulnerable.
- Supporting parents/carers to provide an appropriate environment in which children and young people feel safe and which encouraged the development of their self-esteem and resilience.
- Use persistent and proactive interventions when working with parents/carers to enable positive changes.
- To undertake outreach work including home visits, to offer a flexible support service in accordance with the school’s lone worker policy in order to improve parental engagement with the school and with the child’s learning.
- To act as advocate, mediator and negotiator in confrontational situations, maintaining communication with young people, parents/carers, schools and other agencies. This will include initiating and participating in meetings to discuss and develop ways to resolving problems.
- To provide targeted support on a one to one basis or for small groups with parents/carers, children and young people through either self-referral or school staff referrals.
- To advise and inform parents/carers about relevant local services and where appropriate to make referrals to other agencies.
Liaisons with other agencies
- To ensure effective communication between the school, parents/carers and external agencies and to understand the school’s culture and ethos.
- To provide informal opportunities for all parents/carers to access specialist support in the school and local community to increase their capacity to independently support the child’s learning.
- To act in accordance with the school’s safeguarding children procedures and policy and keep up to date with relevant safeguarding training.
- To attend and contribute to child protection conferences, reviews, core group meetings, pastoral support plan meetings and school reviews as appropriate, which may support formal process underway
Monitoring and evaluation
- To keep accurate electronic daily records and all documentation pertaining to meetings/contact with children and young people and their families
- Produce a written six-weekly progress report
- To take ownership and fully participate in termly work plan and the school’s performance management procedures
Additional requirements
- Where appropriate to provide transition support between secondary school and local primary schools.
- To support parents/carers of children and young people identified as at risk of exclusion or having been excluded.
- Have a thorough understanding of school policies and implement them consistently.
- To uphold the school’s policy in respect to child protection and safeguarding.
- To ensure that a high level of confidentiality is maintained in all aspects of working with children, young people and their families
Other
- Actively promote the safety and welfare of our children and young people
- Ensure compliance with Ark’s data protection rules and procedures
- Liaise with colleagues and external contacts at all levels of seniority with confidence, tact and diplomacy
- Work with Ark Central and other academies in the Ark network, to establish good practice throughout the network, offering support where required
Person Specification: Family Support Worker
Qualifications
· English and maths Grade C or above (or equivalent)
· Relevant qualifications in education, social care etc.
Experience and Skills
· Significant experience of working and engaging with parents/carers, children and young people through individual and/or group-based support.
· Significant experience of effectively dealing with the social and emotional factors which affect a child’s capacity to learn.
· Experience of setting appropriate professional boundaries with families.
· Significant experience of working with families from diverse communities and/or situations.
· Proven interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills with the ability to effectively communicate with a wide range of people particularly with parents/carers and external agencies.
· Good IT and administrative skills, including good word processing and report writing skills with ability to keep daily records.
· Good flexibility and excellent organisational skills including managing a caseload, time management, planning, report writing and target setting.
Able to
· Work under pressure and use own initiative
· Influence others, managing discussions effectively to ensure desired actions are achieved.
· Conduct reviews and assessment of the effectiveness of the work being carried out and demonstrate clear outcomes and results.
Other
· Right to work in the UK
· Commitment to equality of opportunity and the safeguarding and welfare of all students
· Willingness to undertake training
· This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check
Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in our academies. In order to meet this responsibility, we follow a rigorous selection process. All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check.