Attendance Officer

We are looking to appoint a part time Attendance Officer temporary for the academic year to support our current postholder. This presents an opportunity to join an inclusive and ambitious school and to have an impact on improving student attendance. It involves setting high expectations for the attendance and punctuality of students, promoting good attendance, reducing absence and building strong relationships with families and students to understand barriers to attending school.

The purpose of this post is to focus on improving student attendance and reducing the number of persistent absentees within school, and to undertake home visits. We welcome applications from candidates who have experience of:

Working on attendance within specified policy and procedures

Direct support work with students and parents and can build positive relationships

Liaising with other agencies to share information about young people

The advertised hours are 22.5 per week but there is flexibility regarding the working days.

The post holder must at all times carry out their responsibilities within the spirit of the school and trust policies and within the framework of legislation relating to academies and education, with particular regard to the statutory responsibilities of the trust and the governing body of the school.

The specific duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to:

To work under the agreed systems of attendance monitoring within the school, taking a lead role in coordinating the attendance process for pupils. Duties will include, but not be limited to:

Implement policies and procedures to improve the attendance of students by challenging absence accordingly and reduce the high levels of PA significantly.

Undertake home visits, where appropriate, to those students who are persistently absent, identifying reasons for non-attendance, working closely with families and others to achieve regular attendance.

Monitor attendance of key students, provide immediate response in the event of an absence, liaising with the Pastoral Team to ease return to school with appropriate support.

To meet parents/ carers on a regular basis to discuss attendance strategies and draft parent/ carer agreements.

To lead Attendance Meetings with the Pastoral Team & Other Agencies.

To undertake Attendance interviews in school with individual students.

To provide guidance, support and advice to all staff regarding the attendance protocols and procedures for the school including statutory legislation.

Provide advice and support to families in identifying and understanding barriers to students achieving their full potential.

Apply a range of persistent and pro-active approaches to engage with families with a range of needs who may be resistant to using services.

To identify risks to good school attendance and ensure effective measures are in place to reduce or eliminate risk.

To support the school’s legal response to non-attendance including decisions on penalty notices and court referrals (Including collating evidence and attending court if required).

Aid transition from Primary to Secondary for students where attendance is a concern.

To assist the Pastoral Team with Attendance Group work and /or 1:1 sessions.

To raise the profile of need for good attendance within the school environment.

To alert the Pastoral Team to any concern/ issues relating to student welfare identified whilst working with students and/ or parent/ carers.

To ensure accurate recording and reporting of attendance data.

Monitor the systems and procedures for monitoring and recording absence to ensure best practice.

Ensure the accurate and timely reporting and analysis of all attendance data.

Provide accurate attendance information to school management, Local Authority and other agencies as appropriate.

Maintain accurate records of parental meetings, home visits and actions proposed to support the work of the Pastoral Team and to support the preparation of cases for further

Be aware of and support difference and ensure all pupils have equal access to opportunities to learn and develop.

Take an active part in all key school events such as open evenings etc

Assist with the clerical duties as required from time to time and as appropriate to your role

Ensure display boards and leaflet displays, etc are kept up to date and in good order as appropriate and required

Be aware of and comply with policies and procedures relating to child protection, health, safety and security, confidentiality and data protection, reporting all concerns to an appropriate person.

Work in a flexible way to respond to the needs of the trust and to fulfil other duties and responsibilities appropriate to the grade and role as and when required.

Be aware of and support difference and ensure equal opportunities for all.

Appreciate and support the role of other professionals.

Attend and participate in relevant meetings as required.

Contribute to the overall ethos/work/aims of the trust/schools.

Participate in relevant training, other learning activities and performance management as required.

Team responsibilities: all staff are considered part of the overall trust team and may be required to provide assistance to colleagues in other areas from time to time commensurate with the role, skillset and grade.

From time to time, to meet the needs of the trust, you may be asked but not expected to work hours additional to your normal working hours. The trust will give you as much notice as possible and you will be paid/recompensed for such work. Situations where this might be required are, for example: relevant key school events such as open evenings, exam results days, trips, clubs, training etc.

The above duties are not exhaustive, and the post holder may be required to undertake tasks, roles and responsibilities as may be reasonably assigned to them by the Headteacher/Principal.

The job description and allocation of particular responsibilities will be kept under review and may be amended via consultation with individuals, the governing body or board of trustees and/or senior leadership team as required. Trade union representation will be welcomed in any such discussions.