Support and Belonging Lead

Are you ready to make a difference?

Carterton Community College is entering an exciting new chapter under new leadership. With a renewed sense of purpose and ambition, the school is on a journey of improvement and growth, placing high-quality teaching, strong relationships and an enriching curriculum at the heart of everything we do.

As part of this journey, we are placing a significant emphasis on student inclusion, wellbeing and belonging. To support this vision, we are creating new, non-teaching pastoral roles and are seeking to appoint five outstanding Support and Belonging Leads, each with responsibility for students in a specific cohort/year group.

This is a highly rewarding opportunity for individuals who are passionate about supporting young people, including those who may be vulnerable, disadvantaged or experiencing challenge.

The Role

As a Support and Belonging Lead, you will play a pivotal role in ensuring that students feel safe, supported and ready to learn. You will work closely alongside a pastoral Head of Year and wider pastoral and safeguarding teams to provide consistent, high-quality pastoral care.

You will:

• Act as a key pastoral figure for a designated year group
• Support students’ personal development, behaviour, attendance and wellbeing
• Build strong relationships with students, families and external agencies
• Support students during times of difficulty, transition, absence or reintegration
• Promote a strong sense of belonging and inclusion
• Contribute to pastoral plans and safeguarding processes (including training as a Deputy DSL)
• Play an active role in restorative practice, regulation and reintegration
• Support attendance, including work with students experiencing EBSA
• Liaise with teaching staff, SEND, attendance, safeguarding and external services

There will also be opportunities to lead on key pastoral priorities, such as Year 7 transition, attendance, wellbeing or targeted interventions.

Who We Are Looking For

We are seeking individuals who:

• Have a genuine passion for supporting young people and improving life chances
• Are calm, resilient and able to work effectively with vulnerable or challenging students
• Have strong interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence
• Can build positive, professional relationships with students, families and colleagues
• Are confident working as part of a pastoral team and independently
• Are committed to safeguarding and promoting student welfare
• Share our ambition to make school unmissable for every child

Experience of working with young people in education, youth work, pastoral care, safeguarding or related fields would be highly beneficial.

Why Join Carterton Community College?

• A school under new leadership, with clear vision and direction
• A strong culture of relationships, inclusion and belonging
• The opportunity to make a meaningful difference every day
• A supportive, collaborative staff team
• Professional development opportunities, including safeguarding and SEMH training
• The chance to shape and grow a newly developed pastoral structure

Carterton Community College is a rural school with a strong sense of community, located on the edge of the Cotswolds and within easy commuting distance of Oxford, Cheltenham and Swindon.

Safeguarding

Carterton Community College is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff to share this commitment. This post is subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Closing date: Sunday 16th August

Interview date: Wednesday 19th August

To Apply: Prospective candidates are welcome to visit the school. For further details please email recruitment@carterton.oxon.sch.uk. Application form to be completed via MyNewTerm.

Safer Recruitment Statement

Carterton Community College is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post involves the type of work with children and young people that requires applicants to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service check. The possession of a criminal record will not necessarily prevent an applicant from obtaining this post. All users are considered confidentially and according to the nature of the role and information disclosed