Attendance Support Officer

Main purpose: To monitor and report on whole-school attendance data; to work closely with students, staff, parents/carers/guardians to reduce levels of absence, and act appropriately when persistent absence becomes a safeguarding issue; to report data to Local Authority.

Administration

• Ensure daily attendance registers are accurate and complete, and follow up with staff members about any incomplete data

• Follow up on any unexplained absences with parents/carers, escalating issues as appropriate in line with school procedures

• Initiate and oversee the administration of absence procedures, for example letters home, attendance meetings with Pastoral Leaders and engagement with local authorities/other external agencies

• Manage attendance returns for the school census

• Maintain accurate records of communications and interventions with parents/carers

• Build and refresh knowledge of the school’s MIS and other relevant systems

• Monitor the implementation and effectiveness of personalised support plans in liaison with Pastoral leaders, for parents/carers to help manage transition for their child

• Signpost parents/carers to Pastoral Support during the process for accessing local services where relevant

• Any other general administrative tasks to support the wider Administrative function of the school.

Monitoring and reporting

• Produce and interpret attendance reports for school leaders, identifying key statistics, reasons for absence and any patterns of concern

• Track attendance of vulnerable groups of students and share information with school leaders

• Identify students that need additional support to improve their attendance and develop action plans in consultation with relevant staff and professionals, where necessary

• Work with school leaders to identify appropriate interventions to improve attendance for particular groups or individual students

• Lead daily or weekly check-ins to review progress and the impact of support/interventions

• Work with school leaders to develop and revise the school’s attendance policy

• Implement children missing education (CME) procedures when appropriate

• Provide regular reports to attendance organisations to raise awareness of emerging at-risk students

• Liaise and build relationships with external agencies and professionals, following up on actions where necessary

Working with parents/carers/guardians

• Coordinate meetings with Pastoral Leaders, students and parents/carers to implement interventions and track progress

• Build positive relations with parents/carers to encourage family involvement in their child’s attendance

• Identify, and where possible, mitigate potential barriers to attendance in partnership with families

Professional development

• Take opportunities to build the appropriate skills, qualifications, and/or experience needed for the role, with support from the school

• Take part in the school’s appraisal procedures

Safeguarding

• Work in line with statutory safeguarding guidance (e.g. Keeping Children Safe in Education, Prevent) and our safeguarding and child protection policies

• Be alert, identify when absence becomes a safeguarding concern, sharing concerns where necessary

• Work with the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) to promote safeguarding of all students in the school

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Experience

• Experience working collaboratively with colleagues (essential)

• Experience analysing data and producing reports (essential)

• Experience working in a school environment or other educational setting (desirable)

• Experience identifying interventions to raise attendance of students (desirable)

Skills and knowledge

• Good listening skills (essential)

• Effective written and verbal communication skills (essential)

• Knowledge of the potential barriers to high attendance that students may face (desirable)

• Ability to use IT systems and to conduct analysis and produce reports (essential)

• Ability to create good relationships with students, staff and parents (essential)

Personal qualities

• Willingness to provide the best possible opportunities for all students (essential)

• Organised, proactive and self-motivated (essential)

• Good time management skills(essential)

• Commitment to upholding and promoting the ethos and values of the school (essential)

• Ability to maintain confidentiality at all times (essential)

• Committed to safeguarding, equality, diversity and inclusion(essential)

BENEFITS
• Cycle to work Scheme
• Tech Scheme
• Car Scheme
• Free flu vaccine through Healthshield
• Free eye tests
• Financial wellbeing support via WageStream
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Group income protection
• GP24: GP Access for all
• Health Cash Plan
• Death in Service
• Long service awards
• Employee referral scheme
• Enhanced Maternity and Paternity pay