School Welfare Assistant - Preston Lodge High School

Vacancy Information

The salary advertised is full time (35 hours per week). Part-time hours will be pro-rated accordingly.

Hourly rate of pay: £15.16 - £16.30
This is a 39 week sessional post i.e. working hours will be during school term time plus in-service days.

Days and Hours of Work:
Monday - Friday, working during school hours.
To start asap.

Applications will be accepted from those wishing to be considered for this role on a part-time basis. If you are applying for this role on a part time basis, please tell us in the Additional Information section of the application form.

Preston Lodge High School is a non-denominational secondary school serving the communities of Cockenzie, Port Seton, Longniddry and Prestonpans. Our roll is currently 1062, and the school is very easily commutable from Edinburgh.

In our recent inspection, the strong relationships between staff and students, our calm learning culture and the pride students have in their school were all highlighted. However, a number of important improvement needs were identified, too, and we are now working hard to address them. We are finalising and implementing new school improvement priorities, we are reviewing our approach to meeting the learning needs of all students, and we are addressing attainment in S3, and in national qualifications, to make existing improvements more significant and consistent.

Our motivated staff, along with our students, parents, carers, and the community we serve, are working hard to further improve all aspects of our school, and staff love working at Preston Lodge. We are a happy school, and new staff report very positively on our school’s culture and ethos. At a time of great uncertainty in education, we work together to provide the best education possible for all of our students.

Our work is focused on continuously improving our approach to classroom practice, developing student and staff learning, improving our curriculum offer and improving attainment with a keen focus on our equity gap. Although we have very strong Positive Destinations data, we are working hard to further diversify our Senior Phase, to better meet the needs of all students.

We are increasingly exploring alternative awards for young people. For example, we are a big user of the Open University's Young Applicants in Scottish Schools scheme and have an increasing number of students participating in Youth Achievement Awards - all S3 students now undertake the Bronze Award of this scheme. We have recently introduced four one-year in-school Foundation Apprenticeships into our Senior Phase, and we have introduced Home Rooms into our S1 Curriculum. RAAC-related building disruption forced us to completely rethink our S1 curriculum.

This post involves working closely with the School Office & Pupil Support to support pupils with medical needs. It also involves being the main 1st Aider.

This is an exciting time for Preston Lodge High School, and the community it serves. Further details about the school can be found on our website at There is a wealth of information about the school and its culture in the Publications section - do take a look at our weekly PLus newsletter to find out more about who we are!

Job Details

To provide general welfare support and assistance to staff and pupils throughout.

Please download the Job Outline/Person Specification (available under 'Job Attachments') for the full range of tasks and duties associated with this job. You will need to refer to these in order to complete the application form. You must ensure you meet every 'essential' criteria stated on the Person Specification to be considered for interview.

The ‘East Lothian Way’– values and behaviours we expect our employees to demonstrate in their everyday work. Should you be invited to interview, you may be asked questions based on these behaviours. Please refer to the document via the link to familiarise yourself with them.

Job Requirements

Relevant Qualifications
Valid First Aid Certificate or qualified to administer first aid.

PVG Membership
This post is considered as a Regulated Role with vulnerable children and/or protected adults, as specified in the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020.

All preferred candidates for posts carrying out regulated work with these groups will be required to become a PVG Scheme member, or undergo a PVG Scheme update if they are already a member, prior to any formal offer of employment being made by East Lothian Council.

Please note: PVG member’s records are constantly updated with any new vetting information that arises. Any information that is disclosed on a PVG membership or update check, if relevant to the post being applied for, will be discussed with the applicant and investigated prior to any formal offer being made.

Please note:
If you have spent more than 3 months working or living out with the UK in the last 5 years then you will be required to present a copy of an overseas criminal record check. Details of how to apply and contact details can be found on the GOV.UK website.

Additional Information

For additional East Lothian Council employment information please click on the following link:

If you have any difficulties creating an account on MyJobScotland or applying for this post please contact the MyJobScotland support team via this link .

If you require further information about this vacancy, please call Show phone number, or email us on View email address on myjobscotland.gov.uk

Please note: We do not accept CV's (either electronically or by mail). All our vacancies must be applied for by fully completing the on-line application form. Although there is an ‘import data from my CV’ function on MyJobScotland, this only imports very limited data and should not be relied upon to complete the application form. If, for example, due to a disability, you are unable to complete the on-line application form you can contact us for a paper application via the telephone number or email address above.