Family Liaison Officer | Non-Mainstream AlternativeProvision (AP) | Southwark

CORE PURPOSE We require a dedicated, compassionate, and highly resilient Family Liaison Officer (FLO) to bridge the gap between home and school for our families. Operating within a non-mainstream alternative provision, the successful candidate will work proactively to remove complex socioeconomic and emotional barriers to education, championing student wellbeing, managing early-help caseloads, and driving intensive family engagement strategies to ensure our most vulnerable learners safely re-engage with education. THE SCHOOL Our Alternative Provision operates as a specialist, non-mainstream setting dedicated to supporting young people who require an individualized path outside of traditional school frameworks. The campus features a dedicated trauma-informed inclusion team, multi-agency meeting hubs, and bespoke therapy spaces. Our behavioural framework is built entirely upon trauma-informed practice, restorative justice, and deep therapeutic de-escalation, maintaining a highly secure, supportive, and non-judgmental environment focused on holistic rehabilitation and academic re-integration. KEY TASKS & DAILY OPERATIONS Targeted Family Outreach: Establish trusted, professional relationships with hard-to-reach parents and carers, conducting structured home visits to evaluate family dynamics and deliver tailored early-help interventions. Multi-Agency Service Coordination: Act as the primary school liaison for external services, directly coordinating care packages, safeguarding strategies, and referrals with Social Care, CAMHS, youth offending teams, and local housing authorities. Attendance and Re-integration Turnaround: Analyse daily registration data via BROMCOM, identify persistent absence trends, and build bespoke, supportive attendance tracking plans with families to transition disengaged students safely back into the classroom. Crisis De-escalation & Wellbeing Support: Serve as a core point of contact for students and families experiencing acute personal crises, applying solution-focused strategies and emotional literacy support to stabilize high-stress situations. Parental Empowerment Workshops: Design, organize, and facilitate evidence-based parenting workshops (including Strengthening Families models) to equip families with practical tools regarding positive home routines, safety boundaries, and digital safety. PROFILE REQUIREMENTS Experience & Credentials: Extensive, proven experience working as a Family Link Officer, FLO, or Pastoral Specialist within an alternative provision, SEN, or highly demanding inner-city mainstream setting. Relevant CACHE, counselling, or Level 3 safeguarding credentials are deeply valued. Case Management Expertise: A proven track record of managing complex family caseloads with meticulous, legally secure record-keeping on systems like CPOMS, demonstrating an absolute commitment to confidentiality and statutory guidelines. De-escalation Skills: Exceptional communication skills with an innate ability to diffuse high-stress confrontations, build immediate rapport with disengaged youth, and approach challenging circumstances with trauma-informed empathy. REGIONAL CONTEXT Inner London Community Resilience & Vibrant Diversity: Based in the culturally rich and densely populated Inner London borough of Southwark, the school operates at the heart of a diverse urban landscape stretching from the historic South Bank to vibrant multi-ethnic residential centres like Peckham, Camberwell, and Bermondsey. This local setting provides a complex socioeconomic environment where deep-rooted community initiatives intersect with urban challenges, requiring a practitioner who understands the specific needs of low-income boroughs, local housing landscapes, and diverse linguistic and cultural family backgrounds. Connectivity & Infrastructure: The campus benefits from premium Zone 1/2 capital transport links, ensuring effortless commuting for multi-agency professionals and families. The borough is seamlessly served by extensive TfL bus routes alongside major London Underground corridors, including the Jubilee, Northern, and Bakerloo lines. Excellent connections via London Overground and National Rail networks running through Southwark, Elephant & Castle, Peckham Rye, and London Bridge stations provide rapid, direct transit links across Greater London, Kent, and Surrey. APPLICATION INTAKE Please submit your current CV to begin the application process.