Learning Mentor and Attendance Support Officer

JOB PURPOSE

To establish close partnerships between home and school to support improved levels of attendance of individual pupils and encourage a culture of regular attendance throughout the school.

To provide a complementary service to existing teachers and pastoral staff in the schools, addressing the needs of the children who need help to overcome barriers to learning both inside and outside the school, in order to achieve their full potential.

She/he will work intensively with young people who have been identified as requiring nurture intervention. The particular emphasis of this work is to provide a nurturing environment to help these pupils achieve their academic potential by minimising learning barriers. This will be done by delivering ‘needs led’ programmes of support in a diverse way. This will involve working with parents and a range of partners who will form a support structure and will be multi-disciplinary in nature.

Learning mentors aim to free teacher colleagues to carry out their core job of teaching.

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Work with Pupils and Parents

• To develop a one to one mentoring relationship with young people needing particular support where necessary aimed at achieving agreed goals.
• To work with small groups of young people needing nurturing support.
• To ensure the development of ‘needs led’ programmes in support of young people including programmes that are curriculum related and have a direct relationship to work that is ongoing in the school.
• To provide support to young people in a variety of ways and within a flexible working approach.
• To have knowledge and appreciation of the range of activities, courses, opportunities, organisations and individuals that could be drawn upon to provide extra support for pupils.
• To develop and co-ordinate a peer mentoring programme in school.
• To develop a one-to-one mentoring relationship with pupils needing support where necessary aimed at achieving agreed pastoral, academic and personal goals.

Work with parent/carers

• To maintain regular contact with families/carers of young people in need of extra support, to keep them informed of the young person’s needs and progress and to secure positive family support and involvement.

• To negotiate home visits in order to establish relationships based on respect and trust with parents/carers of families.

• To develop a parent’s resource point in school to include a range of materials reflecting the different facets of support and programming aimed at supporting young people and their parents and which can be used by parents at home.

• Identifying pupils with poor attendance offering support, linking in with parents, referral to external agencies regarding counselling and further support.

• Home visits to support the pupils and families of our school community

Working in partnership

• To liaise with relevant agencies/disciplines to promote an integrated, holistic approach to service delivery and ensure that there is a wide resource pool to support the programme.

• To establish links with current partnership groups e.g. community after school provision.

• To work collaboratively with current in-house support structures.

• To promote active co-operation between the home, school and community in supporting vulnerable children.

• To work alongside practitioners from other disciplines to ensure school staff are involved in the development of the initiative.

• To network with other learning mentors and share best practice.

• To disseminate good practice among other educational bodies.

• Liaise with Education Welfare Service/ SLT responsible for attendance.

• Regular feedback to Pastoral Team.

Training responsibilities

• To develop and provide staff training in mentoring techniques.

• To ensure that parents can access opportunities to undertake training.

Administration/Finance

• To be responsible for all administrative and financial matters relating to the work in their respective area.

• To product monthly reports.

• To manage the budget for the parenting programme so that it is spent in an appropriate and efficient manner.

• To establish appropriate recording mechanisms in relation to the work.

• To monitor the project’s development and the progress of the participants against targets on a monthly basis.

• Monitoring of statistics i.e. number of referrals to counselling services, referrals to EWS.

To comply with all the requirements of Health and Safety and Child Protection legislation, taking appropriate action where necessary.