Family Support Worker

PURPOSE OF THE POST:

Family Support Workers are appointed to work with pupils and their families as part of a team under the direction of the Headteacher. 

Family Support Worker’s work is primarily to:

• Be a named Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead and support the Designated Safeguarding Lead.
• Foster the participation of vulnerable pupils and their families in the social and academic processes of the academy
• Support vulnerable pupils and their families to become more independent and resilient, overcoming barriers to learning and engagement
• Empower vulnerable parents/carers to take a greater role in their children’s learning and thereby standards of achievement for vulnerable pupils 

Family Support Workers work with pupils and their families who have been identified as vulnerable due to:

• Social, emotional or behavioural issues
• Personal/family trauma/concerns
• Involvement with outside agencies

Support for Vulnerable Families

• Support pupils’ and their families to overcome barriers to learning and engagement
• Undertake individual assessments with vulnerable families as appropriate
• Casework with pupils and their families who need more intensive family support to prevent escalation to social care intervention
• Promote good school attendance and challenge parents of pupils who are persistent absentees
• Provide a supportive link between families and teaching staff
• Initiate and support the Early Help process, taking the role of Lead Professional as appropriate
• Support referral processes where needed
• Visit, signpost and support families to appropriate community resources and work in partnership with external agencies including, multi-agency teams, social care, Child and Adolescent mental Health Services (CAMHS), health and the police;
• Establish and maintain relationships with individual pupils and groups
• Identify and facilitate appropriate workshops/courses for individual or groups of parents, including recognised parenting programmes
• Provide regular ‘drop-in’ social events for parents/carers
• Adopt the school’s ‘open door’ policy, being available to listen, offer advice and either provide or signpost further support. Provide a point of contact for identified pupils and their families during school holidays;
• Liaise with outside agencies in order to support individual children and their family
• Attend meetings, reviews and case conferences as appropriate
• Plan and manage own workload

Support for School

• Maintain effective working relationships with colleagues and parents
• Attend regular well-being meetings with colleagues
• Contribute to the maintenance of pupil safety and wellbeing
• Contribute to maintaining pupil records
• Communicate effectively with teaching staff in order to share information appropriately that will enable teaching staff to meet pupil’s needs
• Attend Team around the School meetings with colleagues and outside agencies
• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of support in relation to pupil achievement, attendance and behaviour alongside family engagement in school and support for their child’s educational achievement
• Support professional development of colleagues as appropriate
• Challenge negative behaviours and attitudes

Support for Wider Community Role

• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with other professionals
• Attend meetings to review and support wider community initiatives
• Review and develop own professional practice

 Why work for us?

•  At QEGSMAT, we value the hard work and dedication of our team members, and as such we believe that progression should be a simple process. That’s why we are proud to offer an Automatic Pay Review program, rather than the traditional annual pay and performance review, as part of our comprehensive benefits package.
• Continual access to CPD opportunities. QEGSMAT works with a large number of organisations to develop staff to fulfil their aspirations and potential. We are committed to providing first-rate training and development to all our staff within this evolving Trust.
• We are committed to promoting equality, challenging discrimination, and developing community cohesion. We welcome applications from all sections of the community.
• All staff have access to our Employee Assistance Programme, which provides confidential, independent and unbiased information and guidance 24/7. This can also include bespoke counselling sessions for staff if needed.
• All roles are subject to nationally agreed terms and conditions of service.
• Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with employer contributions of 23.4% for Derbyshire support staff.
• Family friendly policies
• Access to Flu Vaccines
• Opportunity to work flexibly
• Access to 750+ discounts on everyday essentials via our benefits package with Vivup