Pastoral Support Worker

We are seeking to recruit an aspirational, dedicated and highly skilled person to work alongside the DSL to support and advise our fabulous families in our happy, hardworking school. We need someone who can build strong, positive, honest relationships and lead liaison work with families and young people. We need someone with compassion, who can work restoratively to help to safeguard and promote the welfare of our children. We need someone who has outstanding resilience to be able to work in a fast-paced and diverse environment and who can carefully and respectfully empower our proud families to build on their strengths and develop strategies to overcome challenges.

Mount Pleasant is a good school where everyone matters and where everyone is committed to working as a team to ensure that our students have the best possible education, where all learning is memorable and meaningful. Our school values are threaded through all that we do both in and out of school and we strive to develop our young people to be happy, knowledgeable, positive and forward-thinking members of our community who have the skills they all need to be successful and to flourish, no matter what their individual needs may be. We believe that our high expectations of behaviour, achievement and positive relationships are crucial to our success as a school community and would anticipate that any successful candidate would work hard with us to ensure that these are maintained.

We are an above-average sized, well-resourced school with well above-average school stability for both staff and students. We have a wonderful and increasingly diverse catchment area in the heart of the Black Country and we cherish the history of our Victorian-built school and the exciting, everchanging locality in which we are situated. We value and support our whole school community and have a strong commitment to professional development for our staff, whilst opening our doors to parents so that they can learn more about what we do and to build positive relationships from which we can all benefit. We also have strong links to the Wesley Chapel (where our school first began) and with Christ Church in Quarry Bank.
The role
Pastoral Support Worker to work alongside the DSL.
Temporary in the first instance, part-time (27.5 hours).

Job Purpose:
To work as part of the Safeguarding and Welfare team at Mount Pleasant Primary School to deliver universal provision of parenting-skills and focused family support.
To work closely with parents and carers to support their children with barriers to learning.
To develop the social, emotional and health development of pupils at the school and for their families.
To work preventatively with families to give targeted, individual early intervention, advice, and support.
To signpost families to access universal and targeted services, working with a range of external agencies to get the right support at the right time.

We can offer you:

• A school which is welcoming and caring with positive relationships at the heart of it.


• Well-behaved and motivated, happy students who love to learn.


• The support of an amazing team of committed, dedicated staff who have a strong passion for providing quality teaching and learning with great relationships at the heart of everything we do.


• The support of a team of the lead DSL and her team.


• A strong commitment to your professional development.


• Committed, supportive and hardworking governors.


Key Requirements:

• To provide individual support to families who are affected by a range of issues which can include attendance, punctuality, disability, domestic violence, welfare rights parenting and safeguarding.


• To work with Early Help and/or Children's Social Care processes where required and as part of a Team Around the Child.


• To develop home: school links and work with families and other agencies to develop and co-ordinate the delivery of shared support plans.


• To carry out direct work with the children either 1:1 or in small groups.


• To facilitate parent groups or workshops.


• To refer families to specialist and other services and monitor family progress and engagement with these including families affected by:

+ Substance misuse or addiction
+ Illness, hospitalisation or bereavement
+ Incarceration
+ Relationship breakdown,
+ Debt management, financial or housing problems


• To take up referrals and work with parents to identify, understand and meet their children's needs and promote positive outcomes for their children.


• To maintain a high degree of confidentiality in accordance with school policy.


• To facilitate and/or deliver specific support programmes such as Triple P, to identified families either 1:1 or as part of a small group.


• To develop and maintain positive and effective working relationships with all staff members, professional colleagues, other agencies and the wider community.


• To offer practical help and support in times of crisis including drop-ins by keeping up to date on services that are available in the local area.


• To undertake training.


• Other duties as appropriate.
  
  Experience of working in a school environment or other educational setting.


• Experience of working with children/young people with additional needs.


• Experience of supporting and working with parents/carers of young people.


• Experience of working with colleagues from a range of external services within the local and extended community.


Knowledge and Skills

• Counselling skills including active listening and a non-judgemental approach.


• To be flexible and open to change.


• The ability to work well with others and use own initiative.


• The ability to manage personal learning and work well under pressure.


• A robust understanding of policies and procedures for child protection and safeguarding.


• The ability to keep careful, high-quality records.


• Uses restorative practice to resolve conflict.


• Has a thorough understanding of local safeguarding procedures, support agencies and networks.


Personal qualities

• Patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

Sensitivity and understanding.

• The ability to understand people's reactions.


• A desire to help people.


• A clear and effective communicator.


• A high level of professionalism.


We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children; therefore, the post is subject to medical clearance and an enhanced DBS check under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

All applicants must be able to provide documentation to prove their right to work in the UK.

Effective from September 2022, KCSIE states as part of the shortlisting process schools and colleges should consider carrying out on-line searches, as part of the due diligence on shortlisted candidates. This is to determine suitability to work with children and keep them safe. All shortlisted candidates are now subject to an on-line check and if there is anything concerning, then the shortlisted candidate will be asked to comment on it either prior to or at interview.

Top tip when applying - As we've got a new recruitment system the application process has changed a little and we hope you'll like it!

You'll first need to register and create a profile the first time you apply.

Creating your profile will enable you do things such as track your application progress, view emails you've received from us and manage communication preferences, manage your interview bookings and offer information if successful.

About Dudley Council

It's an incredibly exciting time to work in Dudley Council as we embark on numerous multi-million pound regeneration schemes which will be real game-changers for the borough. In addition to the exciting schemes such as the Midland Metro we also have the ongoing and very serious challenges of ensuring vulnerable people across the borough receive the services they deserve.

At Dudley Council we have a 'one council' ethos that builds an effective and dynamic organisation which grows the economy and creates jobs, creating a cleaner and greener place and supports stronger and safer communities.

We are rightly proud to be the historic capital of the Black Country and, working with our partners, Dudley Council is also committed to looking forward and helping to deliver our borough vision of 'Forge a Future for all' www.dudleyboroughvision2030.org.uk

We ensure communities influence council decisions and are committed to delivering services in partnership with communities. We provide flexible and responsive service in partnership and help communities help themselves.

In joining a local authority that serves 320,000 residents you will become an integral part of a council that:


• is ready to embrace change, providing an environment in which you will be encouraged to make your mark



• is aware of its key challenges and the need for a new energy to innovate the council, in order to find cost effective ways of delivering services



• has aligned its political and managerial leadership structures and is committed to protecting, securing and transforming the lives of children, families, the vulnerable and older people



• wants borough residents to have their say through our community forums



• dedicates time to meaningful consultation and listen to the views of our residents



• is working with the community to encourage active involvement of our residents