Attendance Welfare Advisor (Grade I)

3-4 months contract with a Local Authority

Job Summary:

• To safeguard and support the wellbeing of children and young people in Tower Hamlets with a focus on Early Help and Early Intervention.
  
• To contribute to the raising of achievement by improving attendance at school, working with other officers in the directorate to provide co-ordinated support to schools and to disseminate good practice.
  
• To provide a specialised professional service to assist the LA in meeting its statutory obligations about school attendance and the welfare of pupils, including child employment.
  
• To monitor school attendance levels, to assist and participate in the development and review of whole school attendance policies and evaluate their operation and effectiveness.
  

Key duties/Accountabilities (Sample):

• To negotiate and establish working contracts with parents and schools to ensure that they are meeting their statutory obligations to children in relation to school attendance.
  
• To offer advice and guidance on a range of LA provisions and procedures to schools and families, i.e. welfare benefits, home to school travel, child employment, admissions, exclusions and education legislation relating to school attendance.
  
• To visit and work with schools on a regular and agreed basis to offer advice, develop their policies, systems and strategies on attendance and to highlight tasks to be undertaken by headteachers, deputy headteachers, heads of year and pastoral staff.
  
• To undertake systematic and thorough inspections of registers, undertaking statistical analysis, applying the Pupil Registration Regulations and Authority policy, and to use this information in consultation with school staff to improve attendance.
  
• To undertake unaccompanied home visits, both planned and unannounced, within and outside the borough to interview family members, establish reasons for absence from school, check on missing children and assess the home environment and to take appropriate action in the context of the LA s statutory obligations.
  
• To use interviewing and assessment skills using the Common Assessment Framework to make an initial assessment of the child and family, assessing parenting capacity, child's developmental needs and the home and environmental factors.
  
• These assessments may be used by Children's.
  
• Social Care if it becomes involved with the child.
  
• To undertake casework with children and their families to bring about improved attendance at school. This may include both short-term, time-limited, task-centred and longer-term more intensive casework.
  
• To undertake the role of Lead Professional as appropriate, coordinating multi-professional support to the child and family and convening multi-disciplinary meetings as required.
  
• To participate in and prepare for supervision with the line manager every 3 to 4 weeks.
  
• To maintain accurate, clear and coherent case and diary records including taking minutes at meetings, casework plans and decisions reached in supervision.
  
• To produce a broad range of comprehensive reports for internal and inter-agency circulation, working to agreed deadlines.
  
• To develop an excellent working knowledge of all the relevant legislation, including the Children Act 2004, the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 and use it constructively in relation to non-attendance at school, the protection of children at risk and the employment of children.
  
• To advise other officers of the LA and schools of registration and the requirement of marking registers.
  
• To act as an authorised officer for the LA in the performance of designated duties; this will involve taking court action where appropriate under the 1996 Education Act, the Children Act 1989 and child employment legislation, and the preparation and enforcement of Education Supervision Orders.
  
• To be responsive to the needs of the local community, working within the LAP structure, and to acquire knowledge of other agencies and resources to make appropriate referrals of cases which do not fall within the remit of attendance work.
  
• To advise schools to contact the Children s Services Child Protection Advice Line to discuss any safeguarding and child protection concerns.
  
• To make referrals of vulnerable children to the Social Inclusion Panel for specialist support such as alternative school provision.
  
• To participate in truancy patrols organised by the Metropolitan Police, returning children to the home or school as appropriate and undertaking follow up work with schools on pupils stopped.
  
• To submit applications to budget holding lead professionals' scheme (BHLPS) to fund targeted support to vulnerable children.
  
• To assist in convening and to attend school attendance panels and follow up as appropriate and to undertake a range of work with children with complex needs, including liaising with medical and other specialists.
  
• To carry out initial investigations into the possible whereabouts of missing children and to refer them to the Missing Children Register in accordance with procedures, if appropriate.
  
• To collate, analyse and present statistical information as required, such as for annual reports on work undertaken with schools for headteachers, governing bodies and managers of the AWS.
  
• To participate in and contribute to internal and external training as agreed with the line manager, including keeping abreast of legislative and policy changes published on the DfE website etc.
  
• To maintain personal and professional development to meet the changing demands of the job and participate in appropriate training/development activities including the council's performance, development and review scheme.
  
• To ensure that all duties and responsibilities are discharged in accordance with the council's policies and procedures, Code of Conduct and relevant regulations and legislation and in compliance with the council's equal opportunities and diversity policies ensuring anti-discriminatory practice within the service area.
  
• Actively contribute to the council's priorities and outcomes in a way that promotes a one organisation' approach.
  
• Develop and maintain positive relationships with colleagues, stakeholders and communities to ensure the council and the directorate strategic priorities are effectively implemented.
  
• Promote equality among all staff and ensure that services are delivered in a non-discriminatory way, that is inclusive of all disadvantaged groups.
  
• Support organisational change and learning, following and implementing appropriate systems of self-development, communication and engagement, quality measures, monitoring and review in delivering the functions of the role.
  
• Promote sustainability, including encouraging a culture of innovation and accountability amongst all council staff.
  

Skills/Experience:

• Thorough knowledge of the education system and understanding of the importance of Early Help and Early Intervention to the education and wellbeing of children and of the importance of regular attendance to achievement.
  
• Substantial knowledge and understanding of the statutory duties and responsibilities related to school attendance and child and family wellbeing as contained in relevant legislation and guidance.
  
• Knowledge and understanding of the Pupil Registration Regulations and DfE Guidance related to the Regulations, Marking of Attendance Registers, Attendance and Penalty Notices and the Raising of the School Participation Age.
  
• Good knowledge of a range of strategies for maintaining pupils in education.
  
• Significant experience of working with schools or other settings, which demonstrates the ability to work with institutions with proven effectiveness.
  
• Experience in attendance & welfare/ education welfare or closely related areas of working with children/young people /families with proven effectiveness in achieving positive change and outcomes.
  
• Proven strong and effective communication skills, both oral and written.
  
• Proven ability to work efficiently and effectively without constant supervision and to strict deadlines.
  
• A demonstrably good standard of analytical, verbal and numeric reasoning skills.
  
• Building networks with key teams to ensure achieve the best outcomes for children and families
  
• Use of effective listening and questioning techniques to understand the needs of others and act accordingly.
  
• To take accountability for delivering work and setting challenging goals for outcomes
  
• To take the initiative to improve outcomes because of the difference it will make to children's lives
  
• Being open-minded and appreciating alternative cultural perspectives and taking these into account when delivering services.
  
• To comply with the requirement to carry out a DBS check for this role. A DBS enhanced disclosure that is satisfactory to us will be a condition of the appointment.
  
• Ability and willingness to work flexibly and outside usual office hours on occasion and to travel outside the borough.
  
• Willingness and ability to take annual leave during school holidays; exceptional circumstances may be negotiated with management.
  

Additional Information:

• Closing Date: 29/11/2024 @18:00.