What skills and experience we're looking for
We are looking for a colleague to lead the school’s Attendance Team to provide strategic insight and specialist administrative support to ensure the school meets statutory obligations regarding school attendance.
Main purpose of job
Identify and implement intervention strategies to address and continually improve attendance and punctuality for targeted student groups.
Maintain accurate manual and electronic records on behalf of the school and produce precise and exact data which can establish forward thinking and planning to raise attendance which will enhance school attendance by strategically directing the attendance team who will focus on effectively working with students and families.
As a member of the extended leadership team, you will strategically work with the school Senior Leadership team, the SENDCo, DSL, Pastoral Team and teaching staff and the relevant LA advisers, to contribute to the review and development of school attendance strategy to include implementing policies and processes relating to attendance management, ensuring adherence to DfE guidelines and consideration of the success of the school’s existing policies and processes.
Main Responsibilities and Duties
• Establish a dynamic vision for outstanding attendance.
• Dynamic leadership and management of the attendance team, line managing a group of attendance officers.
• Strategise and develop a whole school attendance strategy as part of the extended leadership team.
• Working closely with DSL to quality assure attendance procedures and follow the national guidance in "Working Together to Keep Children Safe in Education".
• Monitor accurate student attendance and lateness records on a daily basis.
• Follow up on student absences and lateness by telephone or other means, on a daily basis with guidance from relevant colleagues, making appropriate referrals.
• Check on late students.
• Ensure all unexplained absences are accounted for, seek the reason for absence via telephone or letter home if required.
• Check the accuracy and correct coding on registers.
• Follow the Attendance policy and send out letters as required.
• Identify and track vulnerable individuals and/or groups of students that require additional support to improve their levels of attendance and punctuality.
• Identify and implement intervention strategies to address poor attendance and celebrate excellent attendance.
• Deliver attendance interventions, where appropriate.
• Conduct home visits to students and parents/carers as appropriate.
• Initiate and follow through appropriate sanctions in liaison with the relevant colleagues and other professionals including fines and court action.
• In liaison with relevant colleagues/school management, attend follow-up meetings and other relevant meetings with parents/carers and/or other professionals to provide relevant information, offer support and seek ways in which the school can help improve individual attendance and punctuality.
• Liaise with outside agencies, parents/carers, social services, other schools and/or organisations in relation to information on student attendance and punctuality.
• Establish and maintain good relationships with all students, parents/carers, colleagues and other professionals.
• Assist and check records prior to the Census to ensure school attendance is accurate and up to date.
• Provide accurate and timely attendance and lateness reports to relevant colleagues, the leadership team and Governors.
• Provide updates for staff on student attendance.
• Keep up to date with training centred around attendance systems, such as SIMS, Insight, ClassCharts etc.
• Promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young people in accordance with the school’s Safeguarding and Child Protection policy.
Specification
• It is expected that the applicant would have experience to manage a team, and knowledge and experience of working within a large school
What the school offers its staff
Please see the Job Information Pack
Commitment to safeguarding
Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment. Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance. Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant): childcare disqualification Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) medical online and social media prohibition from teaching right to work satisfactory references suitability to work with children You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.