JOB DESCRIPTION
JOB TITLE: Family Liaison Officer
SALARY: Kent Range 5
RESPONSIBLE TO: Pastoral Team Leader
HOURS: 37 hours per week Term time and Staff Development Days
JOB SUMMARY
- To provide an intensive package of support as part of the Pastoral Support Team (PST) to address the problems family members face
- To support children whose learning behaviour is having impact on themselves and others during the structured and unstructured times in the school day
- To engage with the Phase Team assigned
- To take a full part in the life of the school
- To work closely with local community initiatives
- To be prepared to work alone in a comparatively unstructured situation, in the families’ homes and have an ability to respond quickly to changing needs and circumstances
DUTIES AND OBJECTIVES
- To provide a consistent and reliable service to families
- To facilitate programmes of support for parents
- To support high profile children in the classroom
- To facilitate the Year 6 ‘Project Purple’
- To maintain contact with families for an agreed length of time to help families develop moreeffective strategies and skills to improve outcomes for the whole family
- To be responsible for individual work on cases agreed by the PST & SLT
- To keep up to date electronic records on School Management Information Services
RESPONSIBILITIES IN WORKING DIRECTLY WITH FAMILIES
- To ensure that all work with families respects and values all cultures and is appreciative ofthe variety of family structures and ways of bringing up children
- To work with a case load of families identified by the PST & SLT
- To undertake planned and emergency work using a range of intervention methods andskills.
- To ensure the whole family has a plan that addresses and seeks to resolve the underlyingcauses of a dysfunctional and chaotic lifestyle.
- To review the plan for each family regularly to monitor outcomes
- To maximise the involvement of families in decisions that affect them and ensure that this is aprocess undertaken with the family, not to the family.
- To be alert to Safeguarding issues within a family and raise these with their line manager
- To assist in the evaluation of interventions
- To develop and maintain the range of skills appropriate to the post and to keep up-to-date with research, publications, school policies and access training via PSTL as appropriate
PERSON SPECIFICATION:
ESSENTIAL
- To have a love for children and a genuine desire to do your best for them
- Educated to NVQ level 3
- Excellent inter-personal and communication skills
- Full valid driving license and car insurance for business purposes
- Thorough and up to date knowledge of safeguarding legislation and best practice.
DESIRABLE
- Qualifications to NVQ Level 4, diploma level or above, in the following areas:Health and or Social Care practices e.g. Socialwork, Probation, Nursing: General / Mental Health, Youth Offending, Education & Welfare,Substance Misuse, Housing & Community Development
- Excellent Mediation and facilitation skills
- An understanding of the needs of disaffectedand socially excluded ‘high risk’ families
- Thorough and up to date knowledge of child and adolescent development
ATTRIBUTES
- An ability to remain calm whilst workingunder-pressure and within tight timescales onsensitive and confidential issues
- To be creative and proactive, able to use initiative and make sound judgements
- An ability to deal with a number of tasks atonce and to be flexible with work routines
- An ability to actively engage families througha variety of methods
- To be able to work effectively as part of a team
- to share skills, experience and knowledge
- An ability to challenge and have a solutionfocused approach
- A proven ability to understand and engage positively in reflective practice
- Practical, determined, creative and dedicated