Our mission at School-Home Support is simple. We get children and young people back in school ready to learn, whatever it takes. Is this a mission for you? Yes? Then read on. 

We are looking for a SEND Family Support Worker to join our team and to make a difference in children's lives every single day. As the SEND Family Support Worker, you will work in close partnership with South Grove Primary School to deliver a programme of casework to promote and improve educational outcomes for the children and their families we support. You will also focus your support to help improve attendance, punctuality and engagement in learning. 

• To understand the process of gaining a diagnosis/evidence gathering  and assist parents and carers in the process. 
• To have experience of writing and supporting the EHCP process. 
• Support families with form filling specific to SEND
• Engage SEND parents who are hard to reach 
• To improve the school attendance and engagement in learning of young people with SEND
• Work with parents/carers in a setting, supporting them and building their engagement with their child’s learning.
• To design and/or facilitate a flexible range of programmes of intervention to support parents/carers of children identified as vulnerable. 
• To undertake outreach work which may include home visits, to offer a flexible support service in accordance with the SHS lone worker policy, in order to improve parental engagement with the school and with the child’s learning.
• To act as advocate, mediator and negotiator in confrontational situations, maintaining communication with young people, parents/carers, schools and other agencies.  This will include initiating and participating in meetings to discuss and develop ways of resolving problems.
• To provide targeted support on a one to one basis or for small groups with parents/carers, children and young people through either self-referral or school staff referral
• To advise and inform parents/carers about relevant local services and where appropriate to make referrals to other agencies.
• To ensure effective communication between the school, parents/carers and external agencies and to understand the school’s culture and ethos.
• To provide informal opportunities for all parents/carers to access specialist support in the school and local community to increase their capacity to independently support the child’s learning.
• To act in accordance with SHS and the school’s child protection procedures and ensure the job holder keeps up to date with relevant training in this area.
• To attend and contribute to child protection conferences, reviews, core group meetings, pastoral support plan meetings and school reviews as appropriate, which may support the Early Help Assessment (EHA)
• To keep accurate electronic daily records and all documentation pertaining to meetings/contact with children and young people and their families.
• To maintain receipts and documentation of any expenditure in order to facilitate the monitoring of the budget.
• Produce a written annual report before the end of each summer term with case studies.
• To take ownership and fully participate in termly work plan reviews and the annual appraisal to determine priorities both for the school and for SHS.
• Where appropriate to provide transition support between secondary school and feeder primary schools and between infant school and junior school.  This will also include mid-term admissions.
• To plan, prepare and run high quality, outcome focused informal and formal parenting groups, workshops and courses, in line with the project objectives and local authority Parenting Strategy.
• To support parents/carers of children and young people identified as at risk of exclusion or having been excluded.
• To monitor and track the attendance and punctuality of children and young people and work with families and School attendance staff to gain improvements though identifying and tackling underlying issues.
• To provide targeted work with children and young people who have persistent absence.

Proven previous experience in: 

• Supporting people through the EHCP’s process
• Working with SEND children and families
• Working and engaging with SEND parents, carers or guardians, children or individuals through individual and/or group-based support
• Working in an educational or outreach environment 
• Working effectively with social and emotional factors affecting a child’s capacity to learn
• Proven interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills with the ability to effectively communicate with a wide range of people, particularly with parents/carers and external agencies
• Good IT and Administrative skills: including good word processing and report writing skills, with the ability to keep daily records
• Excellent organisational skills including managing a caseload, time management, planning, report writing and target setting with a flexible approach
• Strong partnership skills, including ability to work professionally and confidently in close liaison with local authority and schools, while retaining independence as an SHS practitioner
• Knowledge of the legislation affecting school attendance and understanding of the Children Act 1989 and 2004 and of child Protection. Knowledge of safeguarding policies and procedure
• Relevant qualification in education, social care, health, etc or equivalent significant work/voluntary experience
• Working with families from diverse communities

• Employee assistance programme
• Life assurance
• Pension scheme
• Free parking onsite
• 39 working weeks in a year (Term time only)
• Work Pattern: 35h per week