Family Liaison Officer

**Full Job Description**:
**Job Title: Family Liaison Officer/Exams Officer**

**Location: Westbourne School, Sutton-in-Ashfield**

**Salary: £23,000 per annum**

**Hours: 37.5 hours per week; Monday - Friday 8:30 am - 4:00 pm**

**Contract: Permanent**

**Are you committed to safeguarding and improving the lives of children and young people?**

We are looking for an experienced Family Liaison Officer/Exams Officer to join our fantastic team at Westbourne School, Sutton-in-Ashfield.

This is a great opportunity for a Family Liaison Officer/Exams Officer who wants to use their safeguarding knowledge and experience to protect children with varied and complex needs. Your work will be challenging and rewarding in equal measure, and you will be working in a school where we maintain a strong safeguarding culture, where pupils are listened to, respected, and involved in as many decisions as possible.

When it comes to looking after our children, we never settle for second best. We are looking for a Family Liaison Officer/Exams Officer, experienced in working as part of a safeguarding team, who shares our vision to build incredible futures by empowering vulnerable young people in the UK, to be happy and to make their way in the world. You will take a lead role in the safeguarding induction of colleagues and deal with disclosures of varying severity, acting upon these accordingly.

Whilst previous experience of working in an SEN environment would be great, we would also love to hear from people who’ve held a similar position in an educational environment and are motivated by helping every child to reach their potential.

**About the School**

Westbourne School is a specialist SEN school which is based in Sutton-in-Ashfield and has an occupancy of 49 pupils. We cater for children aged 11-18 who have Social, Emotional and Mental Health challenges (SEMH). Classes are located in the original school building, with classrooms brought right up to date with top class learning and vocational facilities. There are also a number of residential Children’s homes aligned to Westbourne School.

The aim of the school is to provide specialist individual support to each child, enabling them to reach their potential so they can live fulfilling and productive lives. We provide the young people with as much freedom as possible while offering a safe and supervised environment. This is achievable due to the dedication and support from a range of employed professionals who are passionate, reliable and understanding including dedicated education, care and clinical teams.

**About the Role**

In order for pupils at Westbourne to achieve the best possible outcomes, we often need to support those who care for them when not in school, and work to remove barriers to learning that are a result of factors outside of the school day. Our Family Worker will work as part of the school’s Wellbeing Team to support pupils and their families, being a first point of contact for parents, and a source of advice, guidance and information. The successful applicant will be expected to take a family-centred, creative approach, seeking ways to positively engage with parents, and promote the overall development and wellbeing of our pupils.

**Essential Criteria**:

- Experience of working in a school setting
- Experience of working children with Special Educational Needs
- Experience in a range of safeguarding scenarios
- Understanding of the Autism spectrum, and the implications for individuals and their families
- Working knowledge of relevant legislation and statutory processes, especially the SEN Code of Practice, and the EHCP and Annual Review processes
- History of successful inter-agency working
- Flexible, solution-focused approach to working
- Negotiation Skills, patience and resilience
- High expectations of others, both colleagues and pupils

**Why join Acorn Education & Care?**
- £23,000 per annum
- 37.5 hours per week; Monday - Friday 8:30 am - 4:00 pm
- Permanent

**Benefits**

**Your health and wellbeing are important to us, so you’ll get an exceptional reward package including**:

- Life Assurance
- Pension scheme with options to increase your contributions
- “Your Wellbeing Matters” - access to a wide range of first-class mental health support services and physical health checks

**And a market-leading benefit offering through our Flexible Benefits Platform, Vista, enables you to choose the package that’s right for you, including**:

- A wide range of health, wellbeing, and insurance benefits
- 100’s of discount options valid in the UK and abroad
- Cycle to Work Schemes
- Electric Car Purchase Scheme
- Critical illness cover

**And that’s not all, we place the outcomes of the children and vulnerable young adults in our services at the heart of everything we do, so you’ll wake every day in the knowledge that your role will have a significant positive impact on the lives of others.