Pastoral Support Officer – Secondary School – Hounslow

Start Date: As soon as possible
Contract: Full-time, Permanent
Salary: Paid to scale

A well-established secondary school in Hounslow, London is looking to appoint a caring, resilient and proactive Pastoral Support Officer to join its dedicated student support team.

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys working directly with young people and understands the importance of strong relationships, clear boundaries and consistent support. The successful candidate will work with students who may require additional help with attendance, behaviour, engagement, wellbeing or other barriers to learning.

You will work closely with teachers, pastoral leaders, senior staff and families to ensure students receive appropriate support. The role will involve both preventative work and responding to concerns as they arise, with the aim of helping students remain engaged with school and make positive progress.

The school is looking for someone who can be a calm and reliable presence for students while maintaining high expectations. You will need to be approachable without compromising professional boundaries and confident when dealing with challenging situations.

School Information

This is a well-established secondary school in Hounslow serving a diverse student community. The school is committed to providing students with a broad education while supporting their academic progress, wellbeing and personal development.

The school recognises that students can face a range of barriers that affect their ability to engage successfully with education. Its pastoral provision is therefore designed to identify concerns early and provide appropriate support.

Staff work collaboratively to ensure that students receive consistent messages and expectations. The successful Pastoral Support Officer will work alongside teaching and pastoral colleagues to help students develop confidence, resilience and positive attitudes towards school.

The school values positive relationships and believes that students respond best when expectations are clear, consistent and fair. The successful candidate will therefore need to combine empathy with the confidence to challenge inappropriate behaviour and encourage students to take responsibility.

Pastoral Team

The Pastoral Support Officer will become an important member of the school's wider pastoral structure. You will work with identified students, provide one-to-one and small-group support where appropriate and contribute to wider pastoral strategies.

You will also monitor concerns and ensure that relevant information is communicated to the appropriate staff. Accurate record keeping will be an important part of the role.

The successful candidate should be proactive and able to identify when a student may require additional support rather than waiting for problems to escalate.

Key Responsibilities

• Providing day-to-day pastoral support to students.

• Building positive and professional relationships with young people.

• Supporting students experiencing difficulties with behaviour, attendance or engagement.

• Providing one-to-one support where appropriate.

• Conducting regular check-ins with identified students.

• Helping students develop confidence, resilience and independence.

• Supporting students to understand and manage their behaviour.

• Encouraging students to take responsibility for their choices.

• Supporting individual pastoral intervention plans.

• Monitoring student behaviour and attendance information.

• Identifying emerging concerns and reporting them appropriately.

• Working closely with heads of year and pastoral leaders.

• Liaising with teaching staff regarding individual students.

• Communicating with parents and carers where appropriate.

• Supporting meetings involving students, families and school staff.

• Maintaining accurate records of interventions and concerns.

• Supporting students returning to school following absence.

• Helping students manage transitions and changes in routine.

• Supporting students who may be experiencing difficulties outside school.

• Encouraging positive relationships between students and staff.

• Supporting restorative conversations where appropriate.

• Contributing to behaviour and attendance strategies.

• Identifying when students may require additional specialist support.

• Liaising with relevant professionals in accordance with school procedures.

• Maintaining confidentiality at all times.

• Reporting safeguarding concerns promptly.

• Supporting wider pastoral events and initiatives.

• Following school policies and procedures consistently.

Experience and Requirements

The successful candidate will ideally have previous experience working with children or young people in a school, pastoral, youth work, community or support environment.

Experience working with secondary-aged students would be particularly useful. The school is looking for someone who understands the challenges young people can face and can provide appropriate support without lowering expectations.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate:

• Previous experience working with young people.

• Experience in pastoral, education, youth work or student support.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

• Strong listening skills.

• Calm and patient approach.

• Confidence managing challenging conversations.

• Ability to build appropriate professional relationships.

• Strong understanding of boundaries.

• Good organisational and record-keeping skills.

• Ability to work effectively with teachers and senior leaders.

• Confidence communicating with parents and carers.

• Good judgement and discretion.

• Resilience when dealing with challenging situations.

• A proactive and solution-focused approach.

• Commitment to inclusion and student wellbeing.

• Understanding of safeguarding responsibilities.

• Ability to work independently and as part of a wider pastoral team.

• High expectations of student behaviour and engagement.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding is central to the school's work. The successful candidate will be expected to follow all safeguarding procedures, report concerns appropriately and contribute to creating a safe and supportive environment for students.

The successful applicant will be subject to an enhanced DBS check, satisfactory references and the school's other required pre-employment checks.

Application

This is an excellent opportunity for a dedicated pastoral professional who wants to make a genuine difference to young people's experiences at school.

If you have the relevant experience and are available for an as soon as possible start, please send your CV as soon as possible. Applications will be considered promptly.