Pastoral Support Officer - Secondary School - Hammersmith and Fulham

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

Are you an experienced pastoral professional who enjoys working directly with young people and helping them overcome barriers to learning? A secondary school in Hammersmith and Fulham is looking for a committed Pastoral Support Officer to join its student support team on a full-time, permanent basis.

This is a people-focused role for someone who can build positive relationships with students while maintaining clear boundaries and high expectations. You will work closely with pupils, families, teachers and senior staff to identify concerns early and provide practical support before issues begin to affect a student's attendance, behaviour or academic progress.

The school is looking for someone who is approachable but confident, able to listen carefully and comfortable having conversations with students about issues that may be affecting their education.

School Information

This is a well-established secondary school serving a diverse community in Hammersmith and Fulham. The school has a clear focus on student progress, positive behaviour and ensuring pupils have access to appropriate support throughout their education.

The pastoral team works closely with teaching staff and school leaders. Rather than treating pastoral support as separate from academic achievement, the school recognises that students are more likely to succeed when they feel safe, understood and properly supported.

The successful Pastoral Support Officer will become an important member of this wider team. You will have regular contact with students and will be expected to maintain accurate records, communicate effectively with colleagues and follow agreed procedures.

The school provides a structured environment with clear expectations around behaviour, attendance and student conduct. At the same time, staff are encouraged to understand the individual circumstances behind a student's behaviour and identify appropriate ways forward.

Pastoral Support Officer - Key Responsibilities

Your day-to-day responsibilities will include:

• Providing individual pastoral support to students who require additional guidance.

• Developing positive and professional relationships with pupils.

• Monitoring students who have identified pastoral, attendance or behavioural concerns.

• Working with students to identify barriers affecting their education.

• Supporting pupils with organisation, routines and engagement with school.

• Helping students develop strategies for managing difficulties appropriately.

• Carrying out regular student check-ins.

• Recording pastoral interventions accurately.

• Maintaining confidential student records.

• Communicating relevant information to teachers and pastoral leaders.

• Working closely with Heads of Year and other pastoral staff.

• Supporting attendance improvement where appropriate.

• Following up concerns relating to persistent absence.

• Supporting students returning to school following periods of absence.

• Assisting with behaviour interventions and restorative conversations.

• Supporting students who are struggling to settle into school routines.

• Liaising with parents and carers when required.

• Attending meetings relating to individual students.

• Contributing information to pastoral reviews.

• Monitoring agreed actions following student support meetings.

• Helping students access appropriate internal or external support.

• Escalating safeguarding concerns through the correct procedures.

• Supporting school-wide behaviour and attendance initiatives.

• Assisting with transition arrangements for students joining or leaving the school.

The role is not simply about responding when something goes wrong. You will also be expected to identify patterns and raise concerns early. For example, a sudden change in attendance, repeated lateness or a noticeable deterioration in behaviour may indicate that a student requires additional support.

Student Support

You may work with students experiencing a wide range of difficulties. These could include problems with organisation, attendance, friendships, behaviour, confidence or engagement with school.

The successful candidate should therefore be able to adapt their approach to different students. Some pupils may respond well to direct conversations and clear targets, while others may need more time to build trust.

You will need to maintain professional boundaries at all times. Your role is to support students while ensuring concerns are shared with the appropriate members of staff.

Working with Parents and Carers

Communication with families will form an important part of the role. You may contact parents regarding attendance, behaviour, pastoral concerns or agreed support plans.

The school is looking for someone who can communicate calmly and respectfully, including when conversations are difficult. You should be able to explain concerns clearly while remaining focused on finding practical solutions.

Pastoral Support Officer - Experience and Requirements

The ideal candidate will have previous experience working with young people in a school, college, youth service, education setting or another relevant environment.

Applicants should have:

• Previous experience in pastoral, student support, youth work or education.

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.

• Ability to build positive relationships with young people.

• Confidence dealing with challenging behaviour.

• Good understanding of professional boundaries.

• Strong organisation and record-keeping skills.

• Ability to maintain confidentiality.

• Confidence communicating with parents and carers.

• Ability to work collaboratively with teachers and support staff.

• A calm and patient approach.

• Good judgement when dealing with sensitive situations.

• Ability to identify when concerns need to be escalated.

• Basic IT skills and confidence using school systems.

• Commitment to inclusion and student wellbeing.

• A strong understanding of safeguarding.

Experience working with attendance, behaviour or safeguarding systems would be advantageous.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding will be an important part of the role. The successful candidate must understand that pastoral concerns can sometimes indicate wider issues affecting a student's welfare.

You will be expected to follow school safeguarding procedures, maintain accurate records and report concerns immediately through the correct channels.

Application

To apply for this Pastoral Support Officer position in Hammersmith and Fulham, please send your CV as soon as possible. The school is keen to meet suitable candidates promptly and is looking for someone available to start ASAP.