Welfare Officer – Secondary School – Reading

Start Date: As soon as possible
Contract: Full-time, Permanent
Salary: £31,000–£36,000 per annum, depending on experience

School Information

A successful and well-established Secondary School in Reading is looking to appoint a dedicated Welfare Officer to join its student support team.

The school is committed to providing a safe, inclusive and supportive environment in which students are encouraged to achieve their potential. Alongside academic progress, the school places a strong emphasis on student wellbeing, safeguarding, attendance and positive relationships.

The Welfare Officer will provide an important link between students, families, pastoral staff and the wider support network within the school.

This is a varied role that will suit someone who is organised, approachable and confident supporting young people with a range of welfare needs.

The Role

The Welfare Officer will provide day-to-day support to students who require assistance with their health, wellbeing or general welfare while at school.

You will work closely with pastoral and safeguarding colleagues to identify concerns and ensure appropriate support is provided.

The successful candidate will need to be calm and reassuring when dealing with students and able to respond appropriately when situations become more serious.

You will also be responsible for maintaining accurate records and ensuring relevant information is communicated to appropriate staff.

Key Responsibilities

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

• Responding to student welfare concerns.

• Supporting students who become unwell during the school day.

• Managing the school's welfare room where applicable.

• Maintaining accurate welfare records.

• Communicating with parents and carers regarding student welfare.

• Supporting students returning to school following illness or absence.

• Working closely with pastoral and safeguarding teams.

• Identifying concerns that may require further intervention.

• Escalating safeguarding concerns appropriately.

• Supporting students experiencing emotional or practical difficulties.

• Maintaining confidentiality.

• Administering basic first aid where appropriately trained.

• Maintaining appropriate welfare and medical documentation.

• Supporting individual student welfare plans.

• Liaising with parents regarding relevant health information.

• Supporting staff with welfare-related information where appropriate.

• Contributing to the school's wider wellbeing provision.

• Assisting with attendance-related welfare concerns.

• Supporting vulnerable students and ensuring concerns are communicated appropriately.

Student Wellbeing

The school recognises that students may experience circumstances that affect their ability to engage fully with school.

The Welfare Officer will provide a calm and supportive point of contact and help students access the appropriate support.

You will need to build trust with students while maintaining professional boundaries.

The successful candidate should be able to recognise when a concern is within their role and when it needs to be referred to safeguarding, pastoral or external professionals.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding will be an important part of the role.

Although the Welfare Officer will focus primarily on student welfare, you will need to understand your responsibility to report concerns appropriately.

You will work closely with the school's safeguarding team and ensure concerns are documented and passed on in line with school procedures.

You must be comfortable handling sensitive information and understand the importance of confidentiality.

Communication With Parents

You will communicate regularly with parents and carers regarding student welfare.

This may include contacting families when students become unwell, discussing welfare arrangements or providing updates following an incident.

You will need to communicate clearly and professionally and ensure that information is recorded accurately.

Requirements

• Previous experience working with children or young people.

• Experience in a school, healthcare, youth work, pastoral or welfare environment is desirable.

• Strong communication skills.

• Calm and reassuring manner.

• Good organisational and administrative skills.

• Understanding of safeguarding procedures.

• Ability to maintain accurate confidential records.

• Ability to communicate professionally with parents and carers.

• Ability to work effectively with pastoral and safeguarding teams.

• First aid qualification is desirable.

• Good IT skills.

• Ability to remain calm under pressure.

• Strong professional judgement.

• Reliable and responsible approach.

Personal Qualities

The ideal candidate will be caring, approachable and dependable.

You should be somebody students feel comfortable approaching while also being able to maintain appropriate professional boundaries.

You will need to demonstrate patience and emotional awareness and be confident responding to unexpected situations.

Why Join the School?

This is an excellent opportunity to join a supportive Secondary School in Reading and take on a role that directly contributes to student wellbeing.

You will work as part of a wider pastoral and safeguarding structure and have the opportunity to build strong relationships with students and staff.

Application

To apply for the Welfare Officer position, please send your CV as soon as possible. Suitable applicants will be contacted promptly.