Pastoral Support Officer – Secondary School – Birmingham

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

School Information

A well-established Secondary School in Birmingham is looking to appoint a committed and experienced Pastoral Support Officer to join its dedicated student support team.

The school is committed to providing a safe, inclusive and ambitious environment where students are encouraged to achieve highly while developing confidence, resilience and independence. The school serves a diverse community and places a strong emphasis on student wellbeing, attendance, positive behaviour and strong relationships between students and staff.

The school understands that effective pastoral support plays an important role in helping students overcome barriers to learning. Staff work closely together to identify concerns at an early stage and provide appropriate intervention.

The successful candidate will work alongside heads of year, pastoral leaders, teaching staff, safeguarding colleagues and senior leaders. You will also have regular contact with students and their families.

The Role

The Pastoral Support Officer will provide day-to-day support to students who may require additional guidance with attendance, behaviour, wellbeing or engagement.

You will develop positive relationships with students and act as a reliable point of contact for those who need additional support.

The role requires someone who can be approachable and empathetic while maintaining appropriate professional boundaries and consistently reinforcing the school's expectations.

You will monitor individual students, support agreed interventions and ensure accurate records are maintained.

Key Responsibilities

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

• Building positive and professional relationships with students.

• Supporting students experiencing difficulties that may affect their education.

• Monitoring student attendance and punctuality.

• Identifying students who require additional pastoral intervention.

• Supporting heads of year and pastoral leaders with individual cases.

• Maintaining accurate records of pastoral support and interventions.

• Communicating with parents and carers.

• Supporting meetings involving students, parents and staff.

• Working closely with safeguarding colleagues.

• Supporting students returning following periods of absence.

• Helping students develop positive attitudes towards school and learning.

• Supporting students experiencing social, emotional or behavioural difficulties.

• Monitoring behaviour concerns.

• Supporting behaviour intervention strategies.

• Assisting with mentoring and student support programmes.

• Supporting transition arrangements.

• Contributing to student wellbeing initiatives.

• Liaising with teachers regarding barriers to learning.

• Preparing information and reports for pastoral reviews.

Student Wellbeing

The successful candidate will work with students who may face a variety of challenges affecting their education.

Some students may need short-term guidance, while others may require structured support over a longer period. You will need to adapt your approach to individual circumstances while maintaining consistency and clear expectations.

You will provide students with an appropriate trusted adult within school and help them identify practical ways to improve their engagement.

The school expects pastoral staff to identify concerns early and work with colleagues to put appropriate support in place.

Attendance

Attendance will form an important part of the role.

You will monitor attendance and punctuality and work with pastoral colleagues to identify students whose attendance may be affecting their progress.

This may include contacting parents and carers, speaking with students, contributing to attendance meetings and recording agreed actions.

You will need to understand that attendance concerns can sometimes be linked to wider welfare, family or emotional issues and be able to refer concerns appropriately.

Behaviour Support

The Pastoral Support Officer will also contribute to the school's approach to positive behaviour.

You will support students following behavioural incidents and help them understand the impact of their actions.

The successful candidate should be able to remain calm during challenging situations and communicate expectations clearly.

You will work with teaching and pastoral colleagues to ensure behaviour strategies are applied consistently.

Working With Families

You will regularly communicate with parents and carers regarding attendance, behaviour, wellbeing and student progress.

The successful candidate must be confident having professional conversations and able to discuss concerns sensitively.

You should be able to listen to families, provide appropriate information and ensure issues are escalated to the relevant member of staff where necessary.

Safeguarding

The role will involve working closely with the school's safeguarding team.

You will need to recognise when a student may be experiencing a safeguarding concern and follow the school's reporting procedures.

Confidentiality and accurate record keeping are essential.

You should understand that information relating to student welfare must be handled sensitively and shared appropriately.

Requirements

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

• Experience working with secondary-aged students.

• Strong understanding of student wellbeing.

• Excellent communication skills.

• Ability to build positive relationships with young people.

• Experience supporting attendance or behaviour is desirable.

• Understanding of safeguarding procedures.

• Strong organisational and administrative skills.

• Excellent record-keeping ability.

• Ability to maintain confidentiality.

• Confidence communicating with parents and carers.

• Ability to remain calm in challenging situations.

• Good IT skills.

• Ability to work collaboratively.

• Professional and reliable approach.

Personal Qualities

The ideal candidate will be patient, approachable and resilient.

You should genuinely enjoy supporting young people and have the confidence to encourage students to make positive choices.

The successful candidate must be able to establish clear boundaries while ensuring students feel listened to and respected.

Why Join the School?

This is an excellent opportunity to join a supportive Secondary School in Birmingham and become an important member of its pastoral team.

The successful candidate will have a direct impact on student wellbeing, attendance, behaviour and engagement and will work alongside experienced pastoral professionals.

Application

To apply for the Pastoral Support Officer position, please send your CV as soon as possible. Suitable candidates will be contacted promptly regarding interview arrangements.