Attendance Support Team Manager

Job Category : Education (qualified)

Location : London Borough of Hillingdon

Hours Per Week : 36.00

Start Date : Immediate Start

Start Time : 09:00

End Time : 17:00

Salary: £258.35 per day

To provide operational leadership to the Attendance Support team and make a critical contribution to fulfilling the Council’s statutory duties in addressing poor school attendance (Education Act 1996 Section 444).

Provide educational direction and expertise through joint working with colleagues in schools and other services including health, social care and the voluntary sector. 

Develop, lead and manage interventions to improve school attendance across the borough. 

To work strategically with schools, Social Care, Fostering, SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Team), YOS (Youth Offending Service) & other agencies to ensure that process and practice across services support Hillingdon’s children with school attendance. 

Lead, develop and deliver programmes of practice development for the Attendance Support team and a programme of training and engagement for attendance leads in schools.

Provide management oversight of officers. Take the lead for monitoring and tracking attendance for all children in Hillingdon.

A. Job Description

1. People Management

• To assist with the selection, development and performance of the Attendance Support team in line with the Council’s HR policies.
• To ensure all team members receive the appropriate level of communication to maintain engagement with the Council’s vision, priorities and activities.
• To assist with leading team meetings, organising agendas, rotas for chairing and ensuring minutes are taken.  

2. Resident & Community Contribution

• To demonstrate understanding of the Council’s Customer Care Standards and ensure these standards are met in order to deliver the Council vision of ‘putting our residents first’.
• The Attendance Support Manager will lead and manage a team of officers with caseloads where the prevailing issue is nonparticipation in education, but may also include working with:
  • higher need families with complex and multiple difficulties involved in or at risk of being involved in crime, antisocial behaviour, disengagement with education and risk of homelessness or edge of care; and
  • Lower need families experiencing difficulties that are likely to become more complex and entrenched without a brief solution focused intervention.

To ensure all team members receive the appropriate level of communication to maintain engagement with the Council’s vision, priorities and activities.

1. QUALIFICATIONS

Professional qualification in related field e.g. education, youth work

Evidence of relevant CPD.

2. STATUTORY or ROLE SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

Ability to undertake occasional evening and weekend work, including residential weekends 

Full UK driving licence and use of own vehicle

Willing to take majority of annual leave during school holidays.

3. EXPERIENCE

Leading, managing and delivering evidence-based interventions with children, young people and their families, who present with challenging behaviours and multiple and complex needs through partnership working with families, communities and agencies

Senior Leadership Team experience within a schools’ context (or similar)

Experience of successful multi-agency and partnership working including resolving conflict and managing differences effectively

Experience of building capability and capacity of other professionals

Significant experience of assessing and managing risk and vulnerability with an emphasis on safeguarding in a multi-agency environment

Experience of leading and managing practitioners in the delivery of support packages to families with complex needs including barriers to ensuring children and young people’s participation in education

Experience of successfully managing teams in delivering outcomes and results

4. KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS

Vision, passion and an ability to lead, influence others actions, challenge practices whilst maintaining good professional working relationships enabling best outcomes for children and families

Broad knowledge of relevant legislation, guidance, government policy and research in relation to children and families with ability to apply knowledge in an operational setting

Ability to develop innovative solutions to problems and to conceptualise new collaborative ways of working to achieve shared goals.

Specific knowledge of policy, legislation and practice as it relates to children and young people’s participation in education, employment and training.  In particular the Education Act 1996 in relation to school attendance

Knowledge and understanding of the key issues relevant to the development of children, young people and their families to ensure the securing of good outcomes including those associated with participation in education

Able to form and maintain appropriate professional relationships and boundaries with children, young people and families to ensure effective engagement in family interventions

Ability to use ICT and service specific software. 

Analytical skills to understand, interpret and utilise statistics and management information to inform operational working and strategic development 

Excellent presentation, communicating and influencing skills

Effectively use communication skills to build relationships with Headteachers and Senior School Leaders, families and other agencies to assist children and young people to access their education. 

Ability to work in more than one phase.

5. COMPETENCIES

“Can do” positive attitude

Demonstrates a commitment to changing work practices and processes, and a willingness to try new ways of working or thinking.

Takes responsibility and delivers results

Adapts to changing demands to ensure that objectives are met, overcoming problems and making well considered decisions.

Team working

Acts as a role model to others in the team, sharing knowledge and experience when necessary, whilst respecting and valuing the contribution other team members’ experiences can bring.

Communication

Demonstrates well developed written and verbal communication skills; and the confidence to present reports and verbal accounts credibly to a variety of different audiences.

Customer Care

Develops contacts and relationships with customer/ client groups, regularly reviewing service delivery and taking responsibility to ensure quality service provision.

Takes ownership of personal development

Takes action to develop own and others’ capability and knowledge by promoting and supporting developmental opportunities to improve performance.