Valued • Independent • Enriched • Worthwhile
Family Engagement and Support Officer
Ref: SCH-TPAT-0027 7 day(s) remainingAdditional Information
Contract Type: Permanent Contract Term: TTO Plus - Term time only plus weeks Hours per Week: 35.00 Weeks per Year: 44.480 Pay Grade: Support Staff | SCP18 - SCP38The Role
Kingfisher School is a unique, friendly and successful school in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. We are a special school providing high quality education for children and young adults aged 2-19 years who have severe, profound and complex needs including autism.
Would you like to join our happy and caring school where teaching and therapies combine to support the development of each child? Kingfisher is a place where every child has an aspirational and personalised education programme that ensures they receive an exceptional opportunity to succeed.
If you have a desire to support pupils with Special Educational Needs and wish to work in an incredibly rewarding environment, then this could be the place for you.
We are looking for a resilient, reliable and supportive individual who will support us to deliver a high quality education provision to our pupils. You will need good communication skills and plenty of energy. We are looking to create a new role within our school. This role will be the link between our pupils’ families and School, therapists and other professionals. The role will also include being pro-active in seeking support for our families in relation to school and the wider community. The post holder will also source out of school activities for families to engage in as appropriate, this may include support to fill out referrals and forms. Full and on-going training is offered and an induction programme will support you as you settle in.
This role will evolve with the post holder and the job description may change as the role develops. At present, this role is term time only plus 10 days, 35 hours per week although there is some flexibility and other hours would be considered (Actual Salary £25,794.08 - £40,672.81). As the role develops there may be a requirement to support parents and attend some meetings during school holiday. This will be up to 4 weeks per year.
Applicants must be 18 years or older.
Skills
| Qualifications | |
|---|---|
| GCSE or equivalent level, including at least a Grade 4 (previously Grade C) in English and maths |
Essential
|
| Safer recruitment training (or wiliness to complete it soon after employment commences) |
Desirable
|
| Leadership | |
| Effective leadership and motivational skills |
Desirable
|
| Personal Attributes | |
| Good communication skills with the ability to relate to people at all levels |
Desirable
|
| Commitment to maintaining confidentiality at all times |
Desirable
|
| Commitment to safeguarding pupil’s wellbeing and equality |
Desirable
|
| Commitment to acting with integrity, honesty, loyalty and fairness to safeguard the assets, financial probity and reputation of the school |
Desirable
|
| Experience/Knowledge | |
| Appropriate experience or understanding of Special Educational Needs |
Desirable
|
| Competent user of MS 365 packages, particularly Outlook, Word, and Excel |
Desirable
|
| Experience | |
| Experience working in a school environment or other educational setting |
Desirable
|
| Good ICT skills, particularly using ICT to support learning |
Desirable
|
| Experience in working with children and Young People with EHCPs |
Desirable
|
| Abilities, Skills and Knowledge | |
| Ability to build effective working relationships with pupils and adults |
Desirable
|
| Knowledge of guidance and requirements around safeguarding children |
Desirable
|
| Ability to build effective working relationships with colleagues |
Desirable
|
| CPD / Training | |
| Evidence of continuing and recent professional development relevant to the post |
Desirable
|
| First-aid training, or willingness to complete it |
Desirable
|
| Relevant Experience | |
| Dealing with face-to-face and telephone interactions (Essential) |
Desirable
|
Related Documents
Safeguarding Information
The Propeller Academy Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and we expect all staff to share this commitment.
Where the role for which you are applying involves engaging in regulated activity, it is an offence to apply for the role if you are barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children.
A copy of the Propeller Academy Trust’s Child Protection Policy and Safeguarding Policy can be accessed via each member schools website.
Kingfisher School
Radley Road
Abingdon
Oxfordshire
OX14 3RR
Emma Donovan
recruitment@kingfisher.oxon.sch.... https://www.kingfisher.oxon.sch.ukKingfisher-a place where everyone is valued to develop independence through an enriching curriculum which is worthwhile
Kingfisher is a great school and really welcoming as soon as you step through the door. It provides an exciting and well-designed learning environment for a wide variety of learners with additional needs. Our best resource is our dedicated staff. There is a professional partnership here in the school with all colleagues working together to offer the absolute best for our young people.
The school caters for 117 children and young adults aged 2-19, who have severe, complex or profound needs, including autism. Our school is organised into pathways that are designed to meet the particular needs of the children offering them learning programmes building on their individual strengths and celebrating their achievements. There is excellent partnership with the health and social care professionals who work alongside us at Kingfisher.
Our curriculum is designed to support the individual needs of all our pupils. The driving force and intent behind our curriculum is to develop independence at every opportunity.
Parents are welcome and their contribution to school life is valued. The school has lots of friends in Abingdon and beyond and is part of the Propeller Academy Trust. I am delighted to be the Headteacher of this amazing school.
Lorraine Wilson
The Kingfisher Curriculum is taught to pupils in three defined Pathways. Our classes are created by focusing on the pupil’s primary learning needs and the different ways they access the curriculum. EYFS pupils access the Early years Curriculum as an integrated part of the Kingfisher Curriculum. As our pupils move into the Post 16 Curriculum, they continue to have full access to the Kingfisher Curriculum where needed. This works alongside the Foundation Learning Curriculum that supports our Post 16 pupils while they prepare for adulthood.
Many of our pupils at Kingfisher School are working below the National Curriculum Assessment Standards and are therefore working within the engagement model and pre-key stage standards.
The engagement model encourages schools to measure each pupils’ progress independently, according to their individual profile of needs. Our Kingfisher Learning Journeys set out how we support pupil progress through our curriculum.
The engagement model - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
We also use the DfE Development Matters Curriculum Guidance to support our teachers to plan and deliver our curriculum to our pupils. This is particularly evident within our Sensory Pathway and all classes where our pupils are at the exploration stage of their learning. Emphasis is placed on:
- playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’
- active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements
- creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things
The Foundation Stage follows the New Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. There are seven areas of learning, 3 being prime areas and 4 being specific. The prime areas are Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Communication and Language and Physical Development. The specific areas are Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design. All areas are differentiated according to the children’s individual needs. The EYFS curriculum is embedded across the entire Kingfisher Curriculum, so that all pupils at the EYFS stage of development have access to these important areas.
Post 16 Curriculum
Click here to see the Post 16 Brochure
The Post 16 Curriculum has been designed to build upon and expand the existing skills of students, as well as provide them with worthwhile learning opportunities which will enable them to further develop the skills, they need in preparation for adult life and where possible, the world of work.
The curriculum is divided into four strands; Functional Skills, Life and Living Skills, Vocational Studies and Health, Leisure & Recreation. Physical skills are embedded into every area of the curriculum. Each student will work on a personalised programme.
At the end of their programme of study, students will gain accreditation in a QCF recognised qualification. Other accreditation is offered when appropriate including the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award.
The Curriculum
Recognising the very different needs of students at Post 16, Kingfisher School has developed two pathways, the Transition Provision (Core and Communication) and the Enrichment Provision (Sensory). The primary purpose of both pathways is communication and independence. The student’s learning is centred around everyday themes found at school, at home and in everyday life. It encompasses life experience of the wider community and is enriching with community experiences. The students will be in a class according to their individual needs but will have opportunities to work across the school with their peer group both on and offsite in the community when appropriate to their needs.
Transition Provision
The Transition Provision enables students to develop functional skills in a range of situations both in school and out in the community. Social communication and independence are the core of the curriculum in which, students are encouraged to make choices, put forward their views, they are given time to complete tasks, problem solve and learn to keep safe. Post 16 students are given many opportunities to generalise the skills that they have already learnt.
Enrichment Provision
The Enrichment Provision that is within our School Sensory Pathway has been especially developed recognising the unique qualities of students with Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties and/or complex needs. Staff at Kingfisher School recognise that teaching students with complex needs requires a specialised curriculum tailored towards each student’s individual needs. The curriculum has three areas of focus. Communication is the starting point for the curriculum and a Total Communication approach is used consisting of speech, sign, gesture, facial expression, body language, objects of reference, high tech AAC, symbols and photographs. This varied approach allows all students to communicate as fully as possible using their preferred methods. Secondly, the Enrichment Pathway focuses on active engagement. A multi-sensory curriculum is devised to provide opportunities to stimulate the visual, tactile, gustatory, olfactory and kinaesthetic senses as well as the curiosity of each student. Staff have high aspirations for all students. As such the curriculum is designed to be sequential so that students make valuable progress. The students physical and mental health is paramount. All students have access to relevant therapies which when appropriate form part of their individualised programmes