Student Support Officer

📅 Start date: As soon as possible
🗓️ Closing date: 25 February 2026
📍 Location: Kettering Science Academy
💰 Salary: £25,800 - £26,006 FTE (Actual £22,163 - £22,340)
⏰ Hours: 37 hours per week, 39 weeks per year

This is a role for people who are at their best when it matters most - on their feet, working directly with pupils, not behind a desk.

At Kettering Science Academy, we believe that kids do well if they can. When they struggle, our job is to understand what is getting in the way and help remove those barriers. This requires adults who are calm, confident, and prepared to step forward rather than step back.

We are expanding our team of Student Support Officers and are seeking colleagues who are energetic, resilient, and willing to get stuck in. This is a varied role combining reactive support across the school day with structured work supporting pupils in our internal alternative provision and reintegration spaces.

You will be part of a visible, trusted team working directly with pupils who need additional support to regulate, re-engage, and succeed.

🧭 The role

This is an active, hands-on role. No two days are the same.

You will:

• Provide in-the-moment support to pupils who are struggling in lessons or around the school.
• Supervise and support pupils working within internal alternative provision.
• Help pupils reintegrate successfully following absence.
• Build strong, respectful relationships that help pupils feel safe and understood.
• Support behaviour, attendance, and wellbeing across the school.
• Work closely with pastoral leaders, teachers, and external agencies.
• Contribute to individual support plans and help monitor progress.

This role requires presence, judgement, and consistency of approach.

🌱 What we are looking for

We are seeking colleagues who are:

• Confident and calm, especially when situations are challenging.
• Energetic and comfortable working on their feet throughout the day.
• Able to build trust quickly with young people.
• Resilient, emotionally intelligent, and solution-focused.
• Clear, fair, and consistent in their approach.
• Committed to helping pupils succeed, even when they find school difficult.

Experience in schools or youth work is helpful, but character, judgement, and mindset are what matter most.

🤝 Working at KSA

You will be part of a supportive and experienced pastoral team, working in a school that values relationships, clarity, and doing the right thing for pupils.

This is a role where you can make a genuine difference every day and is an excellent opportunity for those interested in developing a career in pastoral leadership, safeguarding, teaching, or wider educational support roles.

We expect strong interest and there is potential to appoint more than one Student Support Officer.

We warmly encourage interested candidates to contact the school for an informal conversation.

About Kettering Science Academy

Kettering Science Academy was delighted to receive a Good Ofsted rating in July 2023.  This report recognised the work which has been done over many years in relentlessly focussing on providing stimulating learning experience for all our students. We actively encourage students to participate in all areas of academy life, motivating and inspiring them to unlock their potential and realise their ambitions. We believe education is about more than achieving success in exams; it is about preparing students for the challenges and demands of life beyond education. Staff have an uncompromising commitment to this and work closely with one another to support and develop students as well as one another. 

Our students come from all walks of life, and we want our staffing body to be reflective of the communities we work within. Brooke Weston Trust does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, nationality, culture, age, disability, marital status or socio-economic backgrounds. We encourage and welcome applications from minority groups and foster a work environment that is inclusive as well as diverse, where people can be themselves.

We are a thriving community of equals dedicated to creating a great place to work and learn; students and staff are happy and proud to be part of Kettering Science Academy's journey to being the best that we can be and we would like to offer you the opportunity to jump aboard and join us for this journey! 

If you think you can contribute to our organisation we welcome your application. Applicants are required to complete an application form as CVs will not be accepted. 

About Brooke Weston Trust

Our Trust was formed more than 25 years ago with a simple and clear mission – to transform educational performance in all of our communities. Working in some of the most challenging contexts, we improve our students’ achievements by making long term commitments to the community and championing new approaches to improve the life chances for young people.

Our members of staff are essential to realising this vision, and a happy, motivated and supported team will deliver the best possible experiences for our young people.

We place great emphasis on creating a supportive and collaborative working environment in all our schools, where all staff can share best practice through our colleague networks. Brooke Weston staff get access to first class professional development through our Ambition Hub, which is also home to the Northamptonshire Teaching School.

To find out more about working for our Trust and the benefits available to staff please check out the BWT Join Us Guide.

The Benefits at Brooke Weston Trust we can offer you:

We offer a wide range of benefits to our employees, these include:

• One wellbeing day a year, in addition to your annual leave
• Local Government Pension Scheme plus immediate life cover (3 times your annual salary from day one) and ill-health protection.
• Employee discounts with local and national retailers, covering high street supermarkets, days out and holidays, health and beauty, dining out plus lots more.
• A freshly prepared breakfast and hot or cold lunch each day when you work in one of our Trust schools
• Payment of professional subscription / membership - If your role requires you to be a member of a professional body, BWT will pay for your professional subscription or membership fees.
• Employee Assistance Programme - We have an employee support programme run by Your Care, an independent, external organisation. Your Care is available for you, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and includes telephone counselling, both face to face and online.
• Additional health benefits including a Health Care cash plan and access to an online GP
• Car Lease scheme via Tusker.
• Cycle to Work scheme.
• Ongoing opportunities for training and development and access to the BWT Centre for Professional Development
• Collaborative and Ambitious colleagues with the support of a committed team who work to maintain high standards and expectations
• Be the difference – At Brooke Weston Trust we believe every child deserves the best possible start, giving them a "ticket for life." If you want to use your skills with an organisation committed to making a difference and improving lives, this is the place for you.
  
  

How to Apply

If you think you can contribute to this role and to our organisation, we welcome your application.

Completed application forms will be passed to the recruitment panel for shortlisting and will be reviewed against the person specification detailed in the advert.

Applications will be assessed upon receipt, and we reserve the right to interview and appoint prior to the closing date. An early application is therefore strongly advised.

Further details about the Academy and the above position can be found on our website ketteringscienceacademy.org or by telephoning 01536 532700 and asking for Khloé Hughes, HR Administrator. 

Safer Recruitment

Care and respect for others are the values that lie at the heart of our Trust. The Trust is an Equal Opportunities employer and is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people. It expects all staff to share this commitment. All posts require proof of identity and as the role is working with children and young people this will also be subject to an enhanced disclosures barring service check. In line with safer recruitment requirements, individuals shortlisted for a role in school will have online checks conducted on their name across social media platforms and google.  

A copy of the Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy can be found here - Safeguarding and Child Protection

The Trusts position on the recruitment of Ex-Offenders can be found under section 7 of the Trust SCR, Safer Recruitment and Staff Files Policy - Safer Recruitment SCR and Staff-Files Policy

Closing date: 25 February 2026

Interview date: W/C 2^nd March 2026

The post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020.