Job Details

Hours of Work:  37 Hours Per Week,  Term Time only + 2 Weeks (41 Weeks Per Year) 

Position Type:  Permanent  

Line Manager:  Deputy Headteacher

Travel Required:  Some

The salary is dependent on current qualifications and experience, please see the attached job description for more information.

About the role

We are seeking a highly skilled and committed Senior Attendance and Family Engagement Officer to lead attendance strategy and family engagement across our secondary school.

This is a senior, operational role with responsibility for driving sustained improvements in attendance, leading a team of attendance professionals, and working closely with families and external agencies to remove barriers to school attendance. The successful candidate will take a support‑first, relationship‑based approach, underpinned by strong knowledge of attendance legislation and safeguarding responsibilities.

You will play a key role in promoting a positive attendance culture, ensuring statutory compliance, and contributing to improved outcomes for all pupils, particularly the most vulnerable.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the operational and strategic management of attendance, ensuring compliance with statutory guidance including Working Together to Improve School Attendance
• Line manage the Education Welfare Officers and Attendance Administrator, providing supervision, coaching and performance management.
• Analyse attendance data to identify trends, inform early intervention, and produce high-quality reports for senior leaders and governors
• Build positive, trusting relationships with families, leading attendance action planning and support-first interventions.
• Conduct home visits and casework linked to persistent and severe absence
• Work closely with pastoral leaders, SENCO, Inclusion Team and external agencies (Early Help, social care, health and others)
• Lead on Children Missing Education (CME) processes and escalate attendance-related safeguarding concerns appropriately
• Deliver training and guidance to staff to strengthen whole-school attendance practice
• Contribute to inclusion, safeguarding and raising achievement meetings, ensuring attendance is integral to school improvement.

The ideal candidate will have:

• GCSE English and Maths (A-C) or equivalent
• Significant experience leading attendance in a school, with evidence of impact
• Experience of line management or staff supervision
• Strong working knowledge of attendance legislation and statutory guidance
• Proven experience of family engagement, home visits and multi-agency working
• Confidence in data analysis, reporting and case management
• Excellent communication, negotiation and relationship-building skills
• A supportive, resilient and solution-focused approach, with high expectations for all pupils
• A full UK driving licence, access to a vehicle and business-use insurance are essential due to home visits

Why work with us?

• A supportive senior leadership team that values early intervention and inclusive practice
• The opportunity to shape attendance strategy and make a meaningful difference to pupils and families
• A role with real autonomy, influence and professional respect
• Commitment to professional development and staff wellbeing.

For an informal chat about the role please contact Mr J Thynne, Deputy Headteacher, on jthynne@northallerton-alt.uk. 

About the Trust

Areté Learning Trust currently has 11 schools and educates over 7,000 young people in and around North Yorkshire from ages 2-18.  Our learners are at the heart of everything we do.

At Areté Learning Trust we work together and collaborate to ensure that all of our learners and our staff team have the chance to reach their potential.

Our Trust is committed to promoting:

• Health, happiness and wellbeing

• A safe, disciplined and supportive environment

• A love of learning through a passionate and committed approach

• High standards and expectations

• Integrity, kindness and good manners

• Respect for individuality and difference

• Collaborative working to secure excellence

 To realise our aspiration for every child to be the best they can be, we need to ensure that as a Trust we are ‘Striving for Excellence’.

Why work for us?

We want everyone who works within ALT to feel valued and see how their work fits into the bigger picture.

We seek employees who are prepared to take personal responsibility and constantly challenge the norm to improve performance.

In return, we are committed to providing an empowering and supportive learning environment for all staff.

Areté Learning Trust is committed to being the ‘Employer of Choice’.

Essentially this means that we want our schools and our central team to be great places to work. We want our staff development opportunities to be first class and we want to enable staff who are ambitious to grow their careers with us. To give our learners the best education and opportunities we are committed to recruiting and retaining the very best people in all areas of our organisation.

Regardless of role, we seek staff who:

• Have high expectations of themselves and the people they work with.

• Are committed to our Trust values.

• Show initiative and are responsive to change.

• Have strong interpersonal skills with the ability to inspire and motivate others.

• Are creative in their approach to problem solving.

• Are able to influence effectively, whatever their role.

• Are team players.

We welcome applications from all backgrounds; for more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy statement (https://www.arete.uk/careers).  If you are ready for the next step in your career and you feel that your skill set makes you a good fit for this very exciting opportunity, then we look forward to receiving your application.

Application Process

Please complete the online application form to apply for this role. All candidates are advised to refer to the job description and person specification before making an application.  You should use the information supplied with in the Job Description & Person Specification to make the best of your application by identifying some specific pieces of work you may have undertaken in any of these areas. Your application may be viewed in regard to some or all of the skill specific areas over the course of the selection process.  Applications via agencies will not be considered.

Interviews will take place as soon as possible after the closing date.

The Areté Learning Trust is committed to safeguarding and protecting our children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.  All posts are subject to a safer recruitment process which includes enhanced criminal records and barring checks, scrutiny of employment history, robust referencing and other vetting checks.

Our safeguarding system is underpinned by a range of policies and procedures which encourage and promote safe working practice across the Trust. On joining you will be required to undergo continuous professional development to maintain safe working practice and to safeguard our children and young people.