Family Support Worker at Yorkswood Primary School

About the Role

As our Family Support Worker / Coordinator, you will lead and coordinate family support, direct pupil nurture, and early help outreach across the school. Reporting directly to the Senior Leadership Team, you will be a visible, trusted, and highly proactive presence in the building — leading our morning Breakfast Club intake from 08:00 AM, engaging families on the school gates, running structured lunchtime nurture groups, and supporting children directly through 1:1 mentoring.

Crucially, while you will not be leading on whole-school attendance data systems or prosecution pathways, you will be the driving force behind the Early Help aspect of attendance — working directly with families in their homes to unpick the root causes of absence, build morning routines, and remove barriers to learning.

Key responsibilities include:

• Proactive School Presence: Leading Breakfast Club intake from 08:00 AM, hosting morning parent engagement drop-in sessions ("The Studio"), and providing soft-start regulation support for vulnerable children.

• Direct Pupil Nurture & Mentoring: Planning and running structured lunchtime Nurture Groups and afternoon 1:1 mentoring sessions focused on emotional regulation, self-esteem, trauma recovery, and social skills.

• Early Help Attendance Intervention: Supporting families to improve attendance and punctuality through home visits, parenting strategies, routine building, and Early Help Plans.

• Classroom & Academic Alignment: Liaising routinely with class teachers and actively participating in Pupil Progress Meetings (PPMs) to share pastoral insights that remove non-academic barriers to learning.

• Safeguarding & Case Management: Serving as a Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), maintaining pristine CPOMS records, completing Early Help Assessments (Signs of Safety), and liaising with external multi-agency partners.

We Are Looking For Someone Who:

• Is genuinely passionate about improving life outcomes for vulnerable children and hard-to-reach families in a community-centered primary school.

• Is highly proactive, self-motivated, and comfortable working directly with both children in school and parents in the community.

• Has proven experience in delivering direct pupil interventions (such as Nurture Groups or 1:1 emotional regulation mentoring).

• Understands Early Help frameworks, safeguarding systems, and multi-agency working.

• Can balance high compassion with high expectations, holding parents accountable while offering practical, relational support.

• Demonstrates exceptional professional integrity, resilience, and organisational skills.

• Is eager to engage in continuous professional development and committed to applying evidence-informed research and strategies to support families, remove barriers to learning, and nurture pupil well-being.

What We Offer You:

• A Collaborative Support Network: Working as part of our pastoral team, you will receive close, supportive mentorship directly from the Senior Leadership Team.

• High-Quality Professional Development: Fully funded professional development and bespoke upskilling opportunities across Robin Hood MAT—including specialised training in trauma-informed practice, nurture delivery, and Early Help frameworks.

• Wellbeing Focus: Access to comprehensive Trust wellbeing initiatives, including a network of mental health first aiders and one fully paid Staff Wellbeing Day per year.

• Living Wage Employer: Robin Hood MAT is a proud Living Wage employer.

• True Purpose & Influence: A role with genuine purpose, high visibility, and the opportunity to make a lasting, measurable impact on children and families.

How to Apply & School Visits

We strongly encourage prospective candidates to visit our school and experience our culture first-hand before applying. To arrange a visit or request an application pack, please contact the school office on 0121 468 4351 or email enquiries@yorkswoodprimary.co.uk.

Closing Date: 12:00 Friday 25th September 2026

Interviews: TBC

Safeguarding Statement

Robin Hood MAT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We expect all staff to share this commitment and to maintain a vigilant and safe environment across all our academies.

This post is considered "regulated activity" (and involves regular access to our school sites) and is therefore subject to an Enhanced DBS check with a check of the Children’s Barred List. It is an offence to apply for this role if you are barred from engaging in regulated activity.

All shortlisted candidates will be required to complete a self-declaration of their criminal record or information that would make them unsuitable to work with children.

In line with the requirements of Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), we will conduct an online search on all shortlisted candidates as part of our due diligence process. We will discuss any information flagged during this process with the candidate during the interview stage before making a final recruitment decision.

The successful candidate will be subject to all necessary pre-employment checks, including an enhanced DBS; qualifications; medical fitness; identity and right to work.

This post is covered by Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) and therefore the ability to speak fluent English is an essential requirement for this role. This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020.