Todmorden High School has an exciting opportunity for an experienced professional to join the student learning and progress team.  We are looking for an individual who has a passion for working with young people and their families to make education a positive experience for our young people and re-engaging them in their education to ensure that they make not only academic progress but also grow and develop into remarkable young people.

We are looking to recruit an inspiring, committed, and resilient Learning Manager who is passionate about making a positive difference in the lives of young people. The successful candidate will be an excellent communicator with strong organisational skills and the ability to build effective relationships with students, staff, and families. They will demonstrate a proactive approach to supporting student wellbeing, behaviour, and achievement, and be able to lead with empathy, consistency, and high expectations. This is an exciting opportunity for a motivated professional to take a key role in shaping the culture and success of a year group within a dynamic and supportive school environment.

A Learning Manager is responsible for leading and overseeing the pastoral care, academic progress, and overall wellbeing of a designated year group within the school. This role ensures that students are supported to achieve their full potential both academically and personally by fostering a positive, inclusive, and disciplined learning environment. Working closely with teaching staff, support services, and families, a Learning Manager monitors attendance, behaviour, and attainment, intervening where necessary to remove barriers to success. They also play a key role in promoting the school’s values, safeguarding students, and coordinating year group initiatives, while acting as a central point of contact to ensure effective communication and consistent support for all students.

You would join the school at an exciting time, the school has academised and joined Share MAT and we are part of the new schools’ building programme. We value our staff, and we know Share MAT does too. Our staff voice is strong and colleagues like working here. We have a strong CPD programme and there are often chances for staff to progress their careers and develop. This has been enhanced with recent support from Share MAT (who are the Teaching School Hub for Calderdale and Kirklees).

 We’d love to hear from you if you share our belief in ‘enabling individuals to unlock their unique potential’ and the MAT’s belief in ‘Valuing People, Supporting Personal Best’.

 There has never been a more exciting time to join our incredible community. In this role you will have a direct impact on the lives of our students and open doors to their futures. Together, we unlock unique potential.

Academy Information

Todmorden High School is a medium sized secondary academy in Todmorden. The academy is committed to creating a culture where all students and colleagues at all levels can feel proud of who they are and their achievements. In keeping with our values, we strive to create a school that celebrates difference. Ambition, Respect, Care and Honesty remain at the forefront of everything we do; we are trusted to do the right thing for each other, our students and the wider community.   

 The academy is a proud partner of the well-regarded and high-performing SHARE Multi-Academy Trust and is part of the Teaching School Hub for Kirklees and Calderdale. Todmorden High School provides staff with a wealth of support and a wide range of opportunities to collaborate, network, and share best practice. 

 Todmorden High School has a wonderful academy community and is a great place to work, where all team members play a vital role in making a positive impact on the life chances of others.

 The academy is proud to offer:

 ·         A supportive and ambitious environment where all students are encouraged to go beyond what they think they can achieve and to enjoy learning, helping them to lead successful, healthy and happy lives 

 ·         A vibrant place to work which equips staff to deliver their best every day, under the strong belief that Valuing People, Supporting Personal Best is the key 

 ·         A commitment that staff are happy, engaged and well supported at work, taking pride in students’ attendance, behaviour, progress and development as well as their own 

 ·         Excellent training and guidance relevant to individual job roles, so expectations are understood and staff are motivated

 ·         Great benefits, as an employer of choice, including outstanding CPD, supportive line management, and meaningful networking opportunities across the trust to aid personal development

 ·         Supportive leadership, encouraging healthy work-life balance 

 ·         A high-quality teaching and learning environment, alongside good facilities

           A culture where children are happy, settled and confident, accessing a broad and balanced curriculum which provides a memorable educational experience for pupils and staff.  

The Ideal Candidate Will:

• have a commitment to promoting the ethos and values of the school and getting the best outcomes for all pupils.
• have experience of working with children or young people in a school setting.
• be committed to delivering high standards of work, supporting colleagues, and contributing to continuous improvement.
• champion our values of Ambition, Respect, Care and Honesty

This is an opportunity for you to have a direct impact on the life chances of some of our most vulnerable students.  We are looking for someone who can be a positive role model, be innovative and creative to give our students an opportunity to shine.  The role will be demanding but there is the opportunity for significant reward as you see the students you have supported, flourish and realise their potential.

Key Responsibilities:

• To work as a Learning Manager and Liaison Officer for all aspects of student engagement, particularly in reference to hard-to-reach students and their families.
• Working as part of the staff team to contribute to raising achievement.
• To provide a complementary service to assist the school in meeting their obligations and targets.
• To promote positive attitudes by students and families towards education and to ensure that parents are made fully aware of their statutory responsibilities.
• To work autonomously, making unsupervised contact with families in their own homes and elsewhere to assess the reasons impacting on the engagement of individual students, facilitating their return or access to regular education provision.
• To deliver a professional service to support the school in raising achievement and attendance, investigating persistent concerns, and acting appropriately.
• Commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Adhering to both the school and Local Authority’s safeguarding procedures.
• To track and monitor student data and to be proactive in noticing patterns.
• To liaise with all support agencies to remove barriers to learning and well-being.

Specific Duties:

• Report to the Senior Leadership Team, regularly, on attendance, behaviour, progress, and individual cohort strategy which feeds into the School Development Plan and School Improvement Partner.
• To deliver the strategies that promote the wellbeing of all students, including work on initiatives which raise the awareness of school staff, parents, and the community on the importance of whole school issues.
• To liaise with the pastoral and administration team covering all aspects of work required.
• To work autonomously, making unsupervised contact with families in response to allocated referrals i.e., home visits and /or meetings in school.
• To make assessments and agree a plan for facilitating a return to school using appropriate strategies within specified timescales.
• Ensure the recording and maintenance of accurate student records, in line with Data Protection legislation and THS policy and procedures.
• To use IT systems to produce reports, using word processing and record information including statistical data, providing reports to SLT, Governors and other professionals.
• To be fully aware of and carry out all work in line with Child Protection Procedures.  This may involve attending case conferences, strategy, and planning meetings as well as core groups or other meetings in relation to child protection cases that require input.
• To develop and maintain effective working relationships with families and professionals both within and outside the organisation, including children's services, the Police, Social Services, Housing, Health, and other statutory, voluntary and community groups, in support of the work of the school and its pastoral team.
• To maintain a working knowledge of the statutory framework relating to school attendance, child employment, child protection and special needs in order to be able to offer informed advice to parents, school staff, governors, and others.
• To assist and lead at re-integration meetings with students and their parents.
• To be responsible for the monitoring daily of attendance and the strategic lead on attendance. This will involve working closely with the whole attendance team to ensure accurate records are maintained and appropriate action is taken.
• To manage and prioritise your own workload in line with service requirements.

 General duties

• Provide cover for ARCH restoration and detentions on a rota basis.
• To continue personal professional development as required.
• Attend meetings and participate in staff training and development events as required.
• To work in the best interests of the school, students, parents, and staff.
• To adhere to the school’s policies and procedures with particular reference to child protection, equal opportunities, learning and teaching and health and safety.
• To complete duties before and after school and at key times during the school day.
• To provide cover for Learning Manager detentions and SLT detentions when required.
• To attend and contribute to progress’ evenings and open evenings when required.
• To uphold the standards and working practice of the school as detailed in the staff handbook.
• To adhere to school policies and procedures.

Safety

•         Contributing to ensuring that Todmorden High School is safe for all students and staff.
•         Contribute to actively promoting the health and wellbeing of all students encouraging all staff and volunteers to share and demonstrate this commitment.
•         Contribute to ensuring that the school complies with any local safeguarding arrangements

Employees will be expected to comply with any reasonable request from the Headteacher to undertake work of a similar level that is not specified in this job description.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential Criteria

Qualifications

• ·         5 GCSEs A*-C including English and Maths or equivalent. 

Experience

• ·         Experience of dealing with a wide range of stakeholders.
• ·         Experience of working in a busy environment.
• Customer service and in particular telephone communication (internal and external)

 Skills

• ·         Excellent organisational skills.
• ·         Excellent administrative skills in particular, the ability to work with complex numerical data.
• ·         Ability to work constructively both under own initiative and as part of a team.
• ·         Ability to remain calm and work efficiently, especially under pressure.
• ·         Ability to multi-task, manage and prioritise your own workload, meeting strict deadlines whilst maintaining attention to detail and accuracy.
• ·         Excellent interpersonal skills.
• ·         Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• ·         Good working knowledge of the Microsoft office package, in particular Microsoft Excel and Word.

 Additional

•          Commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.
• A strong understanding of young people and their needs
• Commitment to adhering to the school’s policies and procedure.

Desirable Criteria

Experience

• ·        Working with students/young people in a school or community setting
• ·        Safeguarding training/awareness
• ·        Two years recent experience of complex administration.
• ·         Handling confidential information
• ·         Working with sensitive matters

 Skills

• ·         Knowledge of working with Arbor/ClassCharts.
• ·         De-escalation strategies

 Additional

• ·         Ability to work flexible hours if needed

Safeguarding requirements:

This post requires the post holder to work in settings with children and young adults. Any employment offer is therefore subject to the results of an Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). People who may have contact with younger children (i.e. primary school age) are also required to complete a declaration about family or other members of their household. Applicants MUST complete the MAT’s standard application form to be considered, will be required to provide evidence of identity and qualifications and offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references. For applicants who work or have recently worked in a school, one of the references must be from the Headteacher.