Job Title: Attendance and Educational Welfare HALO (Home Academy Liaison Officer)

Location: This is a Trust appointment, but placement will be at Bridge Learning Campus, Hartcliffe, in the first instance

Salary: BG10 £35,412-£39,152 FTE (Actual: £32,326.70 to 35,740.85)

Start Date: As soon as possible, ideally February 2026

Contract Type: 37 hours per week, term time, INSET days and 10 days over the breaks

Working pattern: Monday to Friday (Monday to Thursday 8:00am to 4:00pm, Friday 8:00am to 3:30pm) with some flexibility required for external meetings.

Contract Status: Fixed term for 2 years, linked with the HALO Project

Closing Date: Wednesday 7th January

About the Role

We are looking to appoint the Trust’s first Home Academy Liaison Officer (HALO) for attendance and educational welfare to support our most vulnerable pupils to attend school and thrive at Bridge Learning Campus.

You will join a dedicated team of attendance staff within the inclusion team, working across primary and secondary ages. You will make a difference every single day to the most vulnerable pupils’ education, by identifying barriers to attendance and breaking down these barriers through your direct work with families and external agencies.

This is a term time job (around 40 weeks), plus an additional 10 days over the year, so you do not need to come into work for 10 weeks in the year, which covers most school holidays; your salary is divided equally over 12 months.

Main Areas of Responsibility

Your responsibilities will include:

• Case Working: Managing a caseload of ‘at risk' pupils with severe absence and implementing strategies to improve attendance. Monitoring and improving the attendance and punctuality of these pupils and identifying at an early stage where other pupils may be at risk of severe absence. Offering advice and support to young people at risk of disengagement from school or home life.

• Home Visits: Conducting home visits to engage families and address barriers the children face to school attendance. 

• Identifying and Overcoming Barriers: Identifying barriers to attendance within families and finding ways to overcome these – for example housing, health, transport, finance, employment or other barriers – through tenacious and speedy referral work with the local authority and other agencies. Building and maintaining partnerships with external providers, agencies, and support networks who can resolve barriers.

• Coordinating support: Coordinating support from internal and external services to address complex barriers that pupils/families are facing. Organising meetings as appropriate for vulnerable pupils ensuring all external agencies and relevant staff are invited. Liaising with school staff, parents, and pupils to assess individual cases, ensure seamless support and develop tailored action plans and integration back into good attendance in school. 

• Communication: Ensuring effective communication/ consultation as appropriate with the families of pupils through phone, letter and home visits as relevant, ensuring pupil contracts are agreed and monitored. Communicating effectively with all external agencies including possible alternative providers e.g. Special schools, local authority and other external agencies including CAMHs, Social Services, Police, Housing, Health, etc. Liaising with Senior Leadership Team to address any attendance or welfare concerns.

• Educational Welfare: Overseeing educational welfare across the campus. Leading on legal interventions for non-attendance where necessary. Representing the school at external meetings where pupils have poor attendance as directed by the Assistant Headteacher, e.g. Social Services Case Conferences, Child in Need Meetings, Child in Care Reviews. Representing the school in multi-agency meetings and, where necessary, prepare reports and attend court proceedings. Supervising Education Supervision Orders and contribute to safeguarding procedures.

• Training: Providing advice, guidance and training to school staff on education welfare related issues such as attendance, exclusion, bullying and improving communications with parents/carers. Mentoring new staff members and engaging in ongoing training and professional development for all staff. Deliver parenting courses.

• Record-Keeping: Maintaining accurate attendance records. Maintaining the confidential records of support and interventions for all pupils referred and in your caseload.  Providing additional support where required to enable the administrative team in school to make daily phone calls, coordinate attendance and address attendance or welfare concerns  

• Compliance: Ensuring compliance with statutory duties, including reporting persistent and severe absenteeism

Who We’re Looking For:

This role is suitable for individuals who are organised, empathetic and committed to building strong relationships between school, home and the wider community. You must be tenacious – you are someone who would never give up on children!

We would like to hear from you if you have:

• Qualifications to degree level or equivalent 

• Knowledge of school attendance policy and Department for Education guidance on attendance 

• Minimum of 3 years’ experience of working in a city school, educational establishment or social care setting in a pastoral capacity including managing attendance

• Knowledge of the range of barriers to attendance that pupils face and knowledge of a range of solutions to these barriers

• Experience of dealing successfully with a range of issues influencing poor attendance

• Experience of working with pupils and parents/carers, and in sensitive situations, with empathy and professionalism, and finding ways in which we can meet their needs more successfully

• Empathy with the aims and objectives of the school/Trust

Why Join Us?

You’ll be part of an organisation committed to making a tangible difference in the lives of young people in South Bristol, and part of a supportive and dedicated team that truly values collaboration and innovation. 

Trust in Learning Academies is a great place to work. We’re a fantastic friendly team, proud of what we achieve and look forward to welcoming new people to grow with us. Join us and you’ll receive a wide range of employee benefits including:

• On site canteen facilities at some schools

• On-site parking

• Eyecare scheme

• Flu jab

• LGPS pension scheme

• Cycle to work scheme.

• Discount voucher reward scheme

• Life assurance through the pension scheme/s

• 25 days holiday (increase to 30 days after five years’ service)

• Family friendly organisation

• CPD opportunities.