Job Description

About us

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Padgate Academy, a distinguished member of the Warrington-based multi-academy trust "The Challenge Academy Trust," is committed to achieving excellence as a cornerstone of its community-focused mission. With recent significant advancements in standards, we are seeking a compassionate, proactive, and determined School Engagement Officer to support some of the most vulnerable, persistently absent, and hard-to-reach students in our school community. These are young people who are often disengaged from learning, present challenging behaviours, and struggle with consistent attendance.


This role is central to our school's commitment to inclusion and equity. The successful candidate will work intensively with students and families to improve attendance, build positive relationships with education, and help remove the barriers that prevent engagement in school life. The role will extend the capacity of our school's Early Help offer to families, ensuring that parents, carers and students have the appropriate holistic support in place so that they can thrive in school and wider life.


In May 2023, Padgate Academy was judged to be 'good' in all categories by Ofsted. We are determined to progress the school further but need the very best teachers to do so. We look towards our PRIDE values (positivity, resilience, integrity, determination and endeavour), which we aspire to demonstrate on a daily basis.

The role

At Padgate Academy, we recognise that some young people face challenges that make regular school attendance/engagement difficult. These challenges may include anxiety, worries, or other barriers that impact their learning, wellbeing, confidence, and sense of belonging. We recognise that early intervention is key, and that often there is a wider picture for our children, encompassing the whole family or contextual matters. To address this, we aim to extend our capacity to offer Early Help to our students and families.


The successful candidate will develop positive relationships with families in need of additional support, through offering appropriate interventions such as referrals to external agencies (e.g. Early Help), with the aim of improving student attendance and engagement with school.


The School Engagement Officer will play a key role in delivering this support, building trusting relationships with students and families, completing Early Help Assessments, chairing Team Around the Family meetings, and signposting to relevant support services. There may also be the opportunity to further develop this role to encompass student mentoring/specific interventions.

Essential Attributes:

Experience of working with children and young people, ideally within an educational or pastoral support setting. Strong communication skills, with the ability to engage positively with students, parents, carers and professionals. Empathy, patience, and the ability to build trust with young people who may be experiencing anxiety or other barriers. Ability to support students' learning in line with school expectations. Strong organisational skills to maintain accurate records and manage time efficiently. Clear understanding of safeguarding responsibilities and willingness to follow statutory guidance and school policies rigorously. Commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.

The successful candidate must possess clear communication skills, maintain a calm and respectful demeanour with students and staff, uphold reliability, trustworthiness, and adhere to Academy policies and procedures.


Join us at Padgate Academy as we embark on an exciting journey towards educational excellence. Apply now to make a lasting impact in our vibrant school community. Applications for job sharing arrangements will be considered. The Challenge Academy Trust (TCAT) and Padgate Academy are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, requiring all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is mandatory.


Applications must be submitted using the Padgate Academy non-teaching post application form available on our website.

Key dates

Closing date:

12 noon Wednesday 3 December

Interviews:

Monday 8 December 2025

Start date:

January 2026

Key Info

Contract:

One year fixed-term post in the first instance

Hours:

20 hours per week (working days and hours to be determined). Term-time only (total of 38 weeks per annum plus two INSET Days).

Pay:

Grade 6 SCP 15 to 22 - Full year salary range 30,024 to 33,699 Actual salary for term-time only: 13,744 - 15,426 per annum


For further information and to apply, please visit the school website