Family Support Worker - Term Time

Five Acre Wood School, Maidstone

• Ref:KCC886-7056-788S
• Posted:11/07/2025
• Pay:KSD Actual salary Inc FAW Allowance £24,387.93
• Start Date:TBC
• App Close Date:18/07/2025 at 10:00
• Interviews:ASAP

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To provide support, information and education service to parents of children attending the school and investigate concerns raised by parents, pupils and teachers as agreed by the Headteacher. To work on preventative and intervention activities.

Principal Accountabilities:

To carry out the following tasks, in partnership with the Social Worker, following discussion and agreement:

• Establish and foster good relationships with parents / carers of children at the school. Encourage parental involvement in the school and its activities.
• Promote the self-esteem of parents / carers to help them to maximise their own personal and interpersonal skills, which will enable them to respond to family needs by communicating openly and to provide good parenting.
• Share information on practical childcare and parenting skills, identifying need for support including how to meet the emotional needs of children (e.g. setting boundaries and consistent discipline).
• Provide impartial information or referrals to parents about the school and relevant local services available to parents, children and families including those provided by education, social care, childcare providers, the voluntary sector and others.
• Support parents when their child is finding it difficult to access school.
• Liaise with members of school staff regarding families / children as necessary and with parent / carer consent.
• Encourage good relations and effective dialogue between parents and teachers about children’s progress. Keep up to date on the range of agencies working locally in order to maintain knowledge of services that parents might be signposted to.
• Liaise with the school’s designated safeguarding leads.
• Keep records and all documentation pertaining to meetings / contact with children and young people and their families.
• Attend support and staff meetings to continue own professional training and development, as targeted through appraisal process.
• Attend Annual Reviews of pupils that the Family Support Team are involved with or have supported. Contribute to the review and implement any actions according to the action plan.

. Attend Transition meetings as a representative of the Family Support Team to get to know the family upon entry to the school. Be the friendly face that is there to support them from the very beginning.

• Carry out home visits in a Family Support capacity i.e. discuss with parents how they can help them to liaise with staff teams/ therapy team/ specialist teachers/ school nurse/social workers to provide the best strategy or solution to ensure consistency for the pupil.
• Where requested, to represent the school at CHIN meetings. To prepare and contribute as appropriate, cascade information to appropriate personnel and implement actions as necessary. To ensure that records of these meetings are maintained.
• Attend Learning Approach Parent Forums and Family Forum. Where necessary, to liaise with participants to provide a focus and facilitate this in the form of an agenda.
• Support and train parents to implement resources such as PECS symbols, photographs, schedule timetables, social stories to ensure consistency for the pupils prepared by class staff.
• Support and signpost teachers as required, in the support of particular pupils.

Information about the school

Five Acre Wood is a successful outward looking and expanding Special School based over 5 sites in and around Maidstone, Kent. We are one of the largest special schools in the country with over 840 pupils on roll aged up to 19 years with profound, severe and complex needs.

Our ‘Outstanding’ school will continue to expand and we are looking for people with a positive approach to join us who share our vision of ‘Only the best will do’ for all our students and staff. We are a Teaching School and part of a collaborative alliance with other special schools. We really value our people and want to work with them to fulfil their career ambitions.

In addition to your salary, FAW allowance and pension benefits, we have excellent additional staff benefits including:

Employee Assistance Programme including confidential staff counselling service a A range of staff social and well-being events Annual flu vaccinations Free on-site parking

Sometimes words cannot explain how something really is, we would encourage you to view the link below:

We hold an annual music festival for our pupils, it gives them the opportunity experience something they may not ordinarily be able to access.

We have also produced our own songs and music videos which you can view by clicking the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/@FiveAcreWoodRecords

We look forward to hearing from you.

Five Acre Wood is committed to the safeguarding of all its pupils, you will therefore be subject to an enhanced disclosure process. As part of our responsibility for safeguarding, in addition to the Kent policy of one employment and one personal reference, the school will request additional employment references. The school will also, as outlined in Keeping children Safe in Education 2022, complete an online search for shortlisted candidates.

Job Contact Information

• Name:Nicola Devereux
• Address:Boughton Lane, Maidstone , Kent, ME15 9QF
• Telephone: (01622) 743925
• Email: hr@five-acre.kent.sch.uk

Fax: 01622 744828

Documents

Below are documents that have been added to this vacancy.

• Family Support Worker