Passenger Assistant

Southampton City Council; Southampton; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 27,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent local government pension

Generous holiday entitlement

Flexible working options

Staff benefits platform

Support for training and development

Job summary

Southampton City Council is seeking Passenger Assistants for the School Travel Service to accompany children on their home-to-school journeys and back. You will help with safety, welfare, and smooth travel, working closely with schools, drivers, and families.

Ideal candidates are patient, dependable, and good communicators, with a basic understanding of children’s needs and safeguarding. Roles offer varied hours and pro rata salary with pension and benefits.

Qualifications

• Experience working with children, families, or in a care/support role is desirable.
• Strong empathy and patience to support children on journeys.
• Good communication with children, parents, schools, and travel staff.

Responsibilities

• Assist and accompany one or more children on journeys to and from school.
• Maintain safety, welfare, and appropriate behaviour during travel.
• Communicate regularly with schools, drivers, and carers about transport arrangements.
• Support children with mobility and wellbeing as needed.

Skills

Experience with children

Patience & empathy

Clear communication

Safeguarding awareness

Flexibility

Job description

Passenger Assistants- School Travel Service

Are you passionate about making a difference in the lives of children and families in your community? Do you have patience, empathy, a keen sense of responsibility and experience of working with children & young people? If so, we invite you to apply for the role of Passenger Assistant to support travel to and from school. This position offers an opportunity to support children & young people on their daily journey, ensuring their safety, welfare needs, and right to access education are met.

About the Role

As a Passenger Assistant you will play an integral part in their morning and afternoon routines. Your primary responsibility will be to accompany and support one or more children or young person/s, as they travel between home and school. Maintaining good levels of communication with the children or young people, the School Travel Service office, school staff, drivers and parents / carers about the health and safety and issues relating to journeys undertaken.

Those applying from SO14-SO19 will be collected as part of their route. Anyone outside of Southampton City Council Boundary will need to transport self to agreed starting location for each the route. Unfortunately, there will be no reimbursement of fuel or parking costs associated with this.

The passenger assistant contract is not based on a set educational base/ school.

Candidates will need to be available from approx. 7am-9.30am & 2pm-4.30pm the duration of the journeys may vary dependant on number of passengers, distance, traffic etc. Various hours depending on route length. Approx 8-20hrs per week.

This role is Grade 4- £13.70 per hour

About You

We are seeking individuals who are:

• Compassionate, patient, and genuinely enjoy working with children and have an understanding of special educational needs.
• Dependable and punctual, understanding the importance of routine for the children & young people and ensure smooth running of the route.
• Clear communicators, able to interact confidently with children, young people, parents/ carers, school staff & school travel team.
• Observant and attentive to the individual needs of each child.
• Flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances or schedules.
• Committed to safeguarding and promoting the well-being of children at all times.
• Previous experience working with children, families, or in a care/support role (formal or informal experience considered).
• Basic understanding of children’s needs and issues related to safety and well-being.
• Good level of physical fitness, as the role will involve mobilising self in/ out of transport & assisting others.
• Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
• Full details of employment history and reference contract details will need to be supplied, the last 5 years of employers will need to provide references.
• First aid training is desirable but not essential (training can be provided).
• Rights to work status and supporting documentation for DBS application available at time of interview.

Essential Requirements

• Previous experience working with children, families, or in a care/support role (formal or informal experience considered).
• Basic understanding of children’s needs and issues related to safety and well-being.
• Good level of physical fitness, as the role will involve mobilising self in/ out of transport & assisting others.
• Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
• Full details of employment history and reference contract details will need to be supplied, the last 5 years of employers will need to provide references.
• First aid training is desirable but not essential (training can be provided).
• Rights to work status and supporting documentation for DBS application available at time of interview.

About the Children You Will Support

Our service serves children of all ages and backgrounds, including those with special educational needs or disabilities. Some children/ young people may require extra assistance with mobility, social interaction, or managing anxieties related to travelling. As a Passenger Assistant, you will be matched where possible with children/ young people whose needs align with your skills and experience, ensuring a supportive and positive partnership between you, the child, and their family.

Applications are welcomed from candidates of all backgrounds. We are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion in our recruitment and employment practices.

What we can offer you:

Salary: The salary band for this role is £26,427 - £27,001 (pro rata).The starting salary is £26,427 (pro rata)with annual progression through the salary bands.

Here at SCC we have a range of different benefits, a few examples can be found below.

• Excellent local government pension with 15.2% employer contribution
• Generous holiday 25-34 days, based on role and service
• Flexible working options (role-dependent)
• Family-friendly policies - Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, Shared/Unpaid Parental Leave, Time off for Dependents
• Training and development, including coaching and mentoring
• Health and wellbeing support - Employee Assistance Programme, Menopause Pledge, Mental Health First Aiders and access to a variety of staff networks
• Veteran-friendly employer with the Armed Forces Covenant
• Retail discounts and savings through the Southampton City Council benefits platform
• Discounted memberships at local sports and fitness centres
• Sustainable travel benefits - low emission car scheme, cycle to work, season ticket loans
• Death in service benefit of x3 salary, and optional salary sacrifice shared cost AVC (additional voluntary contribution)
• Employee volunteering scheme with 2 paid days leave to volunteer

For further information on our benefits package please visit Employee benefits (southampton.gov.uk)

Contact details for informal discussion:

For further information and details regarding the role, please contact Sarah Potten [e-mail]

Recruitment contact details:

Email: [e-mail]
Tel: [phone]
For more information about SCC please visit Southampton City Council
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