Senior Pastoral & Attendance Lead

Waterside Academy; Sefton; On-site; GBP 36,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

Waterside Academy in the United Kingdom seeks a proactive Pastoral Lead to coordinate the pastoral team and oversee behaviour, attendance and safeguarding across the school day. You will ensure systems are followed, respond to pupils in distress, and work with the Deputy Headteacher to manage high‑risk matters.

The role emphasizes inclusion, communication, aspiration and nurture in daily practice. The post offers leadership of staff, professional development, and collaboration with families and

Responsibilities

• Coordinate the pastoral team throughout the school day, allocating staff according to pupil need, emerging incidents, planned interventions and whole‑school priorities.
• Provide clear daily direction and operational supervision to pastoral staff, ensuring roles, priorities and expected outcomes are understood.
• Ensure pastoral, behaviour, attendance and safeguarding systems are followed consistently, accurately and within agreed timescales.
• Maintain a visible presence across the academy and support staff to respond calmly, safely and consistently to pupils who are distressed, dysregulated or in crisis.
• Consult the Deputy Headteacher responsible for pastoral care on significant, complex or high-risk matters and provide concise, accurate updates to support decision‑making.
• Promote Waterside Academy's values of Inclusion, Communication, Aspiration and Nurture through daily practice and team leadership.
• Support the induction, development and day‑to‑day performance of pastoral staff, identifying training or support needs and sharing effective practice.
• Contribute to team meetings, briefings, supervision, appraisal and service improvement as directed by senior leaders.
• Oversee the day‑to‑day work of the attendance team and ensure first‑day response, welfare checks, home contact and escalation procedures are completed promptly.
• Ensure all reasonable strategies are used to secure pupils' attendance, including calls, texts, home visits, transport support, pupil and parent meetings, individual incentives and coordinated support from external agencies where appropriate.
• Track persistent and severe absence, pupils not receiving their expected education and other priority attendance groups, escalating concerns to the Deputy Headteacher responsible for pastoral care.
• Check that attendance records, codes, notes and evidence are complete and accurate, and work with colleagues to resolve gaps or inconsistencies.
• Coordinate individual attendance plans and review their impact, ensuring actions have clear ownership and timescales.
• Support the preparation of information for attendance meetings, referrals, panels and legal or local authority processes as required.
• Communicate regularly and professionally with parents and carers about pupil welfare, behaviour, attendance, progress with pastoral support and agreed next steps.
• Manage challenging conversations calmly and respectfully, maintaining clear records of contact, decisions and actions.
• Ensure families receive consistent information and that sensitive or complex matters are referred to the appropriate senior leader.
• Work constructively with teaching staff, safeguarding leads, the attendance team, alternative providers, the local authority and other agencies to coordinate support.
• Represent the academy appropriately at meetings relating to pupils, when delegated to do so.
• Monitor behaviour and attendance information to identify individual pupils, groups, times, locations and patterns requiring action.
• Provide regular, accurate reports and summaries to the Deputy Headteacher responsible for pastoral care and other leaders as required.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of pastoral and attendance strategies, recommend improvements and ensure agreed changes are implemented.
• Carry out quality assurance checks on records, interventions, parent contact and follow‑up actions.
• Support the academy's self‑evaluation and improvement planning by contributing evidence about behaviour, attitudes, attendance and personal development.
• Comply with academy and Trust policies relating to safeguarding, child protection, health and safety, equality, confidentiality, information security and data protection.
• Maintain accurate, objective and confidential records using the academy's agreed systems.
• Promote equality of opportunity, challenge discrimination and ensure pupils can access appropriate support.
• Participate in relevant training, supervision, meetings and professional development.
• Contribute positively to the academy's ethos, values and improvement priorities.
• Undertake reasonable duties consistent with the scope and grade of the post, including support at events and activities within contracted working arrangements.

Job description

Waterside Academy in the United Kingdom seeks a proactive Pastoral Lead to coordinate the pastoral team and oversee behaviour, attendance and safeguarding across the school day. You will ensure systems are followed, respond to pupils in distress, and work with the Deputy Headteacher to manage high‑risk matters.

The role emphasizes inclusion, communication, aspiration and nurture in daily practice. The post offers leadership of staff, professional development, and collaboration with families and