Welfare Manager

Summer Boarding Courses; Folkestone; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A summer education program provider in Folkestone seeks a Welfare Manager to oversee student welfare, lead a team, and ensure a safe, supportive environment. The role includes managing pastoral care and daily routines while maintaining communication with staff and parents. You will play a pivotal role in ensuring student health and wellbeing, making strong organizational and leadership skills essential. This position offers accommodation and a salary of £1010 per week.

Benefits

Accommodation included

Paid training

Staff Wellbeing Initiative

Access to Employee Assistance Programme

Qualifications

• Previous management experience in a similar role.
• Ability to work under pressure and guide others.
• Experience in a residential summer school is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the welfare of all students.
• Lead daily welfare meetings.
• Ensure compliance with medical policies.

Skills

Strong communication skills

Organisational skills

Leadership

Empathy

Flexibility

Administrative skills

Education

Experience in a pastoral or medical role with young people

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Contract Dates

26/06/2026 to 17/08/2026

The Role

The Welfare Manager oversees the welfare of students throughout the summer programme, ensuring the highest standards of pastoral care. Managing the House Teams, they foster positive and safe boarding communities while ensuring smooth daily routines. The role involves leading daily welfare meetings, maintaining strong communication with the SBC Admissions Team, guiding staff on pastoral care, and ensuring meticulous record‑keeping. Strong communication, leadership and organisational skills are essential in this dynamic role, where student health and wellbeing are the top priorities.

Responsible To

The Summer Camp Director

The Site

Located just under an hour from London by train, Folkestone is a stunning coastal town renowned for its vibrant arts scene. Since 2002, Earlscliffe has welcomed young people from around the globe to its courses, offering the opportunity to learn English in Kent, famously known as the "Garden of England," while fostering cultural exchange and understanding. Situated in Folkestone’s historic West End, Earlscliffe boasts an open campus featuring a blend of charming traditional buildings and modern, newly refurbished boarding houses and classrooms. The campus is ideally located within a five‑minute walk of the town’s picturesque pebble beaches. At Earlscliffe, our courses balance rigorous academic study, engaging activities, and enriching experiences. As a single‑site school, we ensure exceptional quality by maintaining complete control over every aspect of the programmes we deliver. With a curriculum rooted in 21st‑century skills—collaboration, critical thinking, communication, and creativity—our students are inspired and challenged by course content tailored to their generation’s goals and global perspectives.

Ways We Support Our Welfare Managers

• We will cover the full cost of a new DBS (if required) for your first contract working with SBC. We encourage all staff to sign up for the Update Service
• Extensive, paid, on‑site training prior to student arrival
• Accommodation included
• CPD and Appraisals
• Staff Wellbeing Initiative
• Access to Employee Assist Programme (EAP)
• Continual support for all staff from the Head Office Team, both on the ground and via phone/email
• Online safeguarding and prevent training
• Professional, fun and supportive environment

Additional Role Specific Support

• Paid attendance to pre‑course Management Training
• Paid attendance of a certified First Aid Course

Remuneration

The salary for the Welfare Manager role is £1010 per week (subject to tax and national insurance), paid weekly in arrears (for the avoidance of doubt this sum includes a holiday allowance at 12.07% of basic pay in the sum of £108.78), plus accommodation at the summer site.

Main Duties

Student Welfare

• Assume overall responsibility for the welfare of all students.
• Be available and approachable to all students, addressing behavioural and emotional issues with professionalism, empathy and positive reinforcement.
• Communicate with parents and Admissions Managers about welfare matters either by telephone or face to face.
• Advise and support staff in addressing unfamiliar student wellbeing issues.
• Monitor and manage student welfare through daily meetings with House Parents and regular communication with the summer staff, managers and SBC Admissions Team.
• Attend to unwell students, liaising with relevant staff, arrange healthcare appointments and accompany them when necessary.
• Ensure medical policy compliance, monitor students’ allergy and dietary needs and provide feedback to site hosts on food standards.
• Be present during meal and break times, ensure supervision ratios and the implementation of allergy and dietary processes to ensure student safety.
• Maintain comprehensive records of medication, incidents, sickness, and medical issues in line with SBC’s Safeguarding Policies and Procedures.
• Assist in processing and responding to all Student Feedback.
• Coordinate on‑site student laundry procedures.
• Serve as a First Aider and complete First Aid training arranged by SBC.
• Complete the Level 2 Safeguarding Course and potentially take on the role of Site Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO).
• Be available for emergency on‑call or overnight duty up to six times per week.

Team Management

• Lead and manage Boarding Teams, ensuring effective communication and smooth operations in creating safe, welcoming and engaging boarding houses.
• Work with House Parents or College Officers to establish routines, maintain appropriate student behaviour and foster positive boarding communities.
• Provide guidance to House Parents or College Officers during on‑call or overnight duties.
• Lead daily morning meetings with House Parents or College Officers and support them in supervising sick students and addressing wellbeing concerns.
• Ensure accurate record‑keeping, including House Logs, registers, activity sign‑ups, medical records and incident logs.
• Foster a positive relationship with the host site staff.
• Communicate with parents and Admissions Managers regarding welfare matters.
• Oversee the induction of new pastoral staff, ensuring they are familiar with house routines, welfare policies and record‑keeping requirements.

Safety & Compliance

• Conduct Accommodation Risk Assessments and ensure safety controls are communicated to relevant staff during training.
• Regularly inspect accommodation and common areas to ensure cleanliness, maintenance and safety.
• Provide support during setup to ensure houses are presentable and ready for student arrival.

Safeguarding Duties

• Be committed to the safeguarding and welfare of students in your care.
• Complete online safeguarding training and attend on‑site safeguarding training during induction week.
• Read and understand SBC’s Safeguarding Policy, Staff Handbook, Operations Policy Handbook and Part 1 of Keeping Children Safe in Education (including annexes A & B).
• Be alert to the signs of abuse and neglect and report any concerns to the DSO immediately (including low‑level concerns).
• Know what to do if a student tells a member of staff they are being abused, exploited or neglected.
• Help students understand how to keep themselves safe and manage risk; earning their trust while maintaining professional boundaries.

About You

SBC PERSON SPECIFICATION

All members of staff employed by SBC will be expected to bring certain key qualities to the operation. There must be a professional interest in working with young people and particularly international children. Safety and welfare of the students is of paramount importance at SBC and a practical enforcing of this belief should be a quality exhibited by all staff.

We Look For Staff Who Are

• Approachable & empathic to the needs of students
• Enthusiastic & engaging
• Diplomatic, responsible & motivated
• Flexible within the summer school environment

We expect all SBC staff to be able to communicate effectively with our students, using an appropriate level of language to suit the group. SBC staff must demonstrate patience, empathy and an emotional awareness towards students both individually and in within a group setting. We expect all staff to take control of students and to manage discipline and behavioural issues in a firm, positive and constructive manner.

Experience Required

• Strong communication skills, ability to work under pressure, flexibility
• Previous residential summer school experience
• Previous management experience with a confident & supportive approach
• Rigorously organised approach and excellent administrative skills
• Comprehensive working knowledge of Excel
• Experience of managing welfare and behavioural issues effectively
• Proven professional experience of working in a medical or pastoral role with young people
• An empathic manner and positive manner
• The ability to guide, empower and support staff to best meet the pastoral and emotional needs of our students

Desirable

• Experience of residential international summer schools
• Experience of the UK boarding environment
• Experience of working within the education sector

About Us

Founded in 2008, Summer Boarding Courses have united students from around the world through education. Delivering award‑winning, future‑focused courses that strike the perfect balance between academic and social enrichment.

Our courses unlock potential and ignite a spark for long‑term success.

Our residential summer courses take place at some of the UK’s top boarding schools and university college campuses, including Eton College, Oxford University Colleges and Headington School. We carefully select our campuses to ensure that they provide the perfect environment for our students to live and study.

Over 15,800 students from 152 nationalities have been welcomed to study with us to date.

Whether it’s preparing for future studies, developing 21st‑century skills or building confidence, the knowledge gained on an SBC course allows students to go forward and apply what they have learnt to other areas of their education and beyond; giving them the necessary skills to achieve their future goals.

The EL Gazette publishes a league table based on British Council inspections, and SBC have been ranked Number 1 from 2018 to 2023. We are very proud of this achievement and will continue to grow and develop our courses to offer students extraordinary experiences.

SBC is the only multi‑campus summer school provider in the UK to have achieved a perfect 15/15 areas of strength by the British Council. A true hallmark of educational quality.

TO APPLY

We want to make sure we do all we can to set candidates up for success in this process. If you require any adjustments to help you at interview and/or you have any questions at all, please contact us at: [email protected]

Please note, as this post involves direct contact with vulnerable children, it is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. However, amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975 (2013 and 2020) provide that certain spent convictions and cautions are 'protected'. These are not subject to disclosure to employers and cannot be taken into account.

SHOULD YOU BE SUCCESSFUL

• Any gaps in your CV will be enquired about and must be explained satisfactorily.
• You will have to prove your Right to Work in the UK.
• You will provide the details of two recent and relevant referees who we will contact and specifically ask about your suitability to work with children and any concerns.
• You will be required to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS), and equivalent if you live, or have lived, outside of the UK.
• You will be asked to state that you have no known reason why you cannot work with children.
• Official identification and certificates will be required for our records.

SBC SAFEGUARDING STATEMENT

Summer Boarding Courses is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We have a comprehensive Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy and procedures in place which all employees, volunteers and contractors are expected to adhere to.

SBC EQUALITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSIVITY STATEMENT

We operate a policy of equal opportunities and welcome applications from candidates irrespective of sex, marital status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin or disability.