Welfare Support Assistant

The Westleigh School; Lancashire; On-site; GBP 23,000 - 24,000; Full time

Job summary

The Westleigh School in Lancashire is seeking a caring Welfare Support Assistant on a permanent basis. You will provide welfare and first aid support, helping pupils who are unwell or in distress, and work with staff to ensure pupils feel safe and engaged throughout the day.

You will maintain confidential records, communicate with parents, and support safeguarding and attendance initiatives, contributing to a calm, supportive school environment.

Qualifications

• Experience supporting pupils with health and welfare needs in a school setting.
• Ability to administer medication following school policies.
• Commitment to safeguarding and promoting pupil wellbeing.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day welfare and first aid support to pupils and staff as required.
• Respond to pupils who become unwell, injured or require immediate support.
• Provide a calm and reassuring environment for pupils in difficulty.
• Support pupils' physical health, wellbeing and emotional needs.
• Maintain accurate and confidential welfare and medical records.
• Communicate with parents/carers regarding pupil welfare per school procedures.
• Liaise with school staff and external professionals as appropriate.
• Administer medication in line with school policies when trained.
• Support the school's safeguarding procedures and report concerns appropriately.
• Promote good attendance and positive engagement with school.
• Keep the welfare area clean, safe and well organised.

Skills

Pastoral support

First aid

Calm under pressure

Communication skills

Job description

We are seeking a caring, compassionate and approachable Welfare Support Assistant to join our dedicated team on a permanent basis.

This is a rewarding opportunity for someone who is passionate about supporting the health, wellbeing and welfare of young people and who can provide a calm, reassuring presence within a busy secondary school environment.

The successful candidate will play an important role in supporting pupils who may be unwell, distressed or require additional pastoral support during the school day. You will work closely with colleagues across the school to ensure pupils feel safe, supported and able to engage positively in school life.

As a Welfare Support Officer, you will:

• Provide day-to-day welfare and first aid support to pupils and staff as required.
• Respond appropriately to pupils who become unwell, injured or require immediate support.
• Provide a calm and reassuring environment for pupils who are experiencing difficulties.
• Support pupils with their physical health, wellbeing and emotional needs.
• Maintain accurate and confidential welfare and medical records.
• Communicate appropriately with parents/carers regarding pupil welfare, following school procedures.
• Liaise with school staff and external professionals where appropriate.
• Administer medication in line with school policies and procedures, where trained and authorised to do so.
• Support the school's safeguarding procedures and report concerns appropriately.
• Promote good attendance, wellbeing and positive engagement with school.
• Ensure the welfare area is maintained in a clean, safe and organised manner.

Our ethos is ‘Aspiring and Achieving Together’. Whilst we are committed to ensuring that every student makes excellent progress, this concept stretches well beyond academic performance. We firmly believe that every aspect of school should equip learners to be successful in all areas of their lives, both now and for their future. Indeed, every single decision or action taken improves the life chances of all our learners. This is underpinned by ensuring The Westleigh school is a safe, nurturing and happy environment: put simply, The Westleigh School is a great place to learn and a great place to work.

Uniting with The Shaw Education Trust brings with it new opportunities and a wealth of resources to supplement our mission to improve outcomes for all our students. Colleagues will have access to a large range of well-established training opportunities, such as a fully funded L5 Instructional Coaching qualification or Accelerated Leadership training, for those aspiring to Middle Leadership. Outstanding teachers will also achieve Trust Professional Advocate designation, which provides exciting opportunities to support colleagues within both The Westleigh School and across other SET schools to share best practice. With this brings the opportunity to engage in the cross-trust peer review and Trust CPD programme.

All candidates are required to provide a supporting statement on the formal application forms which states clearly your reasons for applying, skills and experience for this position.

AtShaw Education Trust, we believe every role has the power to transform a life.Whether you’re supporting behind the scenes, inspiring in the classroom, orleading with vision, you will be part of something truly meaningful.

Ourvalues—opportunity, integrity, community, and equity—guide everything wedo. Our vision is “Opening doors to the world through the power oflearning.” We bring this to life through our mission: workingtogether to inspire communities where every school is valued, every voicematters, and every learner thrives.

Weare a dynamic and growing family of primary, secondary, and special schools,proudly serving communities from Birmingham to Bury.

Ourpeople are our greatest asset, and we are deeply committed to their developmentthrough high-quality training, apprenticeships, talent development programmes,and research opportunities, we empower our staff to thrive as skilled,confident professionals. We champion wellbeing, value every voice, and foster aculture where you feel supported, motivated, and inspired to make a realdifference.

Youwill join a collaborative network of schools where shared expertise and astrong professional community drive success. Every academy within our Trust hasan equal voice, and every colleague plays a vital role in shaping tailoredlearning experiences that raise aspirations and build brighter futures.

Ifyou have the passion, dedication, and drive to help shape lives and createfutures filled with promise, we would love you to join our team.

Together,let’s make the remarkable happen.

Webelieve every child has the potential to be extraordinary.

Inour secondary schools, we pride ourselves on our innovative approachto curriculum design, to ensure all our schools have breadth and ambition for all students, regardless of their starting points and barriers. Standard curriculummodels don’t always engage all students, so we constantly seek to innovate and provide better opportunities to develop both knowledge and skills for life. Wewant our students to believe their curriculum is bold, exciting, purposeful, and ultimately leads to something meaningful for them. Some examples of ourinnovation include moving towards a trust wide approach to enrichment andcompetitions, to provide a world class enrichment programme and more opportunitiesfor essential skills like reading and cultural capital. We are also introducingvocational and technical pathways, which run through the normal schoolcurriculum but attract support from leading employers and universities todevelops work-readiness in our students, so that they can progress onto TLevels and apprenticeships.

ShawEducation Trust offer the following employee benefits with your Teaching orSupport Staff employment:

• An excellent Local Government Pension Scheme (SupportStaff) / Teachers Pension (Teaching Staff)
• Support Staff only based on working full time,all year - Generous holiday entitlement from your first day of employment (37 days holiday rising to 39 days after 5 years’service including Bank Holidays)
• Access to Medicash Health & Wellbeing Plan: Enjoyhealth services designed to support your well-being.
• Free DiscountForTeachers Scheme for all staff (Supportand Teaching), Exclusive discounts to save money with a wide selection ofdiscounts and exclusive offers from hundreds of the biggest brands.
• Free Eye Tests
• Cycle to work scheme
• Access to our Institute ofEducation and fantastic opportunities to help you grow, contribute andflourish in your role and in the Trust.

Weknow our people are the key to our success and so we’re committed toensuring the employment experience at Shaw Education Trust is a rewardingone.

Colleagueswithin the Trust benefit from: Access to a full range of courses both in-house andprofessionally accredited. These courses include a variety of the NationalProfessional Qualifications and the Early Carer Teacher Programme delivered byShaw Education Trust as a delivery partner for Ambition Institute.

• Experiencedleadership and subject-specific support.
• Guidancefrom former HMIs and serving Ofsted Inspectors within the Trust.
• Accessto the Trust’s Institute of Education and SCITT.
• Opportunitiesto work with different schools within the Trust as a Professional Advocate.
• Participatingin peer reviews.
• Accessto a suite of online courses.
• Placementprojects within our family of schools.

Actual Salary: £22,678 - £23,401
Working Hours: 37 hours per week, Term Time Only plus 5 Inset days (working 39 weeks)