Education Welfare Officer

Category: Education Support (School Based)

Start Date: December 2026 or January 2027

Closing Date: Fri, Oct 30, 2026

Job Weeks: 39 Weeks

Hours: 22.5 hours per week

Type: Permanent , Part Time

Job Reference: OCT

Thetford Academy is seeking a reliable and responsible Education Welfare Officer to help drive the attendance strategy at the school.

The role involves working with pupils, their families, staff and external agencies to unlock barriers to attendance and ensure that all pupils can engage with school as fully as possible.

• To ensure children attend school regularly and to support families and schools in removing barriers to education.
• To identify those children in need of support by reason of their behaviour, absence from academy, family dysfunction, disability, social or emotional needs or any other special educational needs and to support children whose education is at risk.
• To assess need, plan interventions, implement effective action and evaluate outcomes against agreed objectives, whilst involving service users in decisions whenever possible.
• To work with parents and other stakeholders in relation to student support.
• To assist the Academy to safeguard students through joint work with partner agencies.
• To accurately complete admission and attendance registers, as well as to regularly monitor data to identify patterns and trends and understand which pupils and pupil cohorts to focus on.

The ideal candidate for this post will be organised, professional, able to establish good relationships with pupils and their families, act as a role model and be innovative in their responses to the attendance challenges that they discover. In addition, you will have excellent communication skills, be able to confidently present information when required and possess excellent IT skills.

You will need to be able to manage your time effectively, work under your own initiative as well as contribute to the attendance team as a whole and work with team members to implement attendance initiatives for individuals and across the school. You will be required to monitor and manage an ever changing caseload and monitor the impact of actions that are taken.

• First degree or NVQ Level 4 in social work, teaching, counselling, psychology or youth and community work or other work related to work with children and/or relevant experience
• Training on safeguarding
• Experience of using social work or counselling approach to working with parents and children
• Knowledge of school systems and pastoral systems
• Ability to undertake assessments and write reports to a high standard
• Experience of working in the education system and in multi-agency settings

At Inspiration Trust, we believe in the power of education to transform lives. You’ll be joining a supportive, forward-thinking organisation that values professional development, collaboration, and innovation. We provide opportunities for growth and empower you to make a real impact in schools across Norfolk and north Suffolk. As part of our thriving network of talented teachers, leaders, and support staff, you’ll receive a varied professional development programme designed to help you be the best you can be.

We offer:

• Generous annual leave, and access to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with excellent employer contributions
• Health Plan and Employee Assistance Programme,…