Pastoral and Attendance Assistant

Location:
Remote

Team:
Faculty

Type:
Full-time 37.5 hours per week term time (plus 10-15 days outside term time)

Minerva Virtual Academy (MVA) is an award-winning, DfE-accredited online independent school for students aged 11 to 18 (Year 7 through Sixth Form). Founded in December 2020, MVA has become the fastest-growing independent school in the UK and has won multiple awards.

As an organisation, MVA provides a modern, flexible approach to education by delivering the British curriculum globally. A core pillar is individualised support, where every student is matched with a dedicated personal mentor for weekly sessions designed to build confidence and ensure academic progress. MVA caters to a diverse student body, including high achievers, student‑athletes, performers, and students with SEND or neurodiverse needs.

This is a position created to respond to specific needs within pastoral care in our virtual school. The main purpose of the role is to enable all MVA students to engage in education by providing support around pupil welfare and attendance concerns, and will also provide comprehensive support to students currently enrolled at MVA who are Dual‑Enrolled or who come to MVA under Section 19, have medical needs, or are Care Experienced (LAC/PLAC).

As part of attendance monitoring, the role will include identifying vulnerabilities and escalating potential safeguarding risks to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL).

In this role, you’ll work closely with students, families, and local authorities to ensure that each student’s needs are fully supported and that all requirements are effectively tracked and managed. This role requires meticulous organisation and attention to statutory deadlines to support the best outcomes for our students.

• Encourage excellent pupil attendance at School, providing a link between home, School and student
• Regularly analyse attendance data and work with the Vice Principal Pastoral and Heads of Year to develop attendance support strategies to improve attendance when needed
• To be an advocate for vulnerable pupils
• Close liaison with relevant Head of Year and the Vice Principal Pastoral at all times in relation to pastoral matters related to attendance
• Attend Pastoral Team meetings
• Attend meetings with respect to any referrals, contact with home/staff, availability to support pupils (including those on our vulnerable pupils’ list)
• Following liaison with the Attendance Officer, review the previous day’s attendance registers and assist with follow-up for missing data/reasons for non‑attendance and unauthorised absence.
• Liaise with Vice Principal Pastoral in escalating issues as appropriate in line with school procedures.
• Maintain accurate records of communications with parents/carers and relevant support /interventions
• Monitoring and reporting:
  Produce and interpret attendance reports for Heads of Year, identifying key statistics, reasons for absence and any patterns of concern
• Track attendance of vulnerable groups of pupils and share information with Heads of Year
• Identify pupils that need additional support to improve their attendance
• Work with Heads of Year to implement appropriate strategies to improve attendance for particular groups or individual pupils
• Co‑ordinate family check‑ins to review progress and the impact of support/interventions
• Work with school leaders to develop and revise the school’s attendance policy
• Liaise with the Vice Principal Pastoral to implement children missing education (CME) procedures when appropriate
• Develop existing links with local authorities and dual‑enrolled schools to promote collaboration around individual student attendance.
• Attend Safeguarding Meetings as required.

• Coordinate meetings with pupils and parents/carers and support Heads of Year to implement support strategies and track progress
• Build positive relations with parents/carers to encourage family involvement in their child’s attendance
• Identify, and where possible, mitigate potential barriers to attendance in partnership with families
• Request and coordinate information from staff, families and other professionals to share with…