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)

Summary:

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.

About the Role

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.

Responsibilities

• 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.

Working with parents/carers

• 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 schools and other professionals

• Attend and contribute to meetings to support families of current students

• Work collaboratively with the Safeguarding Team, attending weekly Safeguarding Meetings when required; contribute to risk assessments and safety planning where necessary

• Work collaboratively with other departments within MVA, including the HQ team

• Provide an Attendance Report to the Principal once per term

Person Specification

• Someone who wants the very best outcomes in terms of the overall wellbeing of our students

• A confident and effective communicator, both verbally and in writing. This is essential for engaging with parents, professionals, and agencies

• Familiarity with and experience of statutory guidance around school attendance

• Excellent IT skills, especially confidence with spreadsheets (e.g. Excel / Google Sheets) and data analysis

• Strong organisational skills are needed to manage multiple cases, and maintain accurate records. Demonstrating previous experience in meeting deadlines, and in maintaining meticulous records would showcase this quality.

• A good sense of humour

• The ability to be flexible and accommodating when required

• Able to meet the requirements of the job description (above)

• Able to create good relationships with young people, staff, parents and external agencies

• Shares the MVA values and ethos, understanding the flexible education that MVA offers as an online school

• Able to work under pressure and prioritise effectively

• Organised, good time management, proactive and self-motivated

• Patient and calm

• Committed to safeguarding, equality, diversity and inclusion

• Will have qualifications and experience relevant to this position

• A good first-degree or equivalent

• This role would suit someone who has worked in a school environment and is used to liaising with all stakeholders to ensure the best outcome for the child, with multi-skilled experience in working with young people with SEND, Mental Health and medical needs

• A key quality is the ability to empathise with the challenges faced by students and their families. This could be demonstrated through past experiences where the individual has shown empathy, understanding, and support towards individuals with a variety of needs and their families.

• Collaboration and Teamwork: the ability to work collaboratively with educational professionals, families, and external agencies is essential.

Overall, candidates for this role should demonstrate a combination of empathy, communication skills, organisational abilities, collaboration, problem-solving skills, and customer service orientation through their past experiences and achievements. Providing concrete examples of these qualities in action through previous roles, projects, or volunteer experiences would strengthen their candidacy for the position.

MVA values the diversity of our workforce and welcomes applications from all sectors of the community.

Candidate requirements

• As this is a remote role, you will be required to have a suitable home-working set-up, which should include a laptop and a good internet connection. This is the responsibility of all employees.

• All remote employees are required to agree to our policies, including agreeing to cyber security software.

• MVA is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Applicants will be required to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). As part of our Safer Recruitment Policy, online searches will also be carried out as part of due diligence checks ahead of any interviews.

What you need to prepare for your application:

Please submit your CV and cover letter as part of your online application.

A CV only tells us so much, so we'd love to hear more about you in your cover letter, to help us understand what drives you and why you'd be the perfect fit for our team.

Specifically, we'd love to hear about:

• Your 'Why': What draws you to this role, and why does MVA feel like the right fit for your next career step?

• Your Background: What relevant experience and skills do you bring to this position? We love hearing about the experiences that have shaped how you work!

• Your Impact: What will you contribute to our HQ team as we continue to grow?

Don't be afraid to let your personality shine through; we value authenticity, initiative, and a genuine enthusiasm for online education!

Notices

• We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

More about MVA

MVA is an affordable, accessible online independent secondary school that delivers world-class education with a true sense of community. It is the perfect school for modern times - combining smart technology and engaging online resources with one-to-one support, active group learning, and exciting multi-disciplinary projects.

We offer students the flexibility to learn from the comfort of their home, and anywhere in the world, while ensuring they develop the social skills required to live fulfilling lives and succeed in the workplaces of the future. We champion self-sufficiency, collaboration, problem-solving, creative and critical thinking, leadership, and mindfulness.

Our motto - Together We Thrive - is translated into the day-to-day experience of students & staff at the school through our Ways of Being, devised by students for the whole community. We endeavour always to be:

• Ambitious

• Aware

• Considerate

• Kind

• Mindful

• Reflective

• Responsible

MVA values the diversity of our workforce and welcomes applications from all sectors of the community.

If you require any reasonable adjustments during the application or recruitment process, please get in touch, as we want to make sure everyone has a fair chance to show us what they can bring to MVA.

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact us at [email protected].