About this role
Are you a compassionate, resilient, and highly organised professional who wants to make a direct impact on children’s education and lives?At Truro and Penwith Academy Trust, we are looking for a dedicated Specialist Administrator to join our team, with a primary and crucial focus on Attendance Management. While this role sits within our administrative team, your core mission will be working on the frontline of school attendance; building relationships, identifying patterns, and supporting our families to ensure every child has the best opportunity to succeed. The Role: Why Attendance MattersAttendance is at the heart of student achievement. In this role, you will not just be inputting data; you will be a key driver of positive change. You will work closely with our pastoral team, teachers, and senior leadership to monitor, support, and improve student punctuality and reduce absence. Key Attendance Responsibilities:Liaison & Support: Act as the key link between the school, students, and parents/carers to improve attendance, reduce absence, and promote the statutory responsibilities of families. Data & Analysis: Record and monitor attendance data using MIS tools (such as Arbor), identifying patterns of absence in key cohorts and vulnerable children to support strategic action plans. Challenging and Kind Conversations: Attend confidential attendance meetings, hold challenging or sensitive conversations with parents, and handle conflict or stressful situations with outstanding empathy, active listening, and a calm, non-judgemental approach. Strategic Contribution: Support the school’s Attendance Lead in evaluating attendance trends, making targeted phone calls to establish reasons for absence, and helping implement strategies to combat persistent absence. General Administrative & Supporting Duties: While attendance is your primary focus, you will also contribute to the smooth running of the school office. This includes assisting with general school administration, managing basic student records, supporting staff training administration, and participating in school marketing or website updates. About You: What We Are Looking ForWe need someone who is a "champion for children" - someone who combines sharp, analytical administrative skills with a warm, nurturing, and resilient personality. Essential Requirements:GCSEs (or equivalent) including English and Maths at Grade C/4 or above.An NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration or equivalent experience in a relevant administrative role.Excellent IT skills, including proficiency in Office 365 (Word, Excel, Outlook), and exceptional typing accuracy.First Aid training, or a willingness to undertake training to become a school first aider.Outstanding communication, listening, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to maintain calm and professional under pressure.A strong commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Desirable Criteria:Previous experience working in a school environment or using school systems like Arbor (MIS).Experience in absence or attendance management.Level 3 Safeguarding or Safer Recruitment training.Typing, word processing, or minute-taking qualifications. Why Join Truro and Penwith Academy Trust?We are committed to helping you grow. By joining our team, you will have access to continuous professional development (CPD), mandatory training, and a supportive network of professionals across the Trust. You will play an active role in modeling a positive school culture and helping our pupils build a brighter future.As a leading Academy Trust, we are able to offer our staff a range of continued professional development opportunities alongside family friendly policies and access to the Local Government/Teachers Pension Schemes. More on our benefits can be found here. How to Apply and Further Info:To be considered for this role, please click the “Apply” button above to submit your online application.The closing date and time for receiving applications is 12.00pm Monday 20 July 2026.If you wish to discuss this position ahead of applying, please contact Jon Hall, Headteacher, on [email protected] 01736 788501.Interviews to be held on Wednesday 22 July 2026. If you encounter any issues with the online application, please contact the Talent Team for assistance at [email protected]. TPAT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff, workers and volunteers to share this commitment.Successful candidates will be required to complete an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) application as part of their pre-employment administration. The amendments to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (2013 and 2020) provide that when applying for certain jobs and activities, certain convictions and cautions are considered ‘protected’. This means that they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. Other pre-employment checks will include receipt of two satisfactory references, evidence of right to work in the UK, proof of any relevant qualifications and completion of a health assessment questionnaire.