About this role
At The Whitstable School, we believe that academic success is built on a foundation of exceptional pastoral care. As a Pastoral Support Manager, you will be the dedicated anchor for one specific year group, ensuring our students feel safe, valued and motivated to achieve.
You won’t be doing this alone. You will partner directly with a full-time, non-teaching Year Leader to form a powerhouse pastoral team for your cohort. Together, you will remove barriers to learning, celebrate student success, drive up attendance and open doors to exciting enrichment opportunities. Beyond your year group, you will act as a vital link to our wider school community and support colleagues across the academy.
Key Responsibilities
1 Year Group & Pastoral Management:
Act as the primary pastoral point of contact for students, parents, and carers within your assigned year group.
Provide day-to-day emotional, behavioural, and social support to students, managing interventions and conflict resolution.
Partner seamlessly with your non-teaching Year Leader to monitor student well-being and maintain high standards of behaviour and uniform.
Maintain detailed, confidential records of pastoral interventions using the school’s management systems (e.g., SIMS/Arbor, CPOMS).
2 Driving Attendance & Engagement:
Work proactively to monitor and improve attendance and punctuality within your year group.
Identify patterns of persistent absence early and implement targeted action plans.
Conduct supportive home visits or parent meetings to understand and resolve deep-rooted barriers to school attendance.
Run internal initiatives and rewards to celebrate excellent and improved attendance.
3 Enrichment & Holistic Development:
Lead the charge on widening horizons by coordinating and promoting enrichment activities, clubs, and extracurricular opportunities tailored to your year group.
Ensure vulnerable or disadvantaged students are actively participating in and benefiting from school life outside the classroom.
Support the planning of year-group events, assemblies, and transition milestones.
4 Supporting the Community & Colleagues:
Build strong, trusted relationships with the local Whitstable community, external support agencies, and social services.
Act as a collaborative peer to teaching staff, offering practical advice and strategies to support students' pastoral needs within the classroom.
Champion the school’s inclusive ethos, contributing to a supportive environment for both students and staff.
Full details of the requirements of the post can be found in the accompanying recruitment pack.