Full Job Description
House Parent (Live in)
Contract: Permanent
Reports to: Senior Houseparent
Hours of work: The HP is expected to work evenings and weekends but does benefit from 2 full days off during the week.
Salary range: £17,290 to £18,964.40 (full-time equivalent based on working 35 hours per week) plus free accommodation. Weekly working hours will be between 30 to 35 hours per week
Accommodation: Provided with free en-suite Studio flat accommodation, inclusive of bills excluding the TV license
Holidays: This is not a term time only position and this role comes with a holiday entitlement of 33 days per year, pro rata for part-time (inclusive of bank holiday entitlement), half should be taken in line with academic holiday breaks. The HP is expected to share duties to support cover over bank holidays (including Christmas Day and New Year). Holidays are usually not permitted from mid-June to mid-August.
Role Description
The House Parent (HP) plays a pivotal role in supervising the main Kings Oxford residence, Wavy Gate and focuses on the pastoral care and welfare of all students based at our main residence and contribute to the social programme to ensure students’ enjoyment and wellbeing. They ensure the highest level of care and supervision is provided at all times and the safeguarding of student needs are always put first. Our main residence is located very close to Oxford City Centre and is home to both English language and academic students, over 16, on long term arrangements.
As we are registered as a boarding school with the Department for Education, the HP role must work in line with National Minimum Standards for Boarding Schools, Ofsted’s Common Assessment Framework and Standards for Inspection of Boarding and Residential Schools, completing and maintaining the necessary documentation to support this.
The HP reports, in the first instance, to the Senior Houseparent (SHP) who leads the team. The HP also works closely with all other members of the accommodation team, Welfare team and core senior staff.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Safeguarding and Pastoral Care
- All members of the accommodation team must be level 3 trained in safeguarding.
- Work as part of a dedicated team to ensure the highest level of pastoral care to all residential students, ensuring all needs are met and issues are promptly recorded and resolved
- Promote the safeguarding, physical and emotional wellbeing of all residents dealing with any issues promptly and offering continued support, as and when required
- Supervise students proactively when on duty, having regular contact and interaction
- Hold regular meetings with students to convey important messages and to promote wellbeing initiatives
- Hold regular flat meetings and student room inspections as well as directing and supporting instances related to the confiscation of items from students.
- Assist and support in gaining the required information and consent from students when dealing with authorised absences/going away procedure.
- Support all student needs, following regulatory guidelines on administering medicines.
- Promote weekly social activities to students within the residence
- Organise and participate in social activities within the residence.
- Contribute to creating a homely residence, to help and encourage students to flourish and develop in their confidence and studies
- Share the responsibility with other Accommodation team members in the completion of student personal care plans, regularly meeting with students, supporting their needs based on the care plan created
- For those students under 18 years old, supervise in accordance with Kings Policies and all statutory requirements including curfew rules with regard to Child Protection and general safeguarding.
- Maintain and monitor good order and discipline within the residence, with particular regard to bullying, anti-social behaviour and discipline policies, including taking a lead role in room searches as/when necessary. When required, enforcing discipline through the residence sanctions ladder and rewarding through the merit scheme
- Assist and support safeguarding and welfare issues at our other over 18 residential sites as and when needed. Attending these sites if required.
Health and Safety
- Ensure that the Kings Oxford residences are compliant with all Fire, Health & Safety regulations. You will be trained as a Fire Marshal and will be responsible for the safe evacuation of all residents when on any of our residential sites.
- Maintain the safety and security of the residence buildings by making regular patrols, ensuring doors and windows are locked and visitors are signed in and out.
- Work with the overnight security provision on maintaining student safety.
- Complete daily checks to ensure the building is in a good state of repair, rooms are comfortable and students are satisfied with their living arrangements. For general repairs, report to A2Dominion as per standard procedures.
- Deal with any logistical issues while on duty.
General
- Work with colleagues to meet all duties and responsibilities for the supervision of Wavy Gate Residence offering the highest level of service, safety and welfare to our resident students.
- Be responsible for answering the residence phone and responding to enquiries effectively and efficiently
- Ensure the residence diary is kept up to date with all activity and lists everything which needs a further action.
- Maintain all necessary welfare documentation, updating the residence diary, My Concern and storing essential student welfare information within the correct database fields
- Maintain the noticeboards and ensure they are up to date with all Residence information
- Take a lead role instudent induction and departures, ensuring students are fully inducted as outlined in the student induction practice and all supporting documentation actioned and filed. Induction includes students from other residential sites.
- Oversee the Residence inventory and assist with the ordering of replacement items and preparing rooms and residential sites ready for new student arrivals.
- Attend regular team meetings and to take part in the school’s process of Performance Management/Appraisal
It is understood that this role is likely to evolve over time and that relationships, responsibilities and duties are likely to change to reflect changes in the college.
On call
Members of the accommodation team are required to hold the emergency phone on a rotational basis. This will include overnight and weekends and does not form part of your regular working hours. You may sleep or be off premises during on call hours as long as you remain immediately contactable and able to return within twenty minutes. Any time spent working in response to an emergency will be compensated with time off in lieu.
Person Specification
Kings Education is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
Applicants must be able to demonstrate:
Personal attributes:
- Trustworthy, honest and discreet
- Patient and able to gain students’ trust and sensitive to their needs
- Approachable, friendly, responsible
- Be able to respond quickly and calmly in an emergency
- Be able to de-escalate potential conflict or upset
- Be security and safety conscious
- Be able to prioritise and multitask when necessary
- Have strong organisational, IT and communication skills
- Flexibility and supportive with rota cover
Formal qualifications:
- Minimum Grade C in GCSE Maths and English
Desirable attributes:
· Experience working in an international environment
· Experience working in education
· Understanding of safeguarding, welfare and pastoral care
Type of contract: Permanent
Anticipated start date: January 23
Applications should be made by: Thursday 8th December
Interviews will commence on: week commencing 12th December
Successful appointment will be dependent upon:
- Enhanced DBS check
- Confirmation of right to work in the UK
- Satisfactory references (including confirmation of no child safeguarding concerns)
- Candidates who have lived and worked abroad in the last five years will be required to seek good conduct references, or the equivalent, from the countries in which they worked, as a pre-requisite of employment
– Kings is an Equal Opportunities employer and we adhere to the principles of equal opportunity in all aspects of our recruitment process.
– It is Kings Education’s policy not to communicate further with applicants other than those who are shortlisted for a position.
– For information about how your personal data will be processed and stored please see our Kings Privacy Notices’ at: https://www.kingseducation.com/factsheets/gdpr
– For more information about Kings please go to our website: www.kingseducation.com
Kings Mission Statement
At Kings, our mission is to provide a general and linguistic education for young people from all over the world intent on studying in an Anglophone environment — developing and nurturing every student to help them achieve personal growth, personal achievement and the best learning outcome for their individual circumstances, ability and needs. We strive to create life-changing and long-lasting memories, and to help our students make ambitious, well-informed and broad-minded choices about the way they lead their future lives.
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Salary: £17,290.00-£18,964.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company events
- Discounted or free food
COVID-19 considerations:
We are following the government guidelines
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Oxford, OX4 1LG: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
