About Oak Activities
Oak Activities is a leading Alternative Provision education provider based across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, supporting young people through a holistic and blended learning approach. With 8 sites and over 100 staff, Oak is making a tangible difference in the lives of children and young adults in our communities.
Oak Activities is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable children. We abide by our Safer Recruitment policy strictly including right to work checks, identification checks, referencing checks and DBS checks.
Role Overview
The Family Liaison and Welfare Officer (DDSL) will join the Training and Compliance team and support them on their journey to continued success.
The successful candidate will work closely with our Behaviour and Welfare Manager and will be a main point of contact for pupils and families who need additional support. Candidates must be motivated to work effectively with pupils, families, and staff.
This is a full-time, term-time plus two weeks role, working 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday. The role will be based at Head Office with regular travel to all sites.
The salary range for this position is £28,000 to £32,000 (actual). The successful candidate will be awarded a salary commensurate with their experience.
Core Responsibilities
* Establishing positive relationships with children and their families.
* Acting as a point of contact in Oak Activities for families in need of support.
* Maintaining regular contact with families of pupils receiving support to encourage positive family involvement in the child's learning.
* Establishing positive, constructive relationships with parents/carers and communicate information as required.
* Offering help, advice and guidance to parents/carers including signposting to other agencies.
* Developing and enhancing parental engagement with the provision and other agencies.
* Striving to improve the lives of all vulnerable families.
* Building up a comprehensive knowledge of families so support can be signposted accurately.
* Encouraging excellent relations and effective communication between families and Oak Activities staff about children's progress.
* Ensuring information is relayed to the DSL's as appropriate and in accordance with the Oak Activities Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy.
* Participating in training events as required to ensure knowledge is up-to-date and reflects excellent practice advice.
* Supporting in attendance at external meetings such as team around the family meetings (TAF's), social care and youth justice meetings.
* Promoting understanding of contextual safeguarding and familia harm/risks across the company
* Providing consistent support to all pupils, responding appropriately to individual pupil needs.
* Providing one-to-one support for pupils such as group and 1-1 targeted PSHE curriculum
* Acting as point of contact for Children in Care attending Oak Activities, attending PEP's
* Supporting Young Carers and liaise with outside agencies
* Being aware of, and complying with, all policies and procedures relating to child protection, health and safety, security and data protection.
* Supporting with the delivery of MyConcern training across the company
* Supporting with triage of MyConcern disclosures
* Being part of the Safeguarding Team as a Deputy DSL
* Sharing with managers any safeguarding / child protection concerns and maintain confidentiality.
* Liaising professionally and establish constrictive relationships with external agencies and attend multi-agency meetings as appropriate
* Completing appropriate referral forms to external agencies as and when required
You may be expected to carry out other duties commensurate with the post as directed by the Behaviour and Welfare Manager.
Person Specification
Qualifications
· Educated to Level 3 or equivalent in a relevant field (i.e. childcare, education, health, or social care) - Essential
· Evidence of continued professional development in safeguarding, family support, or related areas - Essential
· Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) or Deputy DSL training - Desirable
· Relevant qualification in counselling, family liaison, or social work - Desirable
· Training in mental health first aid, domestic abuse awareness, or similar areas -Desirable
Successful experience of:
· Proven experience of working directly with children, young people, and families - Essential
· Experience of working in a safeguarding role and responding to child protection concerns - Essential
· Demonstrated ability to build positive and trusting relationships with families - Essential
· Experience of multi-agency working and supporting families to access external services - Essential
· Previous experience in an educational setting (i.e. school, alternative provision, or youth service) - Desirable
· Experience in supporting Children in Care and Young Carers - Desirable
· Experience delivery 1-1 or group interventions (i.e. PSHE, wellbeing programmes) - Desirable
· Experience using safeguarding software such as MyConcern - Desirable
Knowledge and skills
· Strong understanding of safeguarding, child protection, and confidentiality requirements - Essential
· Knowledge of contextual safeguarding and challenges faced by vulnerable families - Essential
· Ability to communicate clearly, sensitively, and professionally with pupils, parents/carers, and professionals - Essential
· Strong organisational skills and the ability to prioritise effectively under pressure - Essential
· Confident in managing sensitive information in line with GDPR and data protection - Essential
· Competence in using ICT systems to record and share information securely - Essential
· Knowledge of local and national support services available to families - Desirable
· Awareness of current legislation and government guidance relating to safeguarding and child welfare - Desirable
· Familiarity with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and PEP processes - Desirable
Personal attributes
· Compassionate, approachable, and resilient - Essential
· Self-motivated with the ability to work independently and as part of a team - Essential
· Committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion - Essential
· Flexible and adaptable to the changing needs of families and the organisation - Essential
Benefits
As a valued employee of Oak Activities, you will receive:
· Training and development opportunities
· Access to an Employee Assistance Programme
· Independent mortgage advice
· Generous bonus schemes such as performance-linked and refer a friend.
· Death in Service
Further Information
Oak Activities does not discriminate on the grounds of age, gender, race, colour, religion, disability or sexual orientation, and we welcome applications from all sections of the community.
All applicants should be aware that they must undergo child protection screening appropriate for each job role. It's an offence for any organisation to offer employment that involves regular contact with young people under the age of 18 to anyone who has been convicted of certain specified offences, or those who are included on lists considered unsuitable for such work held by the Department of Education.
It is also an offence for people convicted of such offences to apply for work with young people. If you are successful throughout your application, you will be subject to satisfactory completion of an Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service before the appointment is confirmed. Further information about the Disclosure and Barring Service can be found at
Guidance about whether a conviction or caution should be disclosed can be found on the Ministry of Justice website. Oak Activities employees are expected to abide by the Company's safeguarding policy, code of conduct, and will attend Safeguarding training.
Oak Activities reserves the right to invite successful candidates to interview prior to the closing date. Therefore, we encourage interested candidates to submit their applications without delay.
The closing date for applications is 3rd October 2025.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: £28,000.00-£32,000.00 per year
Benefits:
* Cycle to work scheme
* Free flu jabs
* Health & wellbeing programme
* Referral programme
Work Location: In person