Description Role: Attendance Assistant Academy: Outwood Academy Portland Start Date: 01/06/2026 Salary (Actual Salary): £21,955 to £22,304 Working Pattern: 37 Hours Per Week, Term Time only plus 5 days Are you passionate about supporting student success and promoting high levels of attendance? Outwood Academy Portland is looking for a dedicated Attendance Assistant to join our team. In this vital role, you will take responsibility for daily registration systems and provide essential clerical and operational support to drive our whole-school attendance strategies. We are looking for a highly organised individual with excellent communication skills who can work effectively with students, staff, and parents. The Role Your primary goal will be to improve attendance levels and reduce persistent absence in line with academy targets. Working under the supervision of the Education Welfare Officer, you will be the heartbeat of our attendance monitoring systems. Key Responsibilities: Ensure all registers are completed and maintained with daily accuracy, including data for on and off-site activities. Maintain the academy’s attendance Management Information System and manage daily automated contact with parents regarding absence or lateness. Act as a key point of contact for parents and carers, offering both support and challenge regarding student absence, and sending out appropriate correspondence. Conduct "late gate" duties, register students who arrive late or leave early, and relate to students in a pleasant and sympathetic manner. Identify concerns and highlight attendance issues to senior leadership and Learning Managers, providing the data necessary to monitor punctuality and attendance trends. Produce and maintain engaging displays around the academy to promote attendance awareness. Comply with child safeguarding procedures and liaise regularly with the Designated Child Safeguarding Person. Welcome from the Principal: We are a welcoming and supportive academy, with a relentless determination to provide the very best education for every child. We place students at the centre of everything we do, with a focus on creating a culture of success and a positive climate for learning. We have an exceptional culture and student behaviour which is recognised by being a host school for the Exemplary Leadership Programme. ‘Overwhelmingly, staff are upbeat about the school. They value the positive changes in the school’s culture. They appreciate training opportunities. They welcome steps to make their workload more manageable. Staff morale is positive and they are very proud to be part of the school.’ - Ofsted, November 2024. We have created an educational environment where staff and students constantly strive to improve; where teachers sharpen their skills and expand their repertoires to deliver an outstanding learning experience; and where teachers, classroom assistants, mentors, tutors, inclusion support assistants and students operate as a seamless team. This enables everybody, staff and students, to not only see but also help fulfil the potential in each other. We believe our success speaks for itself as we are above the national average for the number of students achieving at a Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs. We are also proud to have been awarded Bronze Status by the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health Award. We work hard to ensure we reduce workload on staff, allowing more time in the classroom to put our vision of students first, raising standards and transforming lives into practice. All academies within the Outwood Family have gained the IQM Inclusive Schools Award with 18 having Centre of Excellence status and one holding Flagship status. If you share our vision, join our family. If you have any questions or would like to visit the school, please contact Ryan Hall, Associate Vice Principal at r.hall@portland.outwood.com Responsibilities This role is centered on ensuring the complete and accurate management of the daily registration process and maintaining the academy’s attendance Management Information System. You will be responsible for proactive communication with parents/carers regarding absences and lateness, recording reasons for absence, and processing student leave of absence requests. Key duties include providing data to colleagues (including SLT and Learning Managers) who monitor attendance issues, participating in late gate duty, and liaising with the EWO and Learning Manager to help raise academy attendance. You must also ensure all staff are advised on the correct attendance policy and procedures. You can access the job description here Qualifications We are seeking a highly organised individual with the willingness and ability to enhance qualifications and training for development in the post. Essential skills include the ability to effectively communicate with a wide range of audiences and the capacity to respect and maintain confidentiality. Crucial requirements include good time management and organisation skills, proficiency in using standard ICT packages, including Microsoft Office, and the ability to relate sympathetically to students and recognise potential child safeguarding issues. Experience of working in a school environment is desirable. You can access the person specification here