Boarding House Parent

Location: Claremont Boarding Line Manager: Director of Boarding

Role context

The Boarding House Parent is of central importance to Claremont Boarding. They care for boarders in their day-to-day life, in the way parents would, ensuring boarders are happy, safe, smartly dressed and ready for learning.

This role is crucial to maintaining our current “outstanding” Ofsted ranking and promoting Claremont Boarding as the destination of choice in the local area.

Each boarding house has a team of Boarding House Parents, some resident and some non-resident, all working separate shifts of 40 hours a week, over 38 weeks a year.

Key Responsibilities

Regulatory compliance

• Be aware of the implications of the National Minimum Standards for Boarding Schools and be guided by the House Lead as to the implementation of the principles highlighted in the Claremont Boarding Management handbook in the day-to-day life of boarders.
• Be aware of the Fire Safety and Health & Safety procedures in the House. Assist the House Lead in ensuring that the boarding house is a safe environment for both students and staff.
• Follow the School and Boarding safeguarding procedures. This includes matters such as the appropriate use of MyConcern.
• Follow the staff rota as devised by the House Lead to ensure compliant allocation of staff.
• Attend weekly staff meetings in the House.
• Attend any required staff training and termly boarding insets.

Operational role in the boarding house

• Guide boarders through their daily routine.
• Assist the House Lead with the induction of new boarders and the return of boarders after term breaks.
• Facilitate the boarders’ social life within the House and encourage all to take part in the communal activities around the House, both in evenings and at weekends. Contribute meaningfully to the life of the House.
• Contribute to the weekly programme of trips.
• Assist students with their homework and the organisation of their school work.
• Check that the boarders’ accommodation is safe and that their living conditions are healthy and conducive to good mental health.
• Assist students with adjusting to a more independent lifestyle, away from home.
• Read the Boarding Daily Log to be aware of any issues in the House before coming on shift and add entries whilst working so that all staff are informed of the events in the House.
• Take accurate registers when supervising students.
• Assist the catering team to ensure all boarders follow a healthy diet and display good manners at the dinner table.

• Assist the laundry team with the delivery and return of clothes/ linen to their owners.
• Refer behavioural issues to the House Lead to promote an orderly and kind atmosphere in the House.
• Assist with the monitoring of the safe use of ICT by boarders, as guided by the House Lead.
• Act as a role model to the students under your care.
• Be responsible for reporting any issues directly to the House Lead.
• Resident House Parents will be expected to hold the emergency phone and issue medication to boarders on a rota basis.

Other Responsibilities

● Undertake such other reasonable responsibilities and tasks that may be assigned by the Principal and Director of Boarding.

Candidate Profile

Person specification

• Cultural sensitivity and awareness
• Mature interpersonal skills
• Flexibility and patience
• Creativity and enthusiasm
• Good organisation skills
• Some proficiency in IT

Competencies

• Ability to multi-task
• Ability to work in a team

Qualifications

● Professional qualifications or relevant work-related experience

Experience

● Some experience working in Boarding preferred but not essential.

Safeguarding & Safer Recruitment

Claremont School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All post holders are subject to appropriate vetting procedures and satisfactory Criminal Background Checks or equivalent covering the previous 10 years employment history.

About Claremont

Claremont School is an independent day and boarding school. The Nursery and the Prep School are based in St Leonards on Sea, and the Senior School is located in Bodiam, East Sussex. The school is non selective and welcomes children and young people from a large catchment area spanning 25 miles. In addition, one third of the students in the Senior School are international boarders. Our two off-site boarding facilities are respectively located in Battle and St Leonards. They accommodate students from over twenty different nationalities.

Children join Claremont aged 1, and the school offers a British curriculum throughout with GCSEs and iGCSEs at KS4, and A Level and BTechs at KS5. In addition, the school delivers outstanding programmes in Performing Arts (winning an award for outstanding School for Performing Arts in 2021) and in football where students can join the Football academy and look to become professional players.

Results and Value-Added at Claremont are outstanding, with Senior School results beating national averages year on year, as well as more local independent selective schools. We believe that successful schools are the ones that put learning at the heart of everything they do, always aiming to create rounded individuals that can forge successful careers and lives, in a rapidly changing world. Claremont aims to be the School of Choice for the local area, and supports its young people to excel in all that they do in a safe and inspiring environment.

Claremont School is also part of the International Schools Partnership (ISP) group, comprising committed colleagues in financially responsible schools around the world, where learning is at the heart of everything we do for our students, colleagues, and parents. We are committed to getting better, all the time.

ISP was founded by an experienced team of committed educationalists and operators who have worked together over many years. ISP’s growing group of private schools are located in the UK, the USA, Canada, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Costa Rica, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Malaysia, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, educating children and students from 2–18 years of age. ISP has expanded to 63 schools that employ over 8,000 staff and deliver multiple curricula to over 56,000 students located across the globe.