Description

We are looking for an attendance officer (UAE Nationals only) to join our growing school.

For all staff in school we share a responsibility to ensure that children are safe and properly supervised at all times. Our school is committed to ‘amazing learning’- providing enjoyable and meaningful learning experiences so that every pupil makes as much progress as possible. All staff are expected to adhere to The Aquila Professional Code of Conduct and commit to promoting our vision – ‘A happy community school with amazing learning at its heart where pupils are empowered to make choices, engage in meaningful learning experiences and make exceptional progress’. Our focus is providing children with amazing learning and to be the school of choice for the community we serve.

The Aquila 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.

Core purposes:

In simple terms – the role is to promote excellent attendance and to follow up where attendance slips as the safety of the children is always our number one priority.

The attendance officer will assist with the maintenance of daily pupil attendance records and make every effort to see that pupils attend school regularly and that they report to class promptly. The officer shall also work cooperatively with teachers, counsellors, school administrators, and parents to assure compliance with attendance laws and regulations, and other related duties as required.

Key qualities and skills: Have the ability to:

• Work well with the community at-large, including parents and pupils
• Communicate effectively in English, both orally and in writing
• Work closely with pupils, demonstrating broad understanding, tolerance, and acceptance of them
• Apply problem solving techniques.
• Use initiative, be flexible, fun, proactive and positive

Key duties include:

• Complete attendance daily including any first day absence calls and late arrivals
• Input attendance data accurately into Engage and investigate any missing data records, including illness related absences and unexplained lesson absences
• To make initial enquiries with parents regarding unexplained absences/lateness - including first day calling
• To monitor the attendance of pupils referring concerns to the pastoral leaders
• Promote good attendance within the school via activities with pupils and parents
• To process and action pupil holiday requests
• To issue routine correspondence to parents regarding attendance/absence requests in accordance with the school procedure.
• To undertake routine liaison with external agencies regarding attendance - e.g. KHDA
• To collate attendance data producing routine reports
• To comply with policies and procedures relating to child protection, health, safety and security, confidentiality and data protection, reporting all concerns to an appropriate person
• Responsible for identifying attendance issues and patterns of absence/late arrivals.
• Attend and lead meetings with external agencies and parents as required.

In addition, all staff are required to carry out any tasks required by the school or the regional office to facilitate the smooth day to day running of the school.

To be line managed by the head of primary and head of secondary initially

Hours of work- 6:30am-3:00pm Monday to Thursday, 6:30am-midday on Friday plus occasional evening and weekend work.

Holidays- 30 days per calendar year

Person Specification

• Excellent English speaker and communication skills 
• The ability to have difficult conversations
• An understanding of strategies to improve attendance
• Willingness to undertake appropriate training and professional development
• Experience of office administration
• Experience of working in a school
• Experience of working with young people
• Unceasingly optimistic and a ‘can do’ attitude – calm kind and professional with all members if the school community 
• Can meet deadlines by effective planning and time management
• Strong work ethic and capacity for hard work
• Ability to relate well to colleagues and pupils and parents / members of the public
• Ability to work well as part of a team
• Willingness to contribute to extra-curricular activities
• Knowledge of and genuine interest in educational issues and how they apply to our school.
• Excellent interpersonal and organisational skills
• Knowledge of Engage system is advantageous 
• Attention to detail and a good level of numeracy
• Strong ICT skills, including the use of spreadsheets
• Knowledge and understanding of school policies and procedures

To get a flavour of our school please visit our website and follow us on social media.

About the International Schools Partnership

The Aquila School is owned by a London based company called International Schools Partnership (ISP). The International Schools Partnership (ISP) is a growing group of committed colleagues in financially responsible schools around the world, all of which aim to be the school of choice in their local area. Learning is at the heart of everything we do for our pupils, colleagues and parents. We are committed to getting better, all the time.

ISP was founded by an experienced team of committed educationalists and commercial operators who have worked together over many years. Our growing group of private schools located in the UK, the USA, Spain, Costa Rica, Chile, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Malaysia, and Mexico educate children and pupils from 2-18 years of age. We have now expanded to 51 schools delivering multiple curricula and building on local brands and reputations with over 30,000 pupils and 5,000 staff located across the globe.

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 are able to forge successful careers and lives in a rapidly changing world. Our goal is to enable our schools as the leading school of choice in their local area. We are a truly international group working in different cultures and speaking different languages. We work across countries and cultures, too, by working with each other and with other schools and communities. At ISP we continue to engage with schools around the world who are interested in becoming part of our global group of schools and look forward to welcoming more pupils and staff to the group.

All our schools: 

• Help children and pupils learn to levels that amaze them.
• Inspire children and pupils to be successful now and equip them to be successful later.
• Are truly international, working in partnerships within and across regions, cultures and languages.
• Aim to be the schools of choice for children, pupils and their families, wherever we are.