Pupil Care & Welfare Officer, Blairgowrie High School

Main Purpose of the Role

Working within Perth & Kinross Council is more than a job, it's about being part of an organisation that puts people at the heart of all we do and provides opportunities to make a real difference by enhancing every life we touch.

We currently have the following opportunity:

Pupil Care & Welfare Officer - PKC14269
£12,850 - £13,537 (20 Hours per week, Term-time only)
Blairgowrie High School

Blairgowrie High School is a vibrant learning community dedicated to the vision: ‘Our Blairgowrie: Together we succeed’. Guided by our three core drivers - Our Learning, Our Wellbeing, and Our Community, we strive to nurture every young person and foster a sense of belonging, achievement, and support.

We are seeking a Pupil Care & Welfare Officer to join our team on a permanent basis.

The Pupil Care and Welfare Officer plays a key role in promoting positive engagement, wellbeing, attendance, and inclusion across Blairgowrie High School. Working as part of the wider pupil support team, the postholder will build positive relationships with young people, providing day-to-day support that helps them successfully access learning, overcome barriers to attendance and engagement, and participate fully in school life.

The role focuses on supporting the school's "Our Community" improvement driver by working proactively with pupils who may be disengaged from learning, experience difficulties attending classes, or require additional support to navigate the school day. Through relationship-based practice, mentoring, encouragement, and effective intervention, the successful postholder will help young people re-engage with learning and develop the skills, confidence, and resilience needed to achieve success.

In addition, the Pupil Care and Welfare Officer will contribute to the safe and positive ethos of the school through the supervision of social times, supporting behaviour and welfare processes, and working closely with staff, parents/carers, and external partners where appropriate. The successful postholder will play an important role in identifying emerging concerns, supporting restorative and intervention processes, and ensuring that every young person feels valued, supported, and connected to their school community.

Overall, the role exists to strengthen engagement, enhance wellbeing, improve attendance, and ensure that all young people are supported to thrive within a safe, inclusive, and nurturing school environment.

We are looking for someone with the following Personal Attributes.

• Passionate about improving outcomes for young people and removing barriers to their success.
• Caring, approachable, and able to develop positive professional relationships with pupils from a wide range of backgrounds.
• Calm, resilient, and able to remain composed under pressure.
• Patient and persistent when working with young people experiencing challenges or disengagement.
• Highly visible and proactive in supporting pupils across the school environment.
• Fair, consistent, and able to manage difficult conversations sensitively and professionally.
• Positive role model who demonstrates high expectations of behaviour, attendance, and engagement.
• Team player who contributes positively to the wider life and ethos of the school.
• Adaptable and solution-focused, with a willingness to take initiative when responding to emerging issues.
• Committed to safeguarding, inclusion, equity, and the wellbeing of all young people.

Please note, we are currently unable to offer sponsorship for this post.

Skills & Experience Required

Skills and Experience

• Experience of working with children and young people, ideally within an educational, youth work, social care, community, or support setting.
• Proven ability to build positive, trusting relationships with young people, particularly those who may be vulnerable, disengaged, or facing barriers to learning.
• Experience of supporting attendance, engagement, wellbeing, or behaviour interventions.
• Ability to de-escalate challenging situations using restorative and relationship-based approaches.
• Experience of working collaboratively with staff, parents/carers, and partner agencies to support positive outcomes for young people.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to listen, empathise, and motivate young people.
• Ability to work independently, prioritise workload, and respond flexibly to the changing needs of the school day.
• Competence in maintaining accurate records, monitoring interventions, and contributing to planning and review processes.
• Experience of supervising groups of young people and promoting positive behaviour in less structured environments such as break and lunch times.
• Confidence in supporting young people as they transition between classes and re-engage with learning throughout the school day.

Knowledge

• Understanding of the factors that can impact attendance, engagement, behaviour, and wellbeing in young people.
• Knowledge of restorative, nurture, and relationship-based approaches to supporting young people.
• Awareness of child protection and safeguarding responsibilities within a school setting.
• Understanding of the importance of inclusion and equity in supporting positive outcomes for all learners.
• Knowledge of strategies to promote positive behaviour, emotional regulation, and resilience.
• Understanding of the role that attendance and engagement play in improving attainment and achievement.
• Awareness of the challenges faced by young people experiencing social, emotional, behavioural, or mental health difficulties.
• Knowledge of multi-agency working and the importance of effective communication with families and external partners.
• Understanding of wellbeing indicators and approaches that support young people to be safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible, and included.
• Appreciation of the importance of creating a positive school culture where every young person feels valued, connected, and supported.

Desirable

• Qualification in youth work, community learning and development, social care, counselling, education support, or a related field.
• Experience of working within a secondary school environment.
• Training in restorative practice, de-escalation strategies, trauma-informed practice, or mental health awareness.

 

Working at Perth & Kinross Council

Our values and behaviours influence our work and support us in the delivery of our key priorities. In your application, and should you be invited to interview, you will be asked to describe situations that support the criteria required in the role and which also demonstrate our values and behaviours. Find out more about Perth & Kinross Council and you could soon be joining our team!

Here's what we can offer you:

• A generous annual leave package (including public holidays)
• Eligibility to join our pension scheme
• Family friendly and positive work/life balance policies such as Flexible Working, Maternity, Paternity & Adoption leave, time off for volunteering and our Wellbeing Framework
• Access to a range of benefits
• Paid PVG Scheme Membership

We recognise there can be benefits to flexible working and where individual jobs allow, we seek to support this. You are encouraged to discuss potential options with the recruiting manager, if this is of interest to you. A healthy work life balance is important to us and we provide supportive management and, where possible, flexible working arrangements to help you achieve that balance. You will have access to training and support for continued professional development.

All new employees have a four-month probationary period. Further details are available in the FAQs at “How to apply for a job or apprenticeship with us”.

Next Steps

We would love to hear from you and would encourage you to get in touch with Andrew Wallace, Depute Head Teacher on 01250 871200 to find out more.

Click “APPLY NOW”

External candidates are required to provide contact details for 2 referees, including email addresses. One of these must be your current or most recent employer.

We welcome applications from everyone and as a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee to interview applicants who declare a disability and meet the essential requirements of the post. Please contact the hiring manager above or the Recruitment Team on (01738) 475555 or recruitment@pkc.gov.uk to discuss any reasonable adjustments. Appointments are based on evidence supplied during the selection process.

Diversity is important to us and although some of our jobs may be perceived to be traditionally gender specific, we welcome applications from everyone and would encourage you to apply if you meet the job requirements. That includes welcoming applications from former armed forces personnel/reservists. Many of the skills picked up during your military career could be transferred directly into a role with local government.

Working with children and/or protected adults is regarded as a regulated role and under the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 you will be required to join the PVG Scheme or undergo a PVG Scheme update check.

If you have lived overseas for a period of 12 months or more (continuous or total) within the last 10 years, an Overseas Criminal Record Check will be required. You will be required to provide this check.

A confirmed offer of employment and commencement in the post will be subject to the outcome of the above mentioned mandatory pre-employment checks (including references) and will also include eligibility to work in the UK, qualifications and fitness to undertake the post.