House Parent at Noble Hall Leadership Academy for Girls

Duties & Responsibilities

• To act in “loco parents” for the girls and to provide all boarders with the best experience of a boarding education by ensuring a challenging and supportive environment: a home from home for boarders;
• Attend Pastoral Support Meetings;
• Organize regular meeting for House staff;
• Ensure the girls are happy and healthy within the boarding houses and promote overall well-being;
• Oversee the writing of the house report;
• Oversee the House development plan;
• Promote boarding and extra-curricular within the school and in the wider community by way of meetings, subjects-related extra-curricular activities and other special events as when appropriate;
• Take an overview of the management of the Houses, to ensure reasonably fair provision and practice, while respecting and safeguarding individual House identities;
• Promote and safeguard the welfare of children and young person’s for whom you are responsible and with whom you come into contact;
• To provide for the safety, welfare, good discipline and pastoral well-being of all pupils in the house;
• To be on emergency back - up cover for the girls in your care;
• To ensure that individual circumstances, needs, strengths and weaknesses of each learner are identified and known by staff as needed, so that individual opportunities, talents and potential are developed and maximized;
• To ensure the safety and security (including emotional) of all girls at all times when they are within the school;
• To liaise with the head of pastoral matters and school nurse to ensure that girls’ medical requirements are properly catered for; to encourage girls to adopt a healthy life style;
• To develop on the girls, a collective responsibility to be aware of the difficulties or problems of others, and to offer such support and help for each other as is appropriate.
• To ensure that a full and varied programme of extra-curricular activities is available, and girls (particularly younger ones) are appropriately occupied especially at weekends.
• To be aware of the academic strengths and weaknesses of girls; to liaise with lead tutors to ensure that relevant background circumstances of girls are known and discussed; to ensure that the conditions and supervision in evening prepare conducive to effective academic progress;
• To keep suitable records of girls’ progress, welfare, health, emotional problems, achievements and misconduct; to provide such reports and references as may reasonably be required;
• To counsel girls, at a time and place which is conducive to good communication, concerning any emotional, academic, social or behavioural problems they may have; to liaise with the form teachers of the girls’ siblings, if appropriate; inform the Designated Senior person of any child protection issues to fulfill the requirements of the school’s policy on child protection;
• To be resident at the start and end of each term to ensure that the arrival and departure of boarders is suitably staffed and to meet parents;
• To ensure that the Boarding Houses are in a presentable state at all times;
• Ensure that boarders are up to date with homework;
• To monitor and record all leave request for boarders;
• Ensure good behaviour of the girls;
• Supervise and arrange activities that promote intellectual, physical, social and spiritual development;
• Ensure girls are attending classes;
• Lend a sympathetic ear to girls with problems or provide counseling services;
• Accompany girls on weekend outings;
• Develop awareness of general health, hygiene, eating and sleeping natures and liaise with the School Nurse on a regular basis, i.e. (I) ensuring that every girl attends all meals and supervised prep as a matter of course by completing relevant registers and (II) establish and maintain orderly bedtime routine;
• Monitor behavior and deal appropriately with any disciplinary issues, monitor tidiness of dormitories on a daily basis e.g. ensuring beds are properly made and litter etc is in bins
• Ensure the safety and security(physical and emotional) of all girls in the House at all times when they are in the school’s care;
• Plays a key role in developing mutual trust and partnership between home and school;
• Ensure that all areas have been left tidy and in good order before leaving for holiday. This includes that all lights are switched off, taps turned off, windows closed and doors locked before any staff leave;
• Sleep in school each night except for your main off duty night each week;
• Encourage good manners and good eating habits amongst the girls
• Supervise and have knowledge of the where about of all boarders during out of school hours
• Any other duties as reasonable required by The Board of Directors

The house parent will also be responsible for the update of the following records:
Learner Records:

• Contact details for parents and guardians
• Details of siblings and important ‘others’ for each girl
• Learner birthdays
• Other Documents
• Disciplinary books for girls in the House
• Details of Fire Practices
• Breakages
• Telephone log, including notes of important phone calls
• For Notice Boards
• House and School Rules
• Fire Regulations
• Bullying Policy (learner friendly edition)

Staff Duty Rota’s for the House:

• Phone numbers - house parent, medical clinic, senior staff, other Houses
• Weekly Programme
• Positions of responsibility in the House - prefect etc

It will be useful to have two notice boards:

• For notices which do not change;
• For daily and weekly information.

Requirements, Experience and Skills

• Experience of working with young people
• Must be able to work unsupervised and to demonstrate flexibility
• Must be reliable, honest and hard working