Post: Student Support Worker (5 Days per week)
Location: Millbay Academy, 22 Millbay Road, Plymouth PL1 3EG
FTE Salary Range: £30,024 - £32,597 Pro Rata
Actual Salary Range: £23,469 - £25,480
Contract Type: Permanent, term time only (39 weeks per year)
Contract Hours: 32.5 per week Monday to Friday
We are looking to appoint a confident, supportive and committed person to be part of our Secondary Pastoral team to be responsible for developing and maintaining effective partnerships with parents/carers and other agencies in order to safeguard pupils and their well-being and to support attendance and positive behaviour.
About the Successful Candidate
This role involves responsibility for developing relationships in a professional and supportive way, breaking down barriers to ensure access to full time education and ensuring the safety and welfare of children. Key skills in communication, record keeping and IT are essential. We are also looking for some of the following qualities and experience:
- Relevant experience in family support/pastoral role within a school or other relevant child-centred organisation
- Progressive knowledge of common barriers to school engagement and attendance for disadvantaged students and experience of working with hard-to-reach families and families from disadvantaged backgrounds
- Experience of building relationships with children and their parents, particularly the most vulnerable and working in partnership and communicating effectively with relevant agencies
- Implementing and encouraging good safeguarding practice throughout a large team of people
- Experience of handling sensitive data and upholding the principles of confidentiality
- Awareness of, and compliance with, policies and procedures relating to child protection, health, safety and security, confidentiality and data protection
About the school
Millbay Academy is a thriving secondary school in Plymouth’s Coastal Quarter, where every individual is valued, and every moment counts. Our journey of school improvement has been transformational, culminating in our recent Ofsted GOOD rating across all areas in 2024. As we continue to build on this success, our student numbers are growing, and we are excited to be recruiting due to both increased capacity and our commitment to nurturing talent from within - creating opportunities for our existing staff to take on new and exciting challenges.
At Millbay Academy, we are driven by our ethos: "Think Like a Creative." With a strong focus on Creative Industries and a broad, rich curriculum, we empower students to develop the skills, mindset, and confidence needed for success in the modern world. We are committed to protecting Arts pathways in the city and ensuring that creativity, innovation, and ambition are at the heart of everything we do. Our work connects with our sister school UTC Plymouth, and our Creative Industries commitment reflects the STEAM agenda at UTC and their “Think Like and Engineer” mindset.
We provide students with the knowledge and opportunities to progress to a wide range of high-quality post-16 destinations, including Plymouth Arts University, UTC Plymouth, City College, Callywith College, local Sixth Forms, and a variety of applied apprenticeships. By fostering curiosity, critical thinking, and resilience, we prepare them to thrive in further education and employment.
With an improved and modernised capacity for 1020 students, and a growing reputation, Millbay Academy is a school where students are supported, challenged, and inspired to achieve their full potential and where staff opportunities are excellent. There is strong precedent for Leadership development and roles across both schools for the individuals. We expect excellence from our staff, as we are committed to serving our community and to support this, we have a strong focus on staff wellbeing, including the potential for flexible PPA time; email curfew and Wellbeing Wednesday initiative.
Trust Background
Reach South is a young and developing Trust which operates across the South West of England with the aim of delivering all through 3-19 education. We operate 16 Academies in Plymouth, Exeter, Bournemouth, Dorset and Wiltshire. We are building this Trust on a clear set of values, behaviours and curriculum principles. At the heart of those values and principles is a belief in our young people and a determination to support them to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to become the successful citizens for today and all of their tomorrows.
Our core business is delivering exceptional education for children and young people with a mission to help all pupils aspire to achieve beyond the expectations that others put on them. We do this through the development of a talented and committed workforce. In order to deliver exceptional opportunities for learning, we need highly motivated staff across all parts of the organisation.
The Trust provides a strong culture of collaboration and support, together with high expectations for staff and pupils alike.
Those we recruit are able to demonstrate that they share our values, are highly motivated to work with colleagues, within and beyond their school, to continuously develop their skills and pursue professional excellence.
Next Steps
If you think this role may be for you and want to be involved at this exciting time in our development and have any questions about the position, please get in touch by calling the Recruitment team on 07759365064 or emailing us at recruitment@reachsouth.org.
Closing date: for applications is Sunday 10th February 2026
Interview Date: Interviews are provisionally booked for 26th February 2026
To apply for this opportunity, please complete our online application form by clicking ‘apply now’ on the advert.
We reserve the right to interview and appoint prior to the closing date. Therefore, an early application is strongly advised.
Opportunities and Benefits
We’re proud of how we support our staff in order that you have high levels of job satisfaction, are aware of the difference you are making for the children and families you work with and can see your contribution towards our community. There are regular opportunities for professional development and training, and a wider community of staff to network with within Reach South Multi Academy Trust. You will have the chance to visit other local schools, work alongside a range of outside professionals and take part in a variety of e-learning and face-to-face training.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Each post is subject to an enhanced DBS check.
Reach South Academy Trust has an Equal Opportunities Policy for selection and recruitment. Applicants are requested to complete the Equal Opportunities Monitoring section of the application form before submitting.
