High level pastoral care jobs

[snickersandmarsandbounty]

My DS is wanting to go into pastoral care/working with SEN/ behaviour in high school He is in year 13 and has no wish to go to uni.
i know it might mean looking for TA jobs but just wondering about progression . He’s v bright and predicted high grades , so if there is a career ladder that would be positive

Do they have degrees?

Having done this very job as a non teaching Head Of Year, it's likely that he will hit a progression ceiling at about £25-30k pa even with quite a lot of responsibility, and that would be doing well.

I'm sure there are exceptions, but in the majority of schools, they prefer a qualified teacher who takes on a pastoral role such as Head of Year then joins SLT with responsibility for Safeguarding/ SEND/ Behaviour.

Unlikely they'll promote non teachers that much

If he does TA work he could do a degree slowly part time

Our pastoral lead is a qualified social worker

I think you can work up to pastoral lead with experience looking at jobs advertised in schools so degree not a necessity.

What about occupational therapist for disabled kids or speech therapist for young kids or disabled teens? Both can be done through apprenticeships I think? Also a youth work degree-apprenticeship? Mentor or counsellor roles might be of interest? It might be worth him getting a couple of years of support work under his belt for experience, he could opt for an SEN provision

the nvq qualification route in work might be better suited to him, maybe have a look at apprenticeships available

I got my job in the charity sector through volunteering, then got a job, then went back to uni to do youth work while working full time in youth work. A lot of youth work organisations will put you through the qualification especially if he joins as a young person, they'll train him in house. I now work in schools working with high threshold behaviour and run an education centre for kids who can't sustain mainstream or aep. I probably wouldn't have reached this level without uni, but experience is highly valued in that line of work so the more he builds now the better. Then he can hopefully find an organisation to train and employ him simultaneously.

The clue is in the name- school.

They are generally pro education and want their staff to be more highly educated than the kids.

I probably wouldn't have reached this level without uni,...

But that's key. OP's son is determined NOT to go to uni. So he could get all the experience you have and it still wouldn't get him close to where you are.

Simply put, if he wants to earn at the level he expects, and if he's determined not to cross the threshold of a uni, this area of work isn't for him.

@snickersandmarsandbounty you seem to be determined to believe that he can take this route. But your time would be better spent being realistic and honest with him. If it's pastoral and SEN work he wants to do, then he's got to come to terms with either going to uni, or earning less than half of what he wants to.

I am not determined to believe he can take this route I posted knowing at present this is where his interest lies, working in a school setting in SEN / pastoral support so wanted advice which I have received.
Of course I am aware uni is the best option, of course I have had the conversations I am also not determined to push him into something that right now he doesn’t want to do. He is only 17 and if he does work in SEN after A Levels it doesn’t mean it’s forever, he will ultimately make those decisions

Thank you for the advice, I will pass this on, not sure if this would also be an option if he got a job in an educational setting but will look into it

He's got his head in the clouds if he thinks he's going to get this high level job through experience only. Those days are gone, I believe. I'd be highly competitive in that kind of role and I have a masters degree in a relevant area. I don't know anyone doing that kind of role (unless in a lower level voluntary capacity) who hasn't got at least two years of qualification training. I think you'd need a qualification in youth work, social work, counselling, psychology, or something like that, to even get a look in. I'd let him apply and see how far it gets him. Then he'll find out if it's viable.

No.

But they are both aged 50 with 20-30 years experience. I think someone starting out now would need at least a relevant degree.

I have told him to have a chat with the behavioural team and SEN team as there is a large department at his school to find out the routes they have taken, there is a real mix of ages too so he’s agreed it’s a good idea

I wouldn't discourage him from pursuing this path as it is a much needed role - and the demand for pastoral care in schools is only going to increase. It is great he has a passion for helping making a difference and the fact he is young could go in his favour as he may be more relatable and approachable for the kids. Also it is often a female dominated environment so again him being male could be another positive as many children need positive male role models.

However, I agree with others - it is not a particularly well paid job for the high stress that comes with it. It is a job I wanted to do myself but became disillusioned with the school system after some bad experiences. I would recommend he seeks a TA role or support role in a SEN setting to start with as experience and consider doing a psychology degree part time with the OU alongside. This is what I did and it's manageable and can be done evenings/weekends/school holidays around his job - there is no requirement to attend anything in person and the fees are cheaper than standard in person university fees so less of a student loan.

Thank you for sharing your experience if it turns out to be what he wants to do then helping to make a difference is really what it’s all about in the end.

I'm probably late to the party. But pls encourage him to study social work. It opens a lot of doors and you don't have to do front line so loads of work options. I don't know obviously what his older siblings and friends studied and they're still unemployed. But the risk of being unemployed with a social work degree is nil. Plus you spend so much time in placement you're already used to working.

Therapy assistant jobs? In schools, nhs? Some career progression, could start as an assistant- there are a couple of levels, then in future get qualifications as a therapist (occupational, physio or speech and language therapy).