Learner Support Lead (Pastoral & Wellbeing)

Learner Support Lead The Learner Support Lead takes ownership and coordinates the support required for the end-to-end learner journey to support the academic performance for all learners with barriers to learning. This includes socio-economic disadvantaged backgrounds, individuals known to social care, ESOL, wellbeing needs, and learners returning to education, youth justice, carer leavers, SEND and or/ other. With a primary focus on Pastoral and Wellbeing as a specialism, this role shifts from simply providing advice to delivering robust operational oversight and delivery. You will triage learners facing barriers, conduct initial and ongoing support sessions, and manage support quality across the provision. Inclusion must not be siloed; your mission is to embed it directly into the coaching team. This role works in partnership with the Learner Support Lead (SEND) to ensure holistic care. Learner Triage & Caseload Management Triage & Assessment: Conduct initial learner support calls to assess, triage, and identify individuals facing any inclusion barrier. Register management: Take ownership and manage the performance of the company Wellbeing Register, Wellbeing Support Plans, and wider barriers to learning as well as ongoing SEND Hub updating and reporting. Ongoing learner support: Deliver tailored, ongoing support sessions based directly upon each learner's individualised learner support plan to ensure academic performance is maintained Staff Support & Development Coach & Mentor governance: Provide guidance and oversight for the wider coaching and mentoring team, ensuring that learner wellbeing support is delivered consistently, safely, and in alignment with internal quality standards. Quality assurance of support: Perform regular deep dive quality reviews on coaching, mentoring and teaching interventions to ensure support provided to learners with barriers is effective, well-documented, and impactful. Capacity building & CPD: Lead a community of exceptional practice for coaches and mentors, upskilling them to identify early warning signs of learner distress and to deliver Tier 1 support effectively before escalating to specialist intervention. Design and implement inspirational CPD opportunities to upskill internal staff in best practices. Compliance & Continuous Improvement Funding compliance & audit readiness: Ensure Learning Support Fund (LSF) integrity, ensuring that every claim is substantiated by an auditable trail of assess, plan, do, review (APDR) evidence. Ensure strict compliance with Apprenticeship framework documentation. Impact reporting: Translate data into meaningful impact reports that demonstrate the correlation between support interventions, funding utilisation, and learner retention/achievement Quality & Safeguarding Subject Matter Expert: be able to confidently articulate the intent, implementation, and impact of your support model to internal and external stakeholders Governance & accountability: Maintain a robust oversight mechanism for the Wellbeing Register and LSF allocations, ensuring that all provision is legally compliant with the Equality Act 2010 and the SEND Code of Practice. Safeguarding: Safeguard learners from harm, uphold British Values, and report concerns in strict accordance with Cambridge Spark policies. Stay at the forefront of legislative, mental health, and wellbeing best practice changes. SEND & Collaboration Collaborative support: Collaborate and support as required with learners identified as having Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), working closely with the Learner Support Lead (SEND). Ad-hoc Support: Support with any ad-hoc duties or requests that may be reasonably required to successfully carry out the role or to support the wider business. Key Requirements & Skills Strong ability to evaluate quality and analyse delivery data reliably within the post-16 training/government funded sector. Proven experience in coaching, training, and/or assessing, with a deep understanding of what constitutes high-quality teaching, learning and assessment. Proven experience, or willingness to upskill and develop, in internal quality assurance practices. This is likely to include holding, or being willing to work towards gaining, an IQA qualification. Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage positively with internal staff and external stakeholders. Candidate Specification Essential Holds, or is willing to undertake, a Mental Health First Aider qualification A SEND qualification (Level 2 upwards) Experience of working within pastoral, wellbeing and inclusion based roles Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines. Ability to analyse and interpret data to inform quality enhancement. Desirable Experience of working with Ofsted and DfE regulations Qualifications in supporting SEND in an education setting Knowledge of, and experience within, apprenticeship or work-based FE/HE provision. Company Benefits: Pension with 4% matched contributions, opportunity to opt into salary sacrifice scheme 25 days holiday + Flexi bank holidays + 1 day off on your birthday A day for volunteering Enhanced Maternity and Paternity Leave Health & Wellbeing allowance of up to £30 per month Annual Summer and Xmas events Company socials including everything from Cambridge College formals, pub nights to team building events CPD Allowance alongside quarterly reflections to ring fence time for development and growth Private medical insurance and cash plan Holiday buy back scheme (up to 10 days p/a) Employee Assistance Programme with a dedicated company counsellor Cambridge Spark