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Wellbeing

School houseparent

A school houseparent looks after the welfare, safety and pastoral care of students in boarding schools.

Annual Salary

£17,500 to £27,000

Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

30 to 40 variable

You could work: evenings / weekends; at short notice

5.4%
Future employment

There will be 5.4% more School houseparent jobs in 2027.

Day to day tasks

As a school houseparent, you would:

  • look after the welfare and personal development of students
  • supervise and co-ordinate activities
  • maintain discipline, standards of behaviour, manners and dress
  • work with parents, heads of year and teaching staff
  • help at events like concerts, sports fixtures and school functions
  • do administration tasks like organising rotas, updating attendance records and making travel arrangements for school outings

Working environment

You may need to wear a uniform.

You could work at a school.

Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding.

You can get into this job through:

  • a college course
  • working towards this role
  • applying directly
College

You could take a relevant college course that might help you when applying for jobs. For example:

  • Level 2 Award in First Aid Essentials
  • Level 2 Award in Safeguarding Children and Young People
  • Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People's Workforce

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course
  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course
For more information
  • equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
  • funding advice|https://www.gov.uk/further-education-courses/financial-help
  • search for courses|/find-a-course
Work

You could start as a trainee houseparent or member of the wider pastoral care team in a school and work your way up. For example, by taking on-the-job training through the Boarding Schools' Association.

Volunteering and work experience

You will most likely need paid or voluntary experience of working with children and young people. You could volunteer at your local school or search for opportunities on:

Direct application

You could apply directly for jobs as a school houseparent. Employers will be interested in your personality and character.

You'll usually need experience of working with young people. Employers may also ask for relevant training and qualifications, including GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) in English and maths, and a first aid certificate.

Requirements and restrictions

You'll need to:

More information

Career tips

Some employers look for people with experience in roles like:nursery assistant, teaching assistant or nanny; education welfare officer or nurse; young people's counsellor or youth worker; mentor or behaviour support assistant

Further information

You can learn more about about working in boarding schools from the Boarding Schools' Association.

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You could become a senior houseparent or head of boarding.

With experience and further training, you might move into related education roles, such as mentoring, teaching or school business support.

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

You'll need:

  • sensitivity and understanding
  • counselling skills including active listening and a non-judgemental approach
  • the ability to work well with others
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • the ability to use your initiative
  • customer service skills
  • the ability to think clearly using logic and reasoning
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
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