Family Liaison Officer (FLO)

Our Family Liaison Officer, Mrs Claire Sterriker-Rhodes, works five days a week and is an important part of Wittersham’s commitment to supporting not only our children, but their families and our wider school community.

Claire provides a friendly, approachable and confidential point of contact for parents and carers. She recognises that family life can sometimes bring challenges and that these can have an impact on children’s wellbeing, attendance, punctuality and readiness to learn. Her role is to work alongside families, helping to identify difficulties early and ensuring that appropriate support can be put in place.

Claire can support families with a wide range of issues, including attendance and punctuality, family circumstances, emotional wellbeing, accessing additional support and services, completing forms or applications, and identifying practical help when families need it. She can also signpost or support families in making contact with other agencies and professionals where appropriate.

As part of our approach to attendance, Claire works closely with the Headteacher and other members of the school team to monitor attendance carefully. Where patterns of absence or concerns begin to emerge, she may contact families to understand what is happening, discuss any barriers to regular attendance and consider what support may help.

An Important Part of Our Community Model

The FLO role is particularly important to the community model we have developed at Wittersham. We believe that a successful school is about far more than what happens in the classroom. Children thrive when school and home work together and when families know that there is someone they can turn to for advice, practical help or simply a conversation when things become difficult.

Having Claire available five days a week means that support is accessible throughout the school week. It enables us to respond quickly when families need us, build strong and trusting relationships and provide early help before smaller difficulties become greater barriers.

Our approach is based on partnership rather than judgement. We want families to feel comfortable asking for help and to know that seeking support early is a positive step. Strong relationships between home and school help us to understand the whole child and ensure that every child has the best possible opportunity to attend regularly, feel safe, belong and flourish.

Contacting Claire 

Parents and carers are welcome to contact Mrs Claire Sterriker-Rhodes directly:

Email: flo@wittersham.kent.sch.uk
Telephone: 01797 270329

Alternatively, parents and carers can contact the school office to arrange an appointment with Claire.

Families do not need to wait until something becomes a significant concern before getting in touch. Sometimes an early conversation is all that is needed to find a solution, identify some additional support or simply make things feel a little more manageable.