Pastoral Support

pastoral support KS3

We have a dedicated team of pastoral staff working in all Key Stages and with each year group.  These are non-teaching staff members, who are there to deal with day-to-day pastoral issues as and when they arise.  The Pastoral Team is led by Mrs Williams, Director of Pastoral Care and Safeguarding.  Mrs Williams is also the Deputy Safeguarding Lead.

In Key Stage 3, we have a Head of Year for each of Years 7-9.  The Heads of Year work closely with the Form Tutors in each year group to ensure the right ethos and tone is set for all students.  Equally, they work with teaching staff and the Student Progress Leader, setting standards to ensure all students achieve the best possible rates of progression and attainment and working with students and parents to plan interventions as appropriate where a student may be struggling for whatever reason.

Finally, the Heads of Year are responsible for delivering wider pastoral care within the year group, meeting with students as required, and if additional support is needed, referring students to the School Mentor and / or the Wellbeing in Mind Team.  The team also works closely with Primary Schools to ensure a smooth transition from Year 6 to Year 7 and with the Heads of Year in KS4 when students move from Year 9 into Year 10.

In Key Stage 3, the Heads of Year are:

If you have any concerns about your child’s progress or wellbeing, please contact the relevant Head of Year in the first instance.

Wellbeing in Mind Team

The Wellbeing in Mind Team consists of an NHS staff team, based in school, to offer support to students experiencing common emotional wellbeing difficulties.  They provide additional care and interventions for young people experiencing difficulties including:

  • low mood
  • anxiety
  • low self esteem

The team works closely with external services so that those with more complex problems can get the right help, from the right people, more quickly.

Difficulties that young people experience can affect things like work, friendships and home life. Having the right support available when and where it’s needed can help to lessen the impact things like stress or anxiety have, both now and in the future.

The wellbeing in mind team is made up of NHS professionals including senior clinicians, higher-level therapists and education mental health practitioner trainees (EMHPs).  For more information on the work of the Wellbeing in Mind Team, you may like to watch the following video.

Referrals to the Wellbeing in Mind Team are made by Heads of Year.

In-School Therapist

For students requiring an individual rather than issue-based approach, the school employs an independent therapist, Karen Chapman, who has worked with young people and in schools for many years.  Students can be referred to Karen by either their Head of Year or the Director of Pastoral Care & Safeguarding.  Using a person-centred approach, Karen would typically work with a student for up to 6 weeks, with therapy being tailored to their specific needs.

Supporting Your Child Outside of School

There are a number of organisations who have produced resources which may help you support your child if they are struggling with particular issues.  We have listed some of those here:

  • MindEd Hub: a free educational resource offering advice on parenting and chidren’s mental health, created by parents and experts.
  • The Go-To: an NHS North Yorkshire resource on wellbeing and mental health for young people and their parents / carers.
  • ThisMayHelp: an NHS resource to help parents and carers who have concerns about their child’s (or another young person’s) mental health. It includes information, short films and additional resources on a wide range of subjects, which have been put together with the help of parents and young people themselves.
  • The Wellbeing in Mind Team have put together some resources to help parents support their child’s wellbeing.  This includes tips for all of us for looking after our general wellbeing as well as covering the main areas of concern for young people: low mood, anxiety, self-harm, self-esteem, stress and sleep.  You can access this information here.