Pastoral Support and Pupil Well-Being. Epraise

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1 Pastoral Support and Pupil Well-Being Epraise I would just like to remind all parents to continue to log onto Epraise or download the APP so that you can keep up to date with your child s achievements. At St Bede s, we use Epraise to log all of our rewards; from epraise points through to accolades. We also log any sanctions and any pastoral support or intervention that your child has received. It is a nice way to engage in conversation with your child and encourage them to talk about their day and recognise how well they are doing in school. This academic year, we are going to be using Epraise to book Parent s Evening Appointments. Information will be provided on how to do this, however if you would like to find out about how to use Epraise plus other software that we use in school then we will be holding an IT Information Evening on Monday 1 st October. Pastoral Support in School With the new academic year in full swing, I wanted to reach out to parents to make sure that you are aware of the Pastoral Support we have available in school, in case your child should need it. As you may already know, St Bede s is a Thrive school which means, on a daily basis, we are supporting the pupils social and emotional well-being. On a Friday afternoon during reflection time, all classes take part in a Thrive activity, which is away from academic study, and focuses on being mindful through activities such as meditation, art, music etc. Through school s SMVSC days, we cover a wide range of topics to help develop children s Spiritual, Moral, Vocational, Social, and Cultural qualities. In last week s newsletter, some of the Key members of Pastoral Staff were introduced and, below, is a list of what school has in place to support your child s mental health and emotional and social wellbeing. Epraise Epraise is our online school rewards programme that motivates and engages student to be successful in behaviour and attendance. Epraise allows parents to login and see an overview of their child s profile. 1:1 Support Support is offered to children who need help and guidance in supporting their emotions and well-being. Examples of some of the support we can offer: anxiety and stress, self-esteem, selfharm, anger-management and friendship support. Attendance Rewards Attendance is monitored weekly, and children who receive 100% attendance at the end of every term will receive a reward such as pizza afternoon, film and popcorn or use of the Sports Hall. They will also receive a certificate and be entered into a prize draw whereby they can will a voucher.

2 Attendance Workshop During our weekly attendance meetings, if a child is flagged up as a concern, we invite the pupil to an Attendance Workshop. This workshop usually lasts around 6 weeks and parents are also informed and invited to attend a session on the Importance of Attendance. Targeted Family Support Jill Wallis works closely with school and supports children and their families with any concerns or worries that they have. She also runs a drop in session on a Monday during lunchtime for pupils and she also offers parent meetings by appointment. Stress and Anxiety Support SATs A designated member of pastoral will work and support children in Year 6 who are feeling anxious and worried over SATs. These sessions will take place once a week and offer the pupils strategies to support their emotions. Thrive Identified children have a Thrive session once a week to help support their social and emotional well-being. During the child s sessions, they will undertake different activities that enable them to start to understand their emotions and help them to recognise and regulate their emotions when feeling over-whelmed. Prefects Year 8 s have the option to apply to become a Prefect. Prefects has various responsibilities around school to help and encourage positive behaviour and develop their own leadership skills through supporting other pupils in school whether it be academically or socially. House System Every child is put into one of our four different house groups. Throughout the year, we hold different House competitions. The House with the most points at the end of a term, will be rewarded with a prize. JAP Junior Apprenticeship Programme The junior apprentice programme is providing KS3 pupils with the chance to learn vocational and functional skills. Pupils spend one afternoon a week in school, working on a project which will provide them with skills to support them in their career progression. Meditation Meditation sessions are offered to children who we feel would benefit from having some time out to de-stress and relax and also to help with understanding how meditation can be used to help feel calm during stressful or anxious situations. Anti -Bullying Group (ABG) Anti-Bullying representatives are chosen from each form to support our school in stopping bullying. They have regular meetings and come up with ideas, hold assemblies and events that encourage people to respect and be kind to each other.

3 School Council School Council representatives are chosen from each form to represent the views of the pupils in their form. They hold regular meetings and discuss any changes that need to be addressed in school. Hidden Sentence Pastoral members of staff have had training in supporting children who have a family member in prison. Pastoral can offer support and guidance to help a child understand their emotions and talk with them about what happens when and if they visit their family member in prison. Boys 2 Men The project works with fathers and sons taking them through a range of challenging and fun activities with the aim of strengthening the bond between them and enabling them to trust each other more. This gives the son the confidence to thrive in a time of physical, emotional and social change. Social Skills Club Social Skills is ran every day in school. Children are invited to attend and there is a range of different activities on offer to help develop their social and emotional interaction. ACEs (Attachment and Trauma) Staff have completed training and have good knowledge on ACEs and Attachment. During lessons, staff use a range of strategies to help children engage with the lesson. Pupils who have ACEs and/or attachment difficulties, have support from key members of staff and 1:1 time to discuss any concerns or issues. This is discussed and changed to meet the child's needs at the time Transition Heads of Key Stage and Pastoral Managers meet with key staff and child to help transition run smoothly. During the Spring Term, children are identified in our setting and at First School s, and support starts to take place in the form of meeting the Head of Years and extra transitional visits being put in place. Transition Anxiety Group Year 8 If children are feeling anxious and stressed at the thought of transitioning to high school, school offer a group intervention whereby Year 8 s emotions are supported and extra visits are arranged to help relieve some of the anxiety and build up. Pastoral Meeting The Pastoral Team meet weekly to discuss the children in school and the intervention they are receiving. We liaise with parents regularly so they have a good understanding of how the intervention or support is impacting their child. The list is continuing to grow and develop on the basis on what we need to do support pupils in school. If you would like to know more about anything that has been mentioned, please contact school or pastoral@st-bedes.worcs.sch.uk

4 I AM WORRIED This week, school has launched the address If children have a worry or concern but feel that they have not got the confidence to come and talk a teacher and feel more comfortable ing, then they are to use the address above. All s go directly to Mrs Gallinagh whom oversees pastoral, safeguarding and attendance. LourdesMac Parent Support Group Thank you to all parents that attended the Parent Support Group on Tuesday, at St Augustine s Catholic High School. The next Parent Support Group will be held on Monday 15 th October, 7pm at St Bede s. All parents/carers are welcome to attend. More details will follow shortly but in the meantime please visit the website for information about the group:

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