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Wellbeing and pastoral care
Here at Greatwood we want everyone to feel well supported. We believe that good pastoral support focuses on nurturing the individual needs of each child. We aim to build trusting and empathic relationships with all our pupils and their families.
We take mental health and wellbeing very seriously. All Greatwood staff are Level 1 and 2 trained with many of our team trained to level 3. Miss Thomson (our pastoral lead) is our Mental Health Champion and not only supports our children, but works closely with many of our Greatwood families. We are proud to be working towards the School Mental Health Award to continue to improve self-confidence, resilience and emotional intelligence for pupils and staff at Greatwood. By working towards the award, we can demonstrate Greatwood's commitment to making mental health a strategic priority and developing a positive culture that promotes mental wellbeing for everyone.
Pastoral care at Greatwood
Our Inclusion Team is made up of 12 dedicated professionals. This includes our Executive Headteacher, our Head of School, our Assistant Headteacher, SENDCo, full-time Pastoral Lead and a highly skilled number of associate staff members, including behaviour specialists. Together our team works with students so they can lead fulfilling and balanced lives at school and beyond.
We have a wellbeing hub at Greatwood where Miss Thomson and Mrs Stubbs (our SENDCO) are based. The whole Greatwood team model how to look after themselves and others; encouraging the pupils to seek help, support or advice whenever they need it.
Pastoral care underpins personal development and we know from experience that with outstanding pastoral care, students feel they belong and their self-esteem is able to flourish because they feel valued and cared for.
Supporting the pastoral needs of pupils and families sometimes involves working with external agencies. In these situations we ensure that a confidential, professional, non-judgemental and sensitive service is provided.
- Range of academic interventions
- Peer group work
- Therapeutic workshops
- Canine Concern therapy dog ‘Read2Dogs’ programme with Kate and Cerys every Monday afternoon
- Referrals to Early Help
- Food Bank Referrals
- Pastoral peer group coffee mornings
- Parenting courses
- Pastoral support for Staff
- An active pastoral team which children can be referred to or self-refer.
- Robust NSAT trust inclusion team: SENCO, Pastoral Leader, Associate staff members, Therapy dog and sports coaches.
- Open door policies for all pupils and families with the Headteacher
- Staff CPD on how to provide a trauma informed environment
- Nurturing environment where children are taught to speak to members of staff about any problems that they may have.
- Rigorous behaviour monitoring- looking for the causes of the behaviour
- Therapeutic and Safeguarding books
- Students feel safe to report concerns about other pupils
- Whole school approach to PSHE first thing on a Monday morning
- Raising Aspirations programme delivered to Year 5/6 pupils
- Canine Concern therapy dog, Cerys visits school weekly
- School Eco-Rangers
- Pupil voice for annual reviews and EHCP conversations
- Secondary transition groups
- Strong partnerships with parents
- In house counselling service available
- Full time pastoral support officer on site daily to help with any concerns a parent may have
- Headteacher has an open door policy for parents
- SENDCo - available everyt Thursday morning for meetings
- Secondary transition work