Pastoral Care at Castle Academy

At Castle Academy we have a Pastoral Care team, who take great pride in nurturing our pupils.

It cannot be over-stressed how the pastoral care of all of our pupils is the responsibility of the whole community. The way we treat, talk to, interact with and indeed teach pupils all contribute to the quality of their welfare.

What is a Pastoral Team?

A Pastoral Team’s role is to help, support and advise parents and carers who have worries or concerns about their child.

How can the Pastoral Team help me?

Our Pastoral Team can offer support in a range of situations, such as:

• advice and support with your child’s behaviour at home or at school.
• advice and support about your child’s punctuality and attendance.
• other concerns you may have relating to your child that you would like support with.
• supporting you or someone you know who is suffering domestic abuse.
• concerns about any child’s welfare.
• help you to access information about difficulties you may be experiencing such as money worries, relationships, health etc
• offering group work and one to one sessions with children in school.
• assistance with form filling.
• drop in sessions to discuss your concerns

Who is in the Pastoral Team?

Miss Blagden

Principal, Designated Safeguarding Lead, SENDCO, Licensed Thrive Practitioner, Mental Health First Aider, Senior Mental Health Lead.

Mrs Bond

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead, Parent Support Advisor, Attendance Officer, Triple P Practitioner,  Rainbows Practitioner, Level 3 Mental Health,  Lego Therapy.

 

Mrs Cope

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead, Pupil Premium Lead, Forest School Practitioner

Astrea Parent Portal

Click on the link below to access a series of videos aimed at supporting busy parents:

Astrea Parent Portal – A SERIES OF VIDEOS AIMED AT BUSY PARENTS

Behaviour Support

Triple P- Positive Parenting Program

Mrs Bond is an accredited Triple P practitioner who can deliver one to one or parent group support.

The Triple P – Positive Parenting Program is one of the most effective evidence-based parenting programs in the world, backed up by more than 35 years of ongoing research. Triple P gives parents simple and practical strategies to help them build strong, healthy relationships, confidently manage their children’s behavior and prevent problems developing.  For more information about the Triple P programme, please follow the link below:

Successful kids, happier families – Online Parenting Programme | Triple P (triplep-parenting.uk.net)

Bullying Support

Each year we celebrate Anti-bullying Week in school in order to raise awareness of what bullying is and ensure that children are well equipped to recognise the signs of bullying and know what to do if they, or someone they know, is being bullied. Although we focus on anti-bullying during this special theme week, it a priority all year round. Click on the link below and find a useful toolkit for parents all about how to talk to children about bullying at home.

Anti-Bullying Week 2022 – Parent Pack

Meet our Diana Award trained Anti-Bullying Ambassadors

Emotional Support

Miss Blagden is a Licensed Thrive Practitioner and is responsible for coordinating a whole school Thrive Approach and also targeted Thrive interventions to support pupils who may have experienced interruptions in their emotional development. Thrive gives an insight into why children behave like they do and the Thrive Approach can provide pointers to help create positive experiences that support children’s wellbeing and build their emotional resilience. Click on the link below to find out more about the Thrive Approach and access the free Thrive Online Parent Toolkit.

Parents and Carers – The Thrive Approach

If school feel that a pupil would benefit from one to one Thrive sessions in school, a member of the Pastoral Team will contact parents and discuss the support available through individual Thrive Assessments and Action Plans. Click on the parent information sheet for more information about how individual Thrive interventions are used in school:

Parental-Information-for-Schools-Primary-20210209

 

Miss Blagden and Mrs Bond have completed Rainbows training thanks to a government initiative which provided funding for staff to access the training and also purchase the full set of resources to deliver the Rainbow intervention across the primary phase of education.

The Rainbows programme provides an emotionally safe environment for children and young people to guide them through grieving a significant and often devastating loss, resulting from the impact of a death, relationship breakdown or other serious change in their lives.

It also provide a safe setting for children and young people to talk through their feelings with others who are experiencing similar situations. They are helped to articulate their feelings by a trained adult facilitator whom they know and trust. Confidentiality, which is at the heart of all Rainbows Programmes, is kept at all times unless a child or young person is at risk, in which case the school’s safeguarding procedures are followed.

Rainbows Programmes provide age relevant materials which form a structured 12 – 14 week programme to assist children and young people through their grief and loss. Rainbows supports self-esteem, trust, confidence and resilience, whilst promoting positive emotional/mental development and healthy relationships.

The work of Rainbows is tried, tested, researched, monitored and evaluated. We know the impact of our work is long-lasting and has a tangible impact on people’s lives. For more information follow the link below to the Rainbows website:

Home – Rainbows Bereavement Support GB (rainbowsgb.org)

Mental Health Support

Parents and Carers – CAMHS (rdash.nhs.uk)

More  information coming soon…

 

Health Support

Children and young people’s services – NHS (www.nhs.uk)

More  information coming soon…