At St Bede’s Catholic Primary School, we are an inclusive school we consult with a wide range of agencies and partnerships to ensure the Emotional and Social Development needs of SEN children are met. Inspired by Christian values, staff believe that high self-esteem is crucial and aim to support and promote the emotional wellbeing of all children. On a daily basis the class teacher is responsible for the pastoral and social care of every child in their class, therefore this would be the parents’ first point of contact should further advice or support is required.
PSHE is taught every week to aid with social development and our Year 2 children take part in the ‘Zippy’s Friends’ programme with a teacher trained in this, which is designed specifically for five to seven year-old children of all abilities. It teaches them how to cope with everyday difficulties, to identify and talk about their feelings and to explore ways of dealing with them. See our PSHE policy for more information.
At St Bede’s we have a Parent Support Advisor, Judith Young, who works with many parents, children and families to provide an additional layer of pastoral care. We also have weekly support from a Relax Kids Worker, Mrs Forth, who provides small group support to children who require additional emotional support for a variety of reasons.
Many of our staff are also trained in interventions designed specifically to support emotional wellbeing such as Connecting with Children, Lego therapy and Time to Talk.
St Bede’s Catholic Primary School has and maintains close links with External Partnerships. In order to access the best professional advice, we also link with Local Authority and Private Providers of additional services, such as Occupational Therapy, CAHMS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) School Nursing Service, Social Services and Medical Professionals. We often hold multi-professional meetings in school so that parents are comfortable in the school environment and the child can join us easily, if it is appropriate.
As a school we have a very positive approach to all types of behaviour with a clear reward system that is followed by all staff and pupils (Good To Be Green). The children are rewarded for positive and kind behaviour. To ensure that positive messages reach parents on a regular basis staff send a text message every time their child receives a ‘privilege card’
We also use ‘restorative approaches’ to resolve conflict and encourage positive relationships between children. All staff have been trained in this by the Emotional Wellbeing Team. This involves asking questions of those involved and allowing pupils to see things from the other’s point of view, then allowing children to think of a way to move forward from the conflict. We have trained ‘mediator’ pupils in Year 5 and 6 who assist with this on the playground.
We also have an anti-bullying policy, focussing on this area during a themed ‘anti-bullying’ week. We are a ‘telling’ school and children feel comfortable telling adults when they are upset.
Please see our Respectful Relationships behaviour policy and anti-bullying policy in our school policies section for more information.
