Pastoral Care, Wellbeing and Mental Health
Pastoral Care
At Whitcliffe Mount, we know how important it is for your child to feel supported throughout their 5-year learning journey with us. We have a strong pastoral team who are committed to supporting your child develop, both in and out of the classroom.
When your child starts attending WMA, they will be put in a Personal Development (PD) Form Group. This is a group that they will see every morning to start their day with positive routines and a warm welcome from their PD Form Tutor. This member of staff will be the student's key person and will remain with them throughout a students time with us. The PD Form Tutor is also a key contact for you as parents and carers. If you have any queries or concerns about your child or there is a change of circumstances you can contact the PD Form Tutor who will do their best to answer this query or forward this to the most appropriate person.
To add to this daily pastoral offer, we also have Heads of Year for each year group. These staff are non- teaching staff and work to support students to thrive in school. Heads of Year are a key contact to support PD Form Tutors and the whole year group. The Heads of Year details can be found below:
Year 7
Mrs L O'Brien - Year Lead
Year 8
Miss R Spencer - Year Lead
Year 9
Miss A Young - Year Lead
Year 10
Miss N Donaldson - Year Lead
Year 11
Miss P Johnson - Year Lead
We also have two Senior Leaders who lead and support our pastoral care offer. This includes Ms Hudson-Frost, Deputy Headteacher of Pastoral and Mr Clark, Assistant Headteacher of Behaviour and Attendance. They both work with the Heads of Year and PD Form Tutors to ensure your child is supported to flourish within our school. They are committed to ensuring they work with the staff and students to work together, proud to be our best.
What support is available for my child's overall wellbeing?
As explained above, students have a Personal Development Form Tutor who they meet on a daily basis. This is the key person for your child, and we believe this positive, regular communication with them will support positive wellbeing. They also work to deliver an exciting Personal Development curriculum, which includes discussions and input around wellbeing. Heads of Year are also part of the team who support positive wellbeing. In addition to this, all our staff are trained in how to support students to flourish and support their well-being. We hope that students feel the benefit of this as we commit to catching the good.
As well as the universal offer for all students outlined below, we have specialist support available for students when needed. The SEN team have a range of skilled key workers who are allocated to those students identified as requiring additional support. Students meet regularly with their key worker to discuss any issues and to ensure they succeed and make progress. If you have any concerns about the emotional wellbeing of your child, please contact our Inclusion Assistant Head, Mrs Dawe, who will discuss the most appropriate way to access support.
In addition to all of the above, our Safeguarding team in school, led by Kelly Starkey, DSL, coordinates support for the emotional wellbeing of vulnerable young people across all year groups, and is responsible for all aspects of safeguarding within school.
Who should I talk to in school if I have Safeguarding concerns? click here to see
Student Absence
If you require support with student absence, please see Student Absence - Supportive Information for Parents (Whitcliffe Mount Academy)
Commissioned Services
In addition to our Safeguarding and Pastoral teams, we also buy in specialist services to support students who have additional emotional wellbeing support needs.
School Nurses: We have a school nurse, Lucy Godbold, who come into school every Tuesday to offer three levels of support:
Intervention sessions - specific interventions to support students to improve their self-esteem / confidence and to manage their emotions effectively. Students are referred to these interventions by Mrs K Starkey where an additional need has been identified.
Lunchtime Nurse Drop In sessions - This is a confidential, self-referral service available to any student on a Wednesday lunchtime.
One to one appointments - individual appointments with a nurse as a follow up to students attending Drop In or following referral by Mrs Dawe. Appointments are sent out to students each week via Personal DevelopmentTutors.
Mindfulness sessions are offered by the school nurses on a referral basis and work with small groups of students to promote self-regulation strategies and increase student's awareness of their emotions.
Life Coaches: We currently commission a Life Coach, Theresa Booth, 2 days a week. Referrals are made by Mrs Dawe for students who don't require therapeutic counselling support but who would benefit from support to identify current issues, develop targets and an action plan to make relevant changes.
CHEWs Counsellor: Karen Butcher comes into school every Wednesday and Thursday to work with students who have been referred for higher level counselling support. Referrals are made by Mrs Dawe following consultation and consent being gained from parents.
Mrs Dawe also works very closely with the SEND dept and Pastoral team to identify vulnerable students and provide additional support specifically addressing emotional wellbeing concerns. Further details of other interventions are available on our SEND page.
How can parents support the emotional wellbeing of their son/daughter?
Pre-teen and teenage years can be stressful for both young people and their parents/carers. There are many changes during this time including hormones, physical appearance and social relationships. As a parent you can support your son/daughter in various ways.
It can be hard to know whether a teenager's feelings and behaviour are normal or becoming a problem. Anna Freud Centre's child mental health experts have written a leaflet to provide simple advice and guidance to parents and carers about how to make conversations about their child's feelings part of everyday life.
Download "Talking Mental Health with young people at secondary school: some advice for parents and carers" booklet here
Parent Guidance - alcohol support - click here
Resilience
Life is full of stressful situations and will have many high & low points. We all cope in different ways and with varying degrees of success. By helping your son/daughter to become more resilient you will help them cope more effectively and to recover from difficulties successfully. As parents, we are often tempted to wrap our children in cotton wool, protecting them from all the bad things in the world, but this may actually cause problems as the child doesn't develop independent coping strategies. 10 simple things you can do to improve you son/daughter's resilience are:
Self Help
In addition to online support there are many books which can help teenagers work through life's big challenges and the power of reading is well known. Books can help people understand and manage their health and wellbeing using self-help reading. You may also like to refer to and use the following: The Circle of Control Workbook
'Reading Well Books on Prescription' recommendations for young people's mental health can be found here.
Alternatively our school library stocks many of these titles and more. Our Learning Resource Centre Manager, Mrs Raby will support young people to find an appropriate book for their specific need as well as signposting them towards appropriate additional support.
Online support
Click on the links below to visit websites containing help and advice for emotional wellbeing / mental health issue:
Online workshops for parents/carers - Summer 2024
www.northorpehall.co.uk/useful-link/parents-and-carers
Luke's Lads | TCD Charity (tcd-charity.co.uk)
www.getselfhelp.co.uk/selfhelp.htm
Winston's Wish - giving hope to grieving children (winstonswish.org)
www.childbereavementuk.org/young-people/
www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/stress/developing-resilience/
www.gov.uk/government/publications/coping-with-exam-pressure-a-guide-for-students
Click here for information regarding services available to parents from Kirklees.
Click here for general resources relating to emotional and mental wellbeing.
There are also various apps available to provided guided meditation and mindfulness which help students to manage their emotional wellbeing more effectively:
- Headspace
- MoodGYM
- Mindful Gnats
- MindShift
These are just some examples additional apps can be found here: www.healthyyoungmindspennine.nhs.uk/resource-centre/apps/
www.childbereavementuk.org/young-people/ also has links to apps to help young people deal with bereavement.
Northorpe Hall Workshops
Northorpe Hall (CHEWs) have set up a series of workshops for young people and parents to provide greater understanding of and strategies to support emotional wellbeing in children & young people.
Workshops for Children and Young People and their Parents/Carers: These workshops will be fun, informal and practical sessions, delivered by friendly and knowledgeable staff. These sessions will take place at Northorpe Hall, Mirfield and at the Northorpe Centre in central Huddersfield.
For Children & Young People: These Workshops will provide information around anxiety; helping us to identify triggers, physical symptoms and how anxiety can impact our day to day life. We will explore useful coping strategies, support networks and information on accessing further support.
Please contact Northorpe Hall directly on 01924 492183 for further information, availability or to book a place.
Emergencies
If your son/daughter expresses a suicidal plan or attempts to take their life in any way, please take them to A&E immediately so that they can undergo an emergency specialist assessment by the CAMHS Crisis Team.
YoungMinds Crisis Messenger
The YoungMinds crisis messenger service provides free, 24/7 crisis support across the UK. Young People experiencing a mental health crisis and need support, can text YM to 85258.
For more information
Shout Textline | Free 24/7 Mental Health Support Via Text | YoungMinds