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At Huish, we take the pastoral welfare of our pupils very seriously, and want our pupils to leave school as confident, rounded and happy individuals, equipped with the emotional resources and assertiveness to succeed at secondary school and beyond. We encourage children to look after each other and themselves, and ensure that all children feel like there are trusted adults in school who they can approach with any problems. We understand that children deserve to feel listened to and to have their points of view heard, so our approach towards behavior and learning provide for this. We also have several systems in place to ensure that any children who require additional pastoral support above what each child receives have access to that.
Some of the ways in which pastoral care is provided for at Huish are as follows:
- Woodland Wonderland – all children at Huish attend ‘Woodland Wonderland’ during Year 4. This is an opportunity to learn a variety of skills that cannot be provided for in the classroom, as well as a chance to get practical outdoors – and messy! Within ‘Woodland Wonderland’, there are opportunities to simply talk and be listened to, by both other children and adults.
- Our approach towards behavior focuses on positive reinforcement and consistency, and we strive to make sure this approach is adopted by all staff. We know that our children’s pastoral wellbeing is dependent on children feeling like they can achieve, like they are kind and respected individuals, and that they are not shamed. All children have opportunities to repair relationships and apologise in constructive and supported ways, focused on restorative justice.
- We have a number of rewards that children can earn, including weekly achievement awards and fortnightly growth-mindset awards. Each class also has a prominent recognition board, where all certificates, as well as appreciation notes and anything else worth celebrating, are displayed. These are on permanent display, and serve as a constant reminder to the children of what they are worth and that they have been and will be recognised and appreciated.
- Our weekly PSHE lessons, as well as our weekly PSHE assemblies, help to equip all children with a number of important life skills to help themselves and others, including kindness, assertiveness and recognizing our own moods and needs.
- We ensure that all children have access to our free after school activity clubs, run by our teachers, and communicate with parents of those children who we feel could benefit from participation.
- Our ELSA works with several children and families in the school, and staff can freely communicate with our SENCO in order to assess and direct this support to those who need it.
- Our pastoral lead works with a number of children who have been identified as requiring an additional point of contact within school, and gives these children a chance to talk through any worries or issues they may have. These are then communicated with class teachers or our SENCO’s team as required.
- Behavior is recorded digitally. Every half-term, this data is reviewed by our Pastoral Lead, who looks for any patterns that may indicate children require further support.
- We have several staff trained to deliver STARS support- individual or small group emotional support based on Theraplay techniques. We carefully target this support towards the children that require it.
- Our PSFA works with several families in the school, and staff can freely communicate with our SENCO in order to assess and direct this support to those who need it.
- In-school counselling services are offered where we feel it would benefit children.
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