Pastoral Support
When we support each other, incredible things can happen
At Hook Junior School, we recognise that there may be times in a child’s life when they may experience events and periods in time that can impact on their emotional wellbeing. We want everyone involved with our school to feel well supported. 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.
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.
We pride ourselves on knowing the children well and, as a whole school staff, we aim to develop positive relationships with them and you, their families. As a school, we respond as quickly as possible to any issues and ensure that difficulties are discussed and resolved in the best possible way to remove any barriers to learning.
Our ethos is that every adult in our school is responsible for the pastoral care and welfare of our children. The school’s Pastoral Support team is made up of:
Miss Carne
Attendance and Behaviour Leader, Lead Thrive Practitioner
Mrs Croft
Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA)
Mrs Doughty
Attendance and Pastoral Support Officer
Mrs Mizen
Welfare and Pastoral Support Assistant
Pastoral Support for a child may include:
ELSA Support
Lego Group
Class Support
Play Therapy
Therapy Dog
Thrive Sessions
Breakfast Club
Adult mentor
Morning Mindfulness
Supporting the pastoral needs of pupils sometimes involves working with external agencies. In these situations, we ensure that a confidential, professional, non-judgemental and sensitive service is provided.
What is an ELSA
An ELSA is an Emotional Literacy Support Assistant. They are a specialist teaching assistant with a wealth of experience working with children. ELSAs are trained and regularly supervised by the Educational Psychologists.
Our Emotional Literacy Support page explains the how we support pupils with additional needs.
The role of the Pastoral Support Team:
- To support and work alongside parents in addressing pastoral concerns impacting on their child’s learning and development.
- To work with staff in ensuring good pupil support and build upon the caring and respectful relationships that exist between staff, pupils and families.
- To provide specialist counselling to support individual children; listening and talking to children who may need support in a variety of pastoral issues, for example, self-esteem and confidence, bereavement, managing feelings, anxieties/worries, separation and developing social and friendships skills.
- Responding to situations as they arise within school.
- Meeting with parents/carers to discuss issues relating to their child.
- To ‘signpost’ families to outside services for appropriate provision and support.
Five Trusted Adults
A Trusted Adult is someone we encourage our children to turn to if they’re worried or concerned. At Hook Junior School we support our children to identify trustworthy people in their lives, and give examples of trusted adults they could turn to. We aim for our children to be able to identify at least five adults that they can trust and turn to in times of need.
