Pastoral Care and Student Welfare

Pastoral Care and Student Welfare

JHGS is proud of its levels of Pastoral Support and encompasses both emotional and physical help.

Tutor:  A student’s first port of call would be his tutor.  Your form tutor can be a great help and support throughout your time at school.  They see you every morning during registration and you will get to know each other.  You will be able to ask them for help and they will also be able to offer advice about where to go for problems if they cannot help.

Head of Year:  You will be able to see your Head of Year most days.  They are able to help you with any issues you may have; whether they be academic, emotional, problems with peers, problems at home etc.  The Heads of Year for years 7-11 are based in the Pastoral Office in the SLT corridor.

Your Head of Year will liaise with everyone you come into contact with at school, and will be able to let the relevant people know of any information you wish them to. Your Head of Year will also be able to provide you with support and information to help you through school.

Student Welfare Officer:  Miss Randell, the Student Welfare Officer, is located in the SLT corridor.  She is able to help with any emotional or physical needs.  She can refer you to our School Counsellor, the School Nursing team, Student Mentors, or other services you may need or wish to use. Miss Randell is someone you can go to as a first point of contact if you are unsure what to do when you have an issue.

You are able to talk to Miss Randell about any problems you may be facing; much like your Head of Year.  She is also there to help out with any first aid or if you are feeling unwell.

Student Mentor:  Student Mentors are your peers in Years 12 and 13.  They are students who have volunteered their time to spend with other students who need a little bit of extra support.  They have recently been through the school in the younger years and so understandably can relate very well to some of the current issues faced by school aged boys.

They are there to listen and could potentially offer advice and support on issues ranging from school and homework to peer relationships. Student mentors are friendly approachable people and will be another person you know to add to the list of people talk to.

Counsellors: Mrs Crouch and Ms Bellars are our school Counsellors, appointments with students are made through the Student Welfare Officer. In addition Mrs Bains is a Counsellor and Family Link. Their sessions are confidential and they provide a great support if you are struggling with emotional problems.

Signposting Student Support at JHGS

There are a range of support options available to your son, both within JHGS and from external organisations. While we are committed to supporting every student and encourage them to speak to any member of staff they trust, we understand that not everyone feels comfortable doing so. For that reason, we aim to empower students by clearly signposting the many avenues of support available, both in school and beyond.

To help students navigate these options, we have created a dedicated internal site that outlines the various types of support on offer. Find a direct link here.

Students can discreetly collect a 'Signposting Card' from the following locations: the Pastoral Office, LRC, Student Welfare, any Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), the Sixth Form Common Room, or the School Counselling Team. These cards include a QR code linking directly to the Signposting Website, as well as key contact information for those who may be in crisis. The site is also linked at the front of each weekly parent bulletin.

SAFEGUARDING

John Hampden Grammar School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is Mr Neil Hathaway, Deputy Headteacher, and the Safeguarding Governor is currently Ms Sylvia Tai while Mr Ian Stubbs is on sabbatical.

Additional Safeguarding Leads in school are:

Miss Burrow, Assistant Headteacher, Director of Sixth Form

Mr Sammels, Assistant Headteacher

Mrs Pook, SENDCO

Mr McCormack, Head of Year 11

Mrs Tremelling, Head of Year 13

Our Safeguarding Policy can be found on our About Us/Policies page.

Communications with the school

We aim to acknowledge all calls or emails (which require them) within 2 school days.