
Pastoral Support
Support Systems for Students at Sirius Academy West
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Wrap around Pastoral Care (Universal offer to all students)
The main priority of our pastoral team is to ensure the safety and well-being of our students. Our wrap-around care begins with daily contact with a tutor, which then is supported by regular contact with the Year team, made up of a Year Leader and Year Assistant. We then have two members of the Senior Leadership Team who are responsible for overseeing the pastoral system and ensuring systems of support are in place for all students.
In addition to this support all members of the pastoral teams have completed extra training including work on wrap around care from Barnardos and Mental Health Champions Award through Place2Be.
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Mental Health and Well-Being
As an Academy we are committed to supporting our students achieve their potential, not only academically but by ensuring they receive the support they require to develop a positive mind-set.
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PSHE Curriculum (Universal offer to all students)
All students across the Academy in Year 7-11, have a time-tabled lesson of Personal, Social, and Health Education each week. This curriculum uses the nationally accredited Jigsaw materials to cover content that does not feature in core subject Curriculum. Although there is no qualification attached to the subject, we feel that the knowledge gained in terms of positive relationships, mental well-being, coping mechanisms are crucial in giving our students a balanced Curriculum offer to support their well-being alongside their academic offer.
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Tutor Programme (Universal offer to all students)
All students in Year 7-11 take part in a consistent tutor programme which complements the PSHE Curriculum. Furthermore, through the tutor programme we have weekly assemblies which focus on specific topics which develop both well-being and cultural knowledge. Examples include Children’s Mental Health Week, National Anti-Bullying Week and Mental Health Awareness Week.
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Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (Targeted offer to identified students)
We have 6 trained ELSA members of staff within the Academy. These staff work with identified students to focus on their emotional well-being, ranging from supporting social skill development, reducing anxiety and developing strategies to support emotional control.
This process is started with a referral from either the pastoral team or a member of support staff.
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Educational Mental Health Practitioner (Targeted offer to identified students)
In conjunction with the NHS, we will be hosting a training Educational Mental Health Practitioner. This member of staff will be based in the Academy for two days per week and will work 1-1 with students by delivering cognitive behavioural therapy support. This support is focused on emotional control and resilience and will work from a referral basis.
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Peer Mentoring programme (Targeted offer to identified students)
We have a cohort of 13 peer mentors who are trained through the National Peer Mentoring accreditation. These students work on a 1-1 basis with students from a younger year group to support their transition to the Academy. The reasons for referral range from supporting students with the social aspect of school, reducing stress and anxiety through speaking to an older student or discussing strategies to improve success in lessons. To access this support please speak with the Year Team.
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WRAP offer from Barnardos
We have a member of staff who works in the Academy 1 day per week to deliver group WRAP training for identified students. This works on a referral basis and can support students for a variety of reasons including social skills, anxiety and stress, emotional control, coping strategies and building friendships. This programme is a 6-8 week course of weekly sessions.
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Emotional Control from Cornerhouse
This commissioned support again sees a member of staff come into the Academy on a weekly basis to provide support for identified students. The focuses of this support are predominately targeted on controlling emotions and dealing with adversity. This support is on a referral basis.
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School Nurse (Targeted offer to identified students)
We are lucky at Sirius Academy West to have a full-time, trained NHS nurse based on-site. This member of staff supports students with a range of different needs and provides strategies to maximise success and well-being for our students.
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Links with external agencies (Bespoke offer to identified students)
As an Academy we engage with several external agencies to add further support for our students. These agencies include Headstart, Barnardos, Advotalk and Cornerhouse. The support that these agencies offer varies, dependant on identified student need.
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How are you feeling?
Finally, as an Academy we would encourage any students or parents/carers to visit the www.howareyoufeeling.org website. This website provides quality information on support for students and their families with regards to mental health and well-being.