Pastoral Support
Information for Parents and Carers
Welcome to the Pastoral Support Page
There is a huge variety of pastoral support for both our pupils and parents at Carr.
We have a highly skilled and experienced pastoral team: Miss Munday, our PSHCE Leader; Mrs Hunton, our Global Leader; Mrs Walpole, our SENCO; Miss B, our Restorative Leader; and Mrs Darton, who is available to speak with and offer support to children and parents on anything and everything; Mrs Bradshaw, who leads our Lunch Club. Behind them are a team of ELSAs (Emotional Literacy Support Assistants).
Restorative Practice
We are a Restorative school. Every day begins with a 'Morning Circle'. Children stand in a circle with their teacher, who asks them a different question each day. This ensures that the teacher has spoken personally to all children allowing them to take note of any children who may not have had the best start to their day. Teachers can act on this knowledge quickly and direct an ELSA to support the child. Our aim is to make sure our children have no barriers to their learning so that they can all succeed and achieve their best. A shorter version of this process is repeated after lunch and staff even start their meetings in the same way. All incidents of conflict are resolved using the Restorative Approach. All staff are trained to use a script of questions enabling them to find out what happened, how the actions have affected those involved and how the incident can be put right.
ELSAs
We have a team of ELSAs in school who provide support for children on a daily basis. They are skilled in using the Restorative Approach and will help to ensure that conflict is not a barrier to learning. They also offer a range of group support opportunities depending on the needs of our pupils. These can include bereavement, transition, anger management, exploring feelings through art and lunchtime provision.
Lunchtime Provision
We are a large school with large open spaces for children to enjoy at playtimes and lunchtimes. However, we recognise that this can be overwhelming for some children. Therefore we offer a range of lunchtime activities including Lunch in the Hive with Miss B, Lunch Club with Mrs Bradshaw, TTRockstars Common Room and Calm Club. We also run Supported Playtimes for a select group of pupils to access outdoor play but in a smaller space with more adult support.
Parents
Parents are very welcome to access support from our Pastoral Team. We like to see our parents regularly. Mrs Darton holds a coffee morning every Friday after our Friday Celebration Assembly. Mrs Darton also arranges a 'Bacon Butties' morning on the last Tuesday of every month 9am to 10am. This session is well planned so that important issues can be discussed with parents. More bespoke information sessions are also arranged throughout the year. Mrs Darton can be contacted via our school phone number and by selecting Option 2 or by email gill.darton@york.gov.uk.
The Expert Parent's Guide to Childhood Anxiety
With featured advice and resources from The Children's Society, we have written this expert guide for parents to help children understand, cope and become strengthened by their experiences of anxiety at a young age. Our aim is to equip parents across the world with a significant bank of knowledge to ease panic and educate their children about the science of the mind.
You'll notice that the first letter of each chapter title in the guide creates the acronym STRONG. We chose this word because as you're making your way through the guide, it's important that you and your child knows that anxiety is not a weakness, and worries make you no less of a strong human being.
After you have read the guide, make sure you sign-up to Yogiamo's weekly newsletter for stress relief tips along with a featured yoga pose to maintain balance and mindfulness.
Remember: Anxiety can happen to boys, girls, men, women, teachers, athletes and astronauts. Anxiety does not define you. Check out all of our chapters below, and remember to bookmark the guide for future reference should you need to refresh your memory:
1. Symptoms of anxiety in children
Chapter summary: Identifying symptoms of anxiety in children is sometimes the hardest stage of this process. You probably have lots of questions to ask your child, but it's super important that you don't do so in haste or panic. This chapter will help you break down the facts into figuring out the cause and reasons behind the behaviour changes in your child so you can approach the subject in the best way.
2. Talking to children about anxiety: Top tips
Chapter summary: How can you possibly talk to a child about anxiety if they're oblivious to what anxiety and worry actually are, and why they occur? Well, we hope this chapter will explain just how to approach the topic, and prompt a positive, open conversation about how to move forward.
3. Recommended by experts: Techniques to help Your child with anxiety
Chapter summary: There are so many ways you can approach your child to offer support for anxiety. We spoke to the experts to find the best techniques for your child to use in and out of school to relieve stress and worry less.
4. Opening up: How to encourage your child to confide in you
Chapter summary: Here, you'll find our top 10 tips to encourage your child to maintain open and honest discussions with you about their mental wellbeing as they're growing up.
5. Nurturing optimism in children: The path to positivity
Chapter summary: Many parents blame themselves when it comes to any changes in their children's mental health. However, there are so many factors that affect why children feel the way they do, and how they react to certain situations.
The fact you are seeking support shows that you love your children dearly, and you're taking the right steps to work towards a positive mindset. In this chapter, we give you the tools to put the past behind yourselves and alter the way you act to promote positivity.
6. Go-to anxiety relief tools for children: Expert Approved
Chapter summary: Here you'll find our top-rated apps and books tailored to help support children through periods of anxiety, and every moment in between.
For more useful resources, visit The Children Society's resource centre and download research reports, presentations and toolkits on mental health and well-being.
https://tutorful.co.uk/guides/the-expert-guide-to-help-your-child-with-anxiety
CATS
We are very lucky at Carr Junior School to have access to a small counselling service, CATS (Carr and Acomb Therapy Service). This runs out of Carr Children's Centre. All counsellors are currently advanced trainees in their field and receive regular supervision. Do have a look at the leaflet below. Should you feel you might benefit from this service, please see Mrs Darton in the first instance.
Children's mental health
Children's mental health is very much a concern these days. The following article has some useful tips and information for parents of girls who are keen to promote good mental health.