All staff are available in a pastoral capacity should parents have a concern about their child’s academic progress and/or a welfare, pastoral or safeguarding concern. Our staff may not know the answer but will always try to find out or sign-post parents or other professionals to the right place for support. Parents should, in the first instance, speak to their child’s class teacher or Form Teacher depending on the concern they have.  If parents have already explored that avenue but would like to speak to someone else, then they should contact the Head of Year. 

Heads of Year 

Will monitor progress, attendance and wellbeing. They will also deliver a programme of relevant assemblies to support with character development and keep students informed of world events. They will monitor attainment and hold praise assemblies to recognise the achievements in the year group. They will support with transition into Year 7, during the Options process and transition to Post 16 arrangements. They will provide pastoral support when needed. 

 

 

Form Teacher

All students have an allocated form teacher who they see daily. This is their first point of contact for any issues. Parents and carers can email their child’s form teacher. In addition, there are scheduled parental meetings but parents and carers are encouraged to liaise more regularly as required. Form teachers are responsible for overseeing the academic and pastoral wellbeing of their form as well as liaising with other staff within the school as required to ensure that the appropriate support is in place as soon as a need is identified. Form teachers will track attendance and encourage students to take on areas of responsibility in the school as well as inform them of extracurricular clubs and events happening in the school. 

 

Library

The library is open to all year groups from 8am until 3.15pm. At lunchtimes, students require a pass to make sure that students are using the library resources as we intend them to be used. Homework can be printed in the library and students have access to various clubs such as Chess Club and the Carnegie book group. Year 7 students have an opportunity to become Student Librarians. 

 

Breakfast Club

The canteen is open to all students from 8.15am where a selection of hot and cold food and drink is available to purchase. 
Teaching staff are contracted to work from 8.30am so if your child is arriving to school earlier than this they should only be in the canteen until then. 

 

Lunchtime Support

Staff are available at lunchtime to provide Pastoral care and support to students. The toilets, canteen and social areas are all supervised. Students can seek support from a Head of Year at the Attendance and Behaviour Centre. 

 

Surveys

Students and staff at Barnwood Park regularly receive online surveys to gain information from all stakeholders that allows us to monitor and provide appropriate education, support or services to all members of the school community. Surveys inform our PSHE curriculum and changes to the school where possible. 

I am me app: www.iammeapp.com The Positive Mental Health App for Young People 

Kooth online: https://www.kooth.com/ - an online wellbeing service, run in partnership with the NHS and recognised by the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy), and students can be referred to access support here. 

YMM Chat: https://www.ghc.nhs.uk/mhst-support/ 

 

PSHE Curriculum

At Barnwood Park, staff deliver regular PSHE (Personal Social Health Education) lessons which include topics from the RSE curriculum, (Relationship and Sex Education) and Health Education. It is compulsory for all schools to teach this curriculum from September 2020. Other topics include Drugs Education as well as a whole school approach to SMSC (Spiritual Moral Social and Cultural). The comprehensive PSHE curriculum covers many aspects of keeping young people safe, healthy, resilient and aware of the world around them so that they can make informed choices. Other specific topics that help students stay safe and that are also covered within the PSHE curriculum include age-appropriate content, gang and youth violence, consent, inclusion, online safety and healthy relationships. 

Relationships. Sex and Health education: 

Positive and loving relationships, contraception and emergency contraception. Help/advice/where to get further information. Fertility and sexual health, the impact of STIs/drugs, legal consent age and ‘giving and getting consent’ (Gloucestershire healthy living and learning team (GHLL) resource). Teenage pregnancy. 

Gender, identity and tolerance: Conflict and bullying, preventing homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying; preventing bullying of students from different types of families (e.g., same sex parents); avoiding anti-gay derogatory language; gender identity and stereotype- there isn’t such thing as a typical girl, boy or relationship. Understanding and acceptance of others different than us, including those with different religions.  

Drugs: Legal and Illegal: Addiction, Alcohol, Smoking and the classification and impacts of illegal drugs. The reasons people are drawn to addiction and scientific models to support understanding about what leads to mental ill health are also covered. 

Keeping Safe: E-safety (social media and internet); personal safety (out and about); how to respond to an emergency; the sharing of nude and/or semi nude images (sexting) - what is it, is it illegal and how to take control and stay safe? Appropriate assertiveness. How to stay safe from radicalisation and extremism, how to stay safe from teenage relationship abuse and other current safeguarding issues like criminal exploitation and County Lines. Honour Based Abuse (HBA), Forced Marriage and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). 

Up-skirting and the law. 

Emotional well-being: Where to go for help if you, your friend or family member is struggling with emotional well-being/mental health problems. What are the signs someone is struggling? What makes you feel good? How to look after you own emotional well-being using the 5 ways to wellbeing; personal strength and self-esteem; stress management; self-harm and suicide prevention. 

Relationships: How to make and maintain friendship; family relationships; different types of families; abusive relationships (teenage relationship advice curriculum). 

Healthy Living: Taking responsibility for managing your own health using the Facts4Life curriculum in KS3 and the 5 ways to wellbeing; Importance of sleep; The main components of healthy living (diet, exercise and wellbeing); focus on the importance of a balanced, nutritional diet; managing health and wellbeing when you are unwell, (making sure you take your medicine when you should, doing what you can do within the limitations of your health condition), self-image.

 

Online Safety

E-safety is a key part of the ongoing PSHE Curriculum for students (RSE, SMSC and Careers). 

The Computer Science curriculum also covers different aspects of internet safety. 

All electronic devices owned by the school are subject to our filtering and monitoring software so that safeguarding concerns can be identified and actioned appropriately. All staff and students must sign an acceptable user policy. 

All staff, students and parents/carers have a responsibility to follow our E-Safety policy and maintain professional conduct online. 

The Parent’s section of the school website contains an E-safety section that contains links to web sites that offer guidance on e-safety including NSPCC online safety page and link to ‘ThinkUKnow’ a site that contains lots of tips and videos for both parents and students. 

PACE (parents against child exploitation) UK is a useful website to engage parents with e-safety issues. www.paceuk.info/ 

Parents will receive information about current online safety concerns throughout the year via the website, school comms and the Newsletter. 

 

Careers

All students have careers information and events across the year in form time, assembly, trips and visits relevant to their year in preparation for transition to Post 16 education and adulthood. These focus on study skills, growth mind-set, character development, future careers financial education and life skills. 

A member of staff coordinates access to specific career focused events across the year for each Year group. Year 11 have a bespoke interview day where they practice interviews with local businesses, private businesses and civil services. All years are invited to our annual careers fayre where local education and careers attend to provide information about career pathways. 

A Career Advisor is available to discuss future career pathways, further or higher educational provision, work experience and employability skills. Bespoke advice and guidance on interview skills and College or 6th Form applications, employer/educational workshops targeting a wide variety of careers and labour market information. In year 11, every Year 11 has an individual interview as well as an assembly from each further education provider in the area to support their applications. 

The Head of Year, Education Wellfare Officer and Careers Advisor identifies and supports students at risk of becoming NEET (Not in Education Employment or Training), in the future. 

 

Helping students know where to go for help if they need it

At Barnwood Park, staff regularly refer to other teachers for academic mentoring to support with organisation or revision guidance or to learning mentors from external mentoring services. Mentors will see students regularly depending on the needs identified by the referrer. Consent will be sought and obtained from the student and parents for any external support offered. 

Staff may also signpost students to helpline numbers and text services which they can access if they need someone to talk to:  

TIC+ Counselling service: https://www.ticplus.org.uk/ 
Samaritans national contact ring: 116 123 (24 hours) Jo@samaritans.org 
Gloucester Samaritans (9am – 10pm) tel: 0330 094 5717 
Cheltenham Samaritans (8am – 10pm) 0330 094 5717 
Childline: 0800 1111 - www.childline.org.uk  
Rethink Gloucestershire Self Harm Helpline Freephone: 0808 801 0606 text support: 075 37410022. www.gloucestershireselfharm.org. Available to adults and children and young people who self-harm, are thinking about self-harming or are worried about someone who is self-harming. 
YoungMinds www.youngminds.org.uk (web based support for young people) 
PAPYRUS: www.papyrus-uk.org  Provides confidential help and advice to prevent suicide in young people. 
Tel HOPELineUK: 08000 0684141 SMS: 0778600 39967 or Email: pat@papyrus-uk.org

 

Bullying (including cyber-bullying) 

Child death/ suicide/ prevention 

All Gloucestershire schools are committed to tackling bullying. At Barnwood Park there is an Anti-Bullying and Conlfict Policy  We want to know immediately if there are any issues with conflict, bullying or hate incidents at Barnwood Park so they can be addressed.  We have a series of teaching resources produced by the Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning Team (www.ghll.org.uk) to support our anti bullying and hate work. 

HELPLINE  01452 427208 
In serious cases of bullying parents should raise their concern using the concerns@barnwood-park.gloucs.sch.uk email. The safeguarding team will work with our local safeguarding partners throughout the year and escalate concerns as required. 

For incidents outside of school or online, parents/carers should report abuse to the police, particularly where threats are involved. This also applies for any online bullying. 

Other sources of help and advice: https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/gscp/  (Gloucestershire Safeguarding children’s board), or  Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning team provide alerts and resources in relation to supporting young people experiencing bullying. Education about bullying is an integral part of the Barnwood Park PSHE curriculum www.ghll.org.uk.