Wellbeing and Pupil Support
Wellbeing
The wellbeing of our community is a number one priority at The Royal School Wolverhampton. It is crucial that every member of our school community feels looked after in order to thrive both personally and academically. This ethos reflects our school values which include respect, trust and community.
The Team
Form tutors
Your child’s form tutor is central to their wellbeing. They meet with your child every day for form time and registration, allowing a chance to check in daily on welfare.
Wellbeing Coordinator
Louise Caddick is our wellbeing coordinator who leads a team of experienced mentors. Louise works closely with the SEND department to ensure that every child feels valued. Students can be allocated a mentor who will support them through discussion and around school. Louise is based in The Wellbeing Hub.
Heads of House
Balmoral - Paul Benson
Buckingham - Jo Pickering
Sandringham – Claire Mulvey
Windsor – Angela Goodlad
The four Heads of House work with their form tutors and students to ensure that wellbeing is at the forefront of the pastoral curriculum. Students soon learn where the two Heads of House offices are and pop in on a regular basis.
House Wellbeing Support Officers
Bilal Ilyas
Mike Smith
Adrian Temple-Purcell
Our wellbeing support officers work closely with the Heads of House and our Wellbeing coordinator. They support students around school and in their base, the Nurture Centre.
Safeguarding and Pastoral Support Officer
Geeta Chandegra
Geeta supports the whole pastoral and wellbeing team. She also alongside students across the school. She is based in the HOH office.
Peer Mentoring Team
Eight Year 13 students have been trained to offer their services as peer mentors. Students are allocated to them by our wellbeing coordinator. They also offer a drop in service for students in younger year groups.
School Nursing Team
Kealey Lyn-Kew
We have an on-site medical centre which is fully staffed by our school nurses. They are available to guide and support students throughout the year.
Vice Principal, Safeguarding, Wellbeing and Personal Development
Angie Dent
Angie works with the whole school community to develop the wellbeing agenda.
Spaces and resources
The Wellbeing Hub
The Wellbeing Hub is at the centre of the school. It is a spacious and well resourced area for students of all year groups to use. The Hub provides a space to relax and unwind before school, at break and during lunchtimes. Students can enjoy a variety of board games, card games such as UNO and relaxing music. There is always a member of staff available for the students to talk to. The Wellbeing Hub is also used during the day for group sessions and individual mentoring sessions.
The Nurture Centre
Students are placed in the Nurture Centre to help develop social skills, and to manage their wellbeing and emotional regulation. There are a variety of programmes available to support the students. Mentoring sessions are also held in the Nurture Centre and staff will support students in their lessons and during unstructured times of the day.
Support from outside
We are always keen to engage with outside agencies. The following groups currently support us with our wellbeing agenda
- Huggle Pets
- X2Y
- Base 25
- Kidscape
- Loving Classroom
Loving Classroom
This year we are very excited to have been chosen as a pilot school for the Loving Classroom project. This has been very successful in South Africa and Australia and is focused on the development of relationships and kindness. Year 9 are participating in this programme on Wednesday mornings. We were privileged to welcome Sir Anthony Seldon, the UK director of Loving Classroom to school in September to launch the project. We are looking forward to evaluating and monitoring whilst we work with other schools engaged in the project.
Pupil Support
We recognise that, in addition to quality-first teaching some pupils will at times experience barriers to learning and require additional support. At The Royal School this is provided in a variety of ways to meet needs in the areas of cognition and learning, communication and interaction, sensory and physical development or social, emotional or mental health needs.
At senior school, staff support pupils using approaches such as:
- Pre-teaching and over-learning: To address a specific need, pupils receive specific individualised tasks, often set as pre-reading homework, to boost access to a new topic to be studied in class.
- Small group support: Pupils with gaps in their knowledge of basic skills are offered small group intervention sessions in addition to the quality-first teaching they receive in their academic lessons.
- Functional skills lessons: Pupils who benefit from a more individualised curriculum at KS 3 and 4 and the opportunity to access entry level qualifications are offered regular functional skills lessons in maths and English.
- Access Arrangements: The school monitors pupils’ ability to access tests and exams carefully. Any pupils who experience barriers to accessing examinations receive the support necessary to ensure that the required access arrangements are in place throughout their educational journey.
- Sensory support: Pupils with sensory needs have needs met through a variety of in-class adjustments that can include sensory or movement breaks and various other support strategies. If appropriate, individual pupils also have priority access to extracurricular activities that address the development of specific skills.
- SEMH needs: The school uses a range of support mechanisms and has access to external advice and supporting addition to skilled practitioners such as mentors and pastoral staff.