At Our Lady Queen of Martyrs and St Joseph’s we are an inclusive school. We consult with a wide range of agencies and partnerships to ensure the Emotional and Social Development needs of all children, including SEN, are met.
Inspired by our mission statement ‘living loving and learning together with our eyes focused on Jesus’, we believe that high self-esteem is crucial and aim to support and promote the emotional wellbeing of all children. On a daily basis the class teacher is responsible for the pastoral and social care of every child in their class, therefore this would be the parents’ first point of contact should further advice or support be required. If further support is required, the class teacher liaises with the SENCO.
Our Lady Queen of Martyrs and St Joseph’s has and maintains close links with external partnerships and in order to access the best professional advice, we also work with the Local Authority and private providers of additional services, such as Occupational Therapy, CAHMS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) School Nursing Service, Social Services and Medical Professionals.
As a school we promote positive respectful behaviour through our curriculum. We follow a restorative approach to behaviour management. Children are awarded house points that are added up towards their house’s total with the winning House group’s name being placed on the house cup during celebration assembly. The winning child from each class also receives their house sticker from the house captain. Children may also be nominated for an award by staff and receive a certificate in front of the school. Children also present each other with kindness awards for acts of kindness above and beyond. These systems are embedded across school and the children enjoy their celebrations and rewards at our weekly Celebration Assembly.
Medical Support
Children with medical needs are catered for in the same way with, if necessary, designated people to deal with any physical or emotional difficulty that we can.
We also endeavour to:
- meet with parents/carers to discuss any concerns within a confidential and supportive environment
- produce Individual Health Care plans for each child with a medical need
- ensure staff receive up to date training. We seek advice from the relevant professionals to meet families’ needs. All staff have some form of First Aid training, from basic to enhanced. Our Staff also follow procedures regarding the administrations of medicines in school
- arrange school nurse involvement and drop in sessions for parents/carers
- produce Care Plans for those children who have complex additional needs
- work closely with other professionals, both in-school staff, the school nurse, outside agencies and parents/carers to support all public health and medical needs within the school
Social Support
Socially we do much to develop our children’s skills. Children within our schools support and care for each other to a very high degree. They are also expected to demonstrate high levels of responsibility and pupil involvement which fosters greater self-esteem and confidence. The care, guidance and support in our school is excellent and we pride ourselves in knowing every child’s abilities and needs.
When children are in Year 6 they receive workshops and Resilience training to support them through SATs and Transition. We also work closely with the Local Authority and Private Providers of additional services, such as Educational Psychologists, Occupational Therapy, CAHMS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) School Nursing Service, Social Services and Medical Professionals. We also work closely with the transition worker from St Leonard’s, our main feeder school.
We often hold multi-professional meetings in school and as such have a designated family room within each school so that parents are comfortable in the school environment and the child can join us easily, if it is appropriate.
We hold regular parents evenings and provide tours of the school.
