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At Sharples School, the wellbeing of our pupils  is paramount.  We work hard to provide guidance and support across the school.  We want our pupils to become resilient young people, equipped with knowledge to guide them through their adolescent school life and beyond.  In this section you will find key information for Parents/Carers and pupils, outlining our wellbeing support system in school.

How we support our students

At Sharples School, we pride ourselves on the excellent pastoral care and support we provide, ensuring that every student is happy, safe and settled in their environment, and that all students develop into confident, hard-working, respectful and ambitious young people.

Our strong pastoral support network includes Year Co-Ordinators, Pupil Intervention officer, In-school Behaviour Mentor, form tutors as well as a dedicated pastoral team. We cater to the individual needs of each and every student at Sharples School.

Transition

At Sharples School, we offer a two-day transition for every Year 6 student. In addition to this we host our very own free one week summer school, additional welcome evenings and settling in evenings throughout the year, so it doesn’t matter if you’re the only student coming from your primary, you will settle and have lots of friends by the time you start in Year 7.

As well as the students, we want to support parents and carers as much as possible. For a Year 6 parent it can be as nerve racking as it is for the student transitioning into secondary education. We welcome parents and carers to ring, email or visit Sharples School as often as they like.

Support

Need advice? Any questions? Concerned? Worried? Please feel free to contact the relevant member of staff or arrange an additional visit for you and your child. If you have any concerns, please email safeguarding@sharplesschool.co.uk

In House Support

At Sharples we believe we have an amazing support structure in school, to promote well being and resilience for our pupils.  We have two counsellors in school, male and female.  To compliment this service, we also have our School Nurse.

Gillian Meadows
Gillian joined Sharples in December  but has worked in schools for ten years. She brings a wealth of experience in Person Centred Counselling. Gillian has worked with pupils who suffer from Self Esteem, Anger Management and Grief and she also has a certificate in Cognitive Behavioural therapy.

Michael Hirst
Michael has been at Sharples for many years and is very popular with our pupils.  He offers valuable coping skills and strategies for pupils as well as supporting whole school.

Davina Crofts
Davina is our school nurse.  She provides a confidential drop in service on a Tuesday lunch.  Davina is extremely popular with our pupils, providing advice around general health and wellbeing.  Davina also supports whole school with Mental Health and Wellbeing.

Click here to view the School Counselling Policy.

Year Co-ordinators
The Year Co-ordinators ensure the smooth running of their year groups, providing daily support for attendance, wellbeing, safeguarding.  They provide 1-1 support to key pupils needing support throughout the day.

Mrs Gregory (Inclusion Lead)
Mrs Gregory manages the school’s inclusion unit.  Mrs Gregory provides peer mediation, behaviour management and re-integration into lessons.

External Agency Support

At Sharples we work closely with external agencies, forming strong working relationships to offer support to our pupils.  Here are some agencies that we work with and an insight into their work:

Targeted Youth Support
Targeted Youth work with pupils at risk of exclusion and engaging into risky/unsociable behaviour out of school.  They provide key workers and 1-1 support.

Exit Team
Exit Team are a specialized group of social workers who work closely with police and school nurses.  They provide support and guidance around the risk of sexual exploitation.  They work with young people who are vulnerable and may be at risk.

School Nursing Team
This team works across Bolton schools providing Health advice and support for the school and pupils/parents/carers.

Children’s Services
Children’s Services are an extensive team of social workers who offer safeguarding support and monitoring across Bolton.  They often offer us as a school, advice and guidance.

CAMHS
CAMHS is based at Bolton Hospital and stands for child and adolescent mental health service.  They provide assessment and guidance for young people suffering with mental health.  School work closely with this team to provide the best advice for our pupils.

Mediation
This is a team of support workers who work closely with families who may be struggling with relationship issues.  They provide family mediation sessions at school or within the family home.

LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender)

Planet Rainbow (Bolton) – The Proud Trust
This is a youth group based in Bolton town Centre that offers support and guidance for young people.  They support young people in making positive changes for themselves and their community.

RUNA
This team work with young people who are frequently going missing from home.  They work closely with the police and Children’s services.  They provide 1-1 support for pupils in and out of school.

Dealing with Grief
Click here to view the poster.

Useful Support Groups

Maudsley Charity
familiesunderpressure.maudsleycharity.org
For families who are feeling the pressure of parenting. Simple tips and tricks, formulated by researchers and NHS mental health experts, which are backed by science and proven to work with families.

Kooth
www.kooth.com
Kooth is an online counselling service for young people up to the age of 18.  It is an anonymous safe service ran by trained crisis counsellors.  Live chat and message services available up until 10pm.

ChildLine
www.childLine.org.uk
Telephone: 0800 1111 Counselling service for parents, children and young people. It also offers multilingual services to South Asian communities living in the UK. Languages include Bengali/Sylheti, Guajarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and English. Help and advice is free and confidential.

Mind
www.mind.org.uk
National charity organisation providing information, advice, and campaigning to promote and protect good mental health for everyone.

Samaritans
www.samaritans.org
Telephone: 116 123 (any time) National minicom number: 08457 90 91 92 Email: jo@samaritans.org Address: Chris, PO Box 9090, Stirling, FK8 2SA Samaritans is a confidential emotional support service for anyone in the UK and Ireland. The service is available 24 hours a day for people who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those which may lead to suicide. Volunteers offer support by responding to phone calls, emails and letters. Alternatively, people can drop into a branch to have a face to face meeting.

Time to Change
www.time-to-change.org.uk
Time to Change is an anti-stigma campaign run by the leading mental health charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness. Time to Change is England’s biggest programme to challenge mental health stigma and discrimination.

Winston’s Wish
www.winstonswish.org.uk
Freephone helpline: 08088 020 021 Provides specialist child bereavement support services across the UK, including in-depth therapeutic help in individual, group and residential settings.

NHS Choices
www.nhs.uk
Telephone: 111 The NHS Choices website contains information about all aspects of health. NHS 111 is a fast and easy way to get the right help, whatever the time. NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Calls are free from landlines and mobile phones.

Wellbeing Support Documentation

Click the links below to access the wellbeing support documents:

Social anxiety – Kooth’s factsheet for young people.
Dealing with suicidal thoughts – Kooth’s support guide for young people.
Understanding Eating Difficulties – Kooth’s support guide for young people.
Self Injury – Kooth’s support guide for young people.
Lily’s s story – How Kooth helped me with my anxiety.
Navigating depression and low mood – Kooth’s practical guide for young people.
Exam Tips – Kooth’s Digital Brochure.
Loneliness Support – Kooth’s Brochure for Children and Young People.
Creating Your Personal Safety Plan – Kooth’s Guide.

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