Student Wellbeing
At HAWI we take great pride in the way in which we support the children in our care. There is nothing more important than keeping them safe, happy and healthy, whilst ensuring the best possible environment for learning as we prepare them for adult life.
Wellbeing at Harris Academy Wimbledon
Wellbeing is extremely important to us at Harris Academy Wimbledon. Nationally, we know that the context related to wellbeing and mental health has changed dramatically and there is a growing number of people who are suffering with mental health issues.
From the moment students arrive here at the beginning of September, we want all our students to feel welcome, safe and cared for. By feeling settled early on they can begin to grasp all that we have to offer; academic, social and extra-curricular. We achieve this through our strong pastoral care system which is detailed below:
The House Tutor
Each student is allocated to a House and each student has a House Tutor who they see every morning for 30minutes. Students should go to their House tutor if any problems arise in school. The role of the House Tutor is to support each student both in terms of their wellbeing but also their academic work as well. House tutors support students who:
- Need support with: timetables, uniform and equipment, attendance & punctuality
- Feel upset or struggle emotionally
- Struggle with friendships
- Need extra support with behaviour
- Need extra support academically/with homework
School Counsellor
We have a School Counsellor, who is a trained counsellor and has strong experience of working with secondary age children. The well-being of all of our children is central to our ethos and this adds to our very strong programme of pastoral care. As well as having timetabled sessions, our school counsellor will offer drop in sessions and after school sessions for students who we feel need further support.
Social Worker in School
At HAWI we are lucky enough to be taking part in in the Social Workers in School project which is a government funded project between Merton Council and in partnership with selected Merton schools. The aim of the project is to support schools with the great pastoral care, wellbeing and safeguarding work they already do. Our SWIS, Miss Blanc-Viejo works with students in a variety of ways. Miss Blanc-Viejo mentors students, supports them with any wellbeing concerns and provides them with a safe space to talk about things they may be finding challenging in or outside of school.
Further Support
In addition to the above support the following interventions are also available at HAWI to support Student Wellbeing:
| Name of programme | General description of support package | ||
|
| |||
| Behaviour mentoring | Run by our behaviour mentors, students are allocated a behaviour mentor who will help them with self-regulation, organisation, and motivation. | ||
| Make a Change/Challenge it Change it workshops | Run by our behaviour manager. A student is directed towards a ‘Challenge it Change it’ workshop when there has been a serious breach of our behaviour policy which involves the student bullying (all forms), use of racist language or racist harassment, use of homophobic language or homophobic harassment, or abuse against a student’s gender identity. The focus is on re-educating the student so there is a reduced risk of re-offending. | ||
| Safer Schools Police Officer | We have a safe school’s police officer who is based in school and is tasked with re-educating students when they have been involved in incidents that may involve sexual harassment, inappropriate use of social media. | ||
| ‘Zones of Regulation’ | The Zones of Regulation programme develops awareness of feelings, energy and alertness levels while exploring a variety of tools and strategies for regulation, prosocial skills, self-care, and overall wellness. | ||
| ‘Empowering Excellence’ mentor programme | Specifically aimed at disadvantaged students. Students will be allocated a staff mentor who they will meet with weekly to harness motivation towards academic success. | ||
| Cognitive Behaviour Therapy | Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a talking therapy run by our school counsellors that can help students manage their problems by changing the way they think and behave | ||
| ‘Starving the Anger Gremlin’ | A programme run by our behaviour mentors which specifically supports students in managing their angry emotions. Mainly aimed at students in the lower school. | ||
| Social Worker in School support | We have a full-time social worker based in school. Students are provided with Early Help support from our social worker when students need help with external factors/influences which may have an impact on their behaviour within school. | ||
| Emotional Welfare Support | |||
| Listening support | Run by our behaviour mentors. Students are provided with listening support when members of staff are concerned about external and contextual factors which may be influencing a student’s behaviour in school. | ||
| ELSA | Particularly aimed at students on our SEND register, the programme covers social skills, emotions, bereavement, social stories and therapeutic stories, anger management, and self-esteem. The aim is for students to be able to self-regulate and therefore make positive changed. | ||
| 1:1 School Counsellor Sessions | Students who are struggling with having positive mental health and a positive outlook can be referred to our specialist school counsellors for welfare support. The support offered is person centred counselling. | ||
| Turn it around – School refusal support | Led by Mental Health Practitioners for students who will benefit from support with school-based anxieties. The mental health practitioner will meet with both students and parents to talk through concerns and come up with an action plan so that students are able to re-engage with school | ||
| Mental Health Practitioners | Supported by Mental Health practitioners from CAMHS, this service is available for young people who would benefit from early help support with emotional regulation and coping strategies in times of mental health crisis. | ||
With this support we hope all students will be able to be self-managers of their own wellbeing, having developed the strategies and tools to be able to look after themselves, whilst also being aware that there are people available to support them should they ever feel like they need some extra help.
To discuss any concerns around Wellbeing, please contact your child’s House tutor in the first instance. Your child’s House tutor will then liaise with the relevant person within school if further intervention or support is needed.
You can also find our Early Help leaflet here.
