Working in Partnership

Sometimes we may need to share information and work in partnership with other agencies when there are concerns about a child’s welfare. We will ensure that our concerns about pupils are discussed with parents/carers first unless we have reason to believe that such a discussion would be contrary to the child’s welfare. We work hard to ensure highly effective and productive professional relationships with external partners to ensure the best interests of each learner. Leaders work strategically with services such as Children's Services, Health Services and the Police to support our learners. During the academic year 2024-2025 we are working with local partners to prevent against County Lines and will implement workshops to ensure that our pupils, parents and staff are fully aware of any dangers facing them within our local community. Safeguarding is also woven into our curriculum through our PSHE lessons, computing lessons, assemblies and through special events and external visitors.

We have exceptionally strong relationships with our families and have a detailed, in-depth knowledge about our community to ensure that our support and actions are proactive, prompt and in line with what our children and families need.

Evaluating our Work

The Pastoral Team meet weekly to review the safeguarding work of our school with a focus on process, practice and performance. We are open to scrutiny by our partners and share practice and ideas with other schools. Our Safeguarding Portfolio Governor has a strong, experienced professional background which ensures rigour around questioning practice and impact. Our safeguarding practice and process are agenda items on our termly Full Governing Body meetings.  

Pastoral Care

Pastoral care at Barons Court is a great strength of ours and we aim for everyone involved within our school community to feel well supported. We believe that excellent pastoral support focuses on nurturing the individual needs of each child and our open door policy ensures that all members of our school community feel listened to. We aim to build trusting and empathic relationships with all our pupils and their families. Together our whole school team works with children so they can lead fulfilling and balanced lives at school and beyond. All of our staff model to children how to look after themselves and others; encouraging them to seek help, support or advice whenever they need it. Our pastoral care underpins personal development and we know from experience that with outstanding pastoral care, children feel they belong and their self-esteem is able to flourish because they feel valued and cared for.

Our Approach to Pastoral Care

We believe that our children need to feel safe, happy, valued and respected to achieve their full potential. Our commitment to achieving this runs through all strands of school life:

• Our school values are encapsulated throughout the work of our school.  All of our pupils know and uphold our values, and we award golden leaves to those who demonstrate them.
• In our curriculum, there is an emphasis on PSHE – Personal, Social, Health Education and we provide a wide range of music, drama and performing arts shows, activities and workshops which provide opportunities for self expression in many different ways.
• Our relationships education allows children to learn about the importance and diversity of human relationships in modern society, together with the changes children experience as they develop.
• Pupil voice is an important aspect of life at Barons Court. We have an active School Council, Pupil Leadership Team, Eco Council and Mentors where children learn to discuss issues and talk about ways to improve our school. There are frequent opportunities for staff to meet with pupils to hear their views and to receive the results of pupil surveys.
• We teach, uphold and practise the British values of Democracy, Individual Liberty, Mutual Respect, Tolerance and the Rule of Law. This enables children to grow up with a strong awareness of British Values which is an important part of their pastoral development.
• Throughout school life, we are always looking for opportunities to check that children are feeling positive and enjoying school. We offer a wide range of extra-curricular activities to give all children a chance to shine.

• All learners have the opportunity to enjoy learning outside and to spend time learning within a Forest and Beach School environment.  Programmes of nurture and personal development are embedded across the whole of our school curriculum.
• We offer many opportunities for personal development. This includes many experiences which develop the social, moral, spiritual and cultural education of our pupils.  We build our learners’ cultural capital with residential trips, theatre visits, sporting competitions and more.

Our Programmes of Support

As a school we work closely with all of our families and we would encourage families to share any worries they may have as working together works exceptionally well to support the children. We have close links with a range of support agencies and we are able to signpost parents should they need support, an example of this being the school nursing team who can meet with families and support with any health concerns. We fully involve families with support programmes through our Team Around the Child and Family approach which ensures that we are all supporting and doing everything we can to help.  We are also able to support parents to access a wide range of services and groups in the local area. Some of the services offer practical help with such things as housing or financial advice, some offer contact points or groups to join with others of a similar interest or need.

We also provide a range of bespoke pastoral programmes and these sessions are designed to support children who are experiencing needs which impact on them emotionally. Each programme is chosen, designed and implemented to meet the individual needs of the child in partnership with our families. Our current pastoral programmes include:

• Lego Therapy - LEGO® Therapy is proven to be an effective way to support children in developing their communication and social skills, improving their social interaction and social competence, whilst giving them skills to sustain lasting friendships and reach their full potential. The course of Lego Therapy lasts for six weeks.
• Play Therapy - Play Therapy helps children understand their feelings and any upsetting events that they may need to process.  Rather than having to explain their emotions, children use play to communicate at their own level and at their own pace. This intervention will last for a minimum of 12 weeks and is implemented by our play therapist who works at our school for two days a week.
• Sensory Development – We recognise that our school can be a busy place. For some of our children, the sheer volume of stimuli can all get too much. The creation of our sensory treehouse, garden and ‘safe places’ offer our children an effective way to provide calming and sensory places which are dedicated to stimulating, developing and relaxing the senses. Children are provided the freedom and autonomy to explore the environment for themselves, in their own time, using all of their senses.  
• TLG Mentoring Programme – We are pleased to be working in partnership with Avenue Baptist Church on the TLG Programme (Transforming Lives for Good) from January 2022. We will have two mentors working in partnership with us who will  support children for one hour a week, providing care and support for children and families within our community.  
• Therapy Dog – Research shows that animals can have a huge impact on helping children with developing positive mental health and with self-regulation. Reading with dogs can help children to build self-confidence and self-esteem...plus it is a lot of fun! Our lovely Therapy Dog, Zombie, visits school once a week and, during these visits, children are able to take part in session with Zombie. He encourages children to be calm, to be caring and to develop a sense of belonging. We train our children and staff with how to safely engage with Zombie, as well as how to keep Zombie safe and happy when he visits us.