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Early Help at NWHS
At Nunnery Wood High School we recognise the challenges that families can face in bringing up children. There may be times when you need extra help and support. If this is the case please come and talk to us. There are many ways in which we can help as outlined in this offer of early help. We can also help to plan specific support for families in the forms of Pastoral Support Plans where we can work together to set and achieve outcomes.
Family Support & Engagement
Being a parents or carer is not always easy and can often present complex challenges. Sometimes these challenges may develop into a worry or difficult situation that may start to impact the functioning and happiness of a family and home, engagement with school and it may start to feel like it is not possible to find a solution.
Nunnery Wood High School is proud to offer a tier 2 family support service. This is delivered by Mrs Warren who has worked with targeted family support and social care services for many years, her wide range of experience, drive to help and support means that she is well placed and able to work closely with families, offer advice and guidance and develop action plans which build on family strengths and help to resolve any challenges.
Mrs Warren also delivers a range of specific support which includes:
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Working closely with and promoting the academic, social and emotional development of our Looked After Children
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Protective behaviour support for children who need specific support on how to keep themselves safe in a range of complex social situations
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Supporting students who are struggling to engage with school by developing Attendance Support Plans with the family and student
If you would like to speak with Mrs Warren or would like to request support for any challenge faced by your family then please feel free to contact us using the ‘Request for Help’ link. Mrs Warren will then contact you and if appropriate arrange a time to meet at school or home to complete an Early Help Assessment. This document will allow you to establish a plan with Mrs Warren and to access a support network of resources and specific professionals if appropriate.
Mental Health & Wellbeing
Being emotionally healthy is not always easy. Our young people are growing up in a world where they are surrounded by pressures that are extremely challenging. On top of all of the traditional pressures such as exams, friends and relationships. The online world and social media puts our younger generation in a place where they experience little conversation or human interaction, where they get used to having everything ‘on-demand’ whether through next day delivery to watching their favourite programme on Netflix, where they observe endless posts of the perfect scenario, where they read fake news and where they are exposed to serious world events as pop-ups on their phones.
The impact of this is hard to quantify because it is unique to this generation. However, we predict that this may have an impact on a young person in many different ways. How does it impact on their resilience, confidence, self-image, self-belief and self-esteem.
Through our SMSC programme we strive to teach our students to identify worry, realise that this is normal and give them strategies to cope. However, we acknowledge that at times worries do not always go away and can turn into anxieties.
With all of this in mind Nunnery Wood High School is proud to offer a tier 2 mental health and wellbeing service. This is delivered by Mrs Robinson who has a range of qualifications in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and a degree in psychology. Mrs Robinson has worked in a range of educational settings applying these skills, she is dedicated, approachable and well place to help our students cope in times of difficulty.
Mrs Robinson delivers her service through a range of specific provision:
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Cognitive Behaviour Therapy – Tier 2
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Bespoke mentoring and guidance
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Strategies to deal with self-harm
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Drop-in clinic every lunchtime
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Advice and guidance about accessing tier 3 and 4 mental health services
If you would like to speak with Mrs Robinson or would like to request support for any challenge faced by your son or daughter then please feel free to contact us using the ‘Request for Help’ link. Mrs Robinson will then contact you and if appropriate arrange a time to meet at school with you or your child.
Psychology – Tier 3
Nunnery Wood is also proud to work closely with local Psychologist Mr Simon Rowe who is an expert in his field. Mr Rowe works closely with the team to offer bespoke Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and psychological support and guidance. If a young person does not show improvement as a result of tier 2 support then we may consult you to refer to Mr Rowe. If your family access this support then you can expect to speak with Mr Rowe who will meet regularly with your son or daughter and communicate with tier 4 services such as CAMHS is appropriate.
Social, Emotional & Behavioural Difficulties
Nunnery Wood High School sets very high expectations for behaviour. This is captured in The School Code which makes it clear to all students how they will demonstrate respect, take responsibility and be cooperative when at school. We apply these expectations consistently for all students; however, we acknowledge that for a range of reasons not all students have the same starting point and will require support and guidance if they are to meet The School Code.
With all of this in mind Nunnery Wood High School is proud to offer a tier 2 social, emotional and behaviour difficulties service. This is delivered by Mr Chambers who has a wide range of experience in helping young people to engage with their education. Mr Chambers has worked in a range of educational settings with a wide range of young people facing unique challenges in their lives. His dedication and awareness of our students enables him to have a significant impact on some of our most vulnerable students.
Mr Chambers delivers his service through a range of specific provision:
- Bespoke Behaviour Support Plans
- Student lesson observations
- Liaison with teaching staff, parents, carers and other professionals
- Drop-in clinic
- Bespoke mentoring and guidance
- Specific interventions to address anger management and resilience
Mr Chambers monitors behaviour across the school closely to ensure that he can provide support to the right students at the right time. It you would like to speak to Mr Chambers or would like to request support for your son or daughter please use the ‘Request for Help’ link. Mr Chambers will then contact you and if appropriate arrange a time to meet at school with you or your child.
Anti-bullying
At Nunnery Wood we are committed to identifying and challenging bullying in all its forms. Our aim is to be part of a school community where bullying does not exist, although we realise that this is an aspirational target we are proud to say that bullying in our community is rare and where it does exist there will be a programme of care given to any victim and serious consequence to any perpetrator.
A key part of our approach to tackling bullying is to create a culture of mutual respect and openness among the student body where the students feel confident to report bullying if they experience or witness it. In addition, we aim to instil in the students a shared conviction that bullying is unacceptable, and that as a community we all desire to work and learn in an environment where bullying is challenged. In order to achieve this, we have the following provisions in place:
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Assemblies that give students a clear understanding of what constitutes bullying, instructions on how to report it and a clear message that bullying will not be tolerated in any form in school, in the community or online. Assemblies are also used to give regular reminders to students of who the key staff are that they can report bullying concerns to, from their form tutors to the pastoral team and the leadership team.
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An SMSC programme that provides students with a clear understanding of how to identify bullying in its different forms and how it can impact on the lives of those targeted. The SMSC programme also supports students in understanding what a healthy relationship should look like and how students should expect to be treated by others.
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Use of CPOMS system to log any incidents of bullying or alleged bullying to ensure that incidents are tracked over time and any patterns involving certain students as either perpetrators or victims are identified, and appropriate action taken.
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All allegations of bullying will be investigated, and appropriate sanctions given out were bullying is proven to have taken place.
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Mr Chambers and Mrs Robinson will use anti-bulling action plans to monitor the progress of victims of bullying in the aftermath of an incident that has been investigated. These plans will involve weekly meetings to ensure that pupils have the opportunity to feel supported and to report any ongoing issues that may have taken place.
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Student support staff also have a list of identified ‘vulnerable’ students that may be more at risk to being victims of bullying; these students are monitored and checked in with regularly by the team.
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Students have the ability to report bullying of themselves or others using the student portal; this allows them to make contact with the pastoral team and gain support without drawing attention to themselves.
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The anti-bullying agenda will be given a high profile during national campaigns but also though form time activities spread throughout the year led by form tutors. This will ensure that students get regular reminders about the importance of being vigilant to bullying and how to combat it in school.
Special Educational Needs & Disability
Our vision is that the Nunnery community has an irresistible belief that every child can succeed. To ensure that this vision is a realty Nunnery Wood is very proud to offer a caring, challenging and bespoke support network for all SEND students. This is coordinated by our SENCO Mrs S. Burnell through our resource centre which is called The Base.
Mrs Burnell has worked with SEND children for many years and has a wide range of experience as a result. She has complete the National SENCO Award and is truly dedicated, caring and determined that all children no matter what barriers or challenges they face can access an education that is suitable yet challenging. Mrs Burnell manages a team of highly skilled, caring staff to deliver our SEND provision.
If you would like more information about what support is available please see our SEND Policy and Information Report in the Key Documents section.
If you would like to speak with Mrs Burnell then please feel free to contact us using the ‘Request for Help’ link. Mrs Burnell will then contact you and if appropriate arrange a time to meet at school with you or your child.
If would like more information about services and provision available for children with SEND, please click the link below to visit Worcestershire’s Local SEND Offer.
