Pastoral Care
Pastoral Care
We have a primary responsibility for the care, welfare and safety of all the pupils in our charge and we will carry out this duty through our pastoral care policy, which aims to provide a caring, supportive and safe environment in which all our children can learn and develop to their full potential.
This involves:
• Working in Partnership with parents
Close and regular contacts are maintained with parents to keep them informed about their child’s development. We provide opportunities to meet formally with parents to discuss their child’s progress (once per term). Your child’s class teacher will be available at the beginning and end of each session to discuss any concerns or problems that may have arisen during the course of the session.
If you feel that you would need a longer meeting then do not hesitate to telephone the principal to make an appointment to see your child’s class teacher that would be mutually convenient.
• Child Protection
The school, by law, must inform the relevant authorities when there is a concern about a child. Every possible care will be taken to minimise the possibility of mistaken referrals but this cannot be guaranteed.
Where parent volunteers are working within the school or helping with a school trip they will be required to undergo a police check. All staff members and students have also had to undergo police checks before being able to work in the nursery school.
A full copy of the school’s Child Protection Policy can be obtained on request.
• Special Educational Needs
Care is taken at all times to match the curricular provision for all children to their particular stage of development and to take account of any particular difficulties or special talent which they show. As teachers we are responsible for meeting pupils’ individual needs through planning a small steps approach to ensure success as per the Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs (September 1998). The nursery school actively promotes applications from parents whose child may have a special educational need and where the child’s needs can be adequately met within the nursery setting. It is important that parents refer to this section in the application form and fill in as much detail as possible.
If during the course of the school year we feel that your child has a special educational need such as a speech and language problem then we will meet with you to discuss what help your child may require be it within the classroom environment or involve contacting an outside agency such as the speech and language therapist or educational psychologist.
We will not however contact an outside agency without discussing this with you or obtaining your prior consent and a regular update on how effective this help is will be given.
If your child has already been assessed as having a special educational need or is attending an external agency, awaiting an appointment, or if you have any initial concerns about your child’s development please feel at liberty to contact the principal to discuss how best your child’s needs can be met within the setting.
A full copy of the school’s Special Educational Needs Policy is available on request.
• Pupil Welfare
All the staff work closely together, in consultation with parents, to ensure the welfare of children in the school. Parents are urged to discuss any matters of concern with the class teacher. The Principal will be pleased to see parents at any time although it is recommended that parents make an appointment if a lengthy discussion is necessary.
• School Discipline
Discipline in the school is fostered by the encouragement, in each child, of a sense of respect for others and their property, based on self-respect and the growth of self-discipline. The Principal and staff will consult parents in the event of any serious problems arising with a particular child.
The nursery school is a community where children, teachers and others work together each day. How we behave towards each other is important for the overall happiness of the school and for the effectiveness of the work we do.
We seek to promote a positive attitude to discipline, with constant praise and re-enforcement of good behaviour. By having clear, simple rules and routines, good preparation, and above all a varied and stimulating curriculum, we would seek to keep disruptive behaviour to a minimum. We believe that all children should have opportunities to achieve success and raise self-esteem. A full copy of the school’s Positive Behaviour Management Policy is available on request.
• Strategies for Good Discipline
If a child does not respond to the praise and encouragement as described above, the child may be taken from the activity and directed towards something helpful to make amends. Children should be encouraged to make amends to the other child that they may have hurt or upset. Children should be allowed to know the consequences of their behaviour.
Should problems arise we will keep parents informed and seek their help and advice in solving the problem.