Pastoral Care

Beginning in the EYFS and continuing throughout the school there is very strong pastoral support for all the pupils. The school tutors, teachers, boarding staff and medical centre team provide an environment where pupils feel valued and supported. All pupils know who to talk to should they need help or guidance. The welfare and health and safety of the pupils is of extremely high quality.

ISI inspection 2014

Pastoral care is one of Sandroyd's great strengths. Each child has a personal Tutor who is responsible for monitoring academic progress, seeing that out of class hours are spent profitably and productively and generally being a first port of call when life doesn’t always go according to plan!

For the younger children, up to and including Year 5, this will be their class teacher.

Beyond Year 5 the pupils are assigned to a Tutor Group, consisting of about ten children under the guidance of a member of staff. 

Whilst ultimately every member of staff is involved in pastoral care, the tutor or houseparent tend to be the first point of call. They report to Mr Thompson, the Head of Pastoral care. The pastoral structure is supported by the medical team and safeguarding team when appropriate. Sandroyd has a school counsellor, and we also work with external agencies when required to ensure we meet all the pastoral needs of the children.

Wellbeing at Sandroyd

We realise that a child’s mental health and wellbeing has a huge impact on their ability to learn and achieve. Wellbeing is an area of pastoral care that we take very seriously at Sandroyd and we have a full programme in place that aims to develop wellbeing, resilience and positive mental health for both staff and pupils. We are continually looking to improve this programme. Our mental health programme has input from a number of areas of the school, but is ultimately overseen by the Headmaster and Simon Barber our Boarding and Safeguarding Governor.

At the very backbone of our mental health education is a healthy, positive environment, a nutritious diet, plenty of exercise and fresh air for all pupils. This is combined with a balanced curriculum that provides many opportunities for children to take controlled risks, to learn from mistakes and to gain support from each other as well as excellent role models. 

We deliver our mental health programme through a variety of means. These range from formal PSHCE lessons, informal tutorials, one on one advice, school assemblies, peer mentoring, coaching, lectures and workshops delivered by professionals as well as appropriate intervention where required. The programme is both proactive and reactive.In 2018 we have introduced parent talks in mental health delivered by Dr Maryhan Baker, Dr Aric Sigman and Natasha Devon.

Medical

Our nursing team, known as Sisters, look after the day to day welfare and health of the children. The surgery is run by Mrs Dugdale and overseen by the school doctor who visits Sandroyd once a week for appointments with boarders.

Mrs Dugdale is one of a team of three Registered General Nurses who are in the school between 7am and 7pm, Monday to Saturday inclusive.  We also have a dedicate matron who supports the sisters in their role and provides medical cover overnight. 

Boarders who are unwell are looked after in Sick Bay which is a brand new facility with its own dedicated washing facilities. Sick Bay is located next to the Surgery.

Boarders also have access to a local dentist and optician if required.

In order to promote the best mental health of our children, we also have a qualified School Counsellor (Christine Jacobs) who visits the school at least once a week. All children have access to our counsellor and can also access the school listener. A number of our pastoral team are also qualified in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) 

Useful Wellbeing Links:

On Your Mind - Signposts children and young people in Wiltshire to sources of support for good mental health and emotional wellbeing 

Natasha Devon - provides many useful links for mental health