Putting Children’s Wellbeing at the Heart of What We Do: Insights from Mrs. Sayers

As the Assistant Head Pastoral and Wellbeing at Ardingly Prep, I would like to share with you our school’s commitment to placing pastoral care at the heart of everything we do. We believe that every child is unique, and our role is to help them be all they can be in an ever-changing and challenging world.

At Ardingly Prep, we focus on each child’s individual needs and strive to create an environment where they feel safe and emotionally secure in every situation. We believe that by nurturing confidence and wellbeing, we can help children achieve their potential. Our enrichment processes offer a blanket of support, whereby pastoral care, our Shaping My World initiative, our PSHE programme, and Support for Learning department intertwine to nurture confidence and wellbeing.

What we do:

• Place the child at the centre of every conversation
• Provide support for the individual child through various resources and staff members
• Provide Mental Health First Aid training for all form tutors
• Have daily wellbeing check-ins in class via open communication, note boxes or lolly sticks
• Create wellbeing spaces in classrooms and our Zen Den
• Revamped the PSHE curriculum with additional focus on mental health strategies
• Form strong parental partnerships
• Work together with the Support for Learning department to provide support for social, emotional, and mental health
• Run mental health focus days
• Provide an individual Wellbeing Journal for each chid (launches Sept 23)
• Celebrate success at weekly Celebration Assembly
• Encourage self-confidence and independence
• A post box outside the Zen Den inviting the children to let us know that they need help.

The children bounce into their PSHE sessions each week and have completed exciting class journals showing their understanding of their health and wellbeing topics.

Weekly Celebration assemblies for Reception to Year 6 are always well-attended by parents. Our weekly pastoral meetings across three divisions of the school allow the opportunity for every child to be discussed, supported, and focused on each week. Weekly PSHE lessons and termly Mental Health checklists have seen children be balanced in their approach to the demands in their busy lives.

Since we have moved to our new processes this year, children seem more supportive and accepting of one another, building on our Generous characteristic and value.

At Ardingly Prep, we have created a school environment where the children feel safe and emotionally secure. Through a series of steps outlined above, we have prioritised and safeguarded the mental health of our pupils. We pride ourselves on our pupils being ready and nurtured, like our school emblem, the Pelican, with wings outstretched, to take on the world with confidence and joy.

Georgina Sayers

Head of Pastoral and Wellbeing