James Bateman Pastoral Support

James Bateman helps students develop a strong and clear sense of who they are and champions their moments celebrating success. By nurturing and encouraging curiosity, tolerance and leadership, we prepare our students not only for success at James Bateman but at High School and beyond, ultimately, to lead happy and fulfilled lives.

At James Bateman we push our students to be their very best. We have high expectations of behaviour and work which link back to our 3 R’s (Ready, Respectful, Resilient) but we also make space for them to have fun at school, to enjoy activities and to give them the opportunity to broaden their interests and refine their skills, through reward trips, extracurricular clubs and curriculum trips.

We build a sense of community and what it means to be a good person. Above all, we put the highest level of pastoral care at the heart of our school. Our aim is for every student to enjoy their time at James Bateman Middle School, developing healthy, happy relationships with peers and adults which build self-confidence and resilience.

Pastoral Commitments

We believe that the welfare of each individual is important; when a pupil feels safe and secure in their environment they can develop to the full. We make it a priority through our pastoral system that every student feels known and cared for.

We are committed to:

• Ensuring every student will have a smooth passage throughout their education, and will feel very much part of their form, the year group and the whole school
• Expecting the highest standards of behaviour and respect, in and out of school
• Encouraging self-discipline and an awareness of the positive contribution that a student can make to school life and to the community in general
• Providing help and guidance for students throughout their school time
• Encouraging and establishing strong links with parents through meetings with form tutors and subject staff
• Contacting parents if we think that there is a serious problem concerning their child
• Providing a moral framework for students’ personal development, so they develop into courteous and tolerant members of the school and wider community. We do not tolerate any form of bullying or anti-social behaviour.

 

Pastoral structure

All pupils are in form groups with a form tutor who looks after their welfare and supports their well-being. They take particular interest in the day-to-day matters that affect students, check their pupil behaviour and house points, register their attendance and listen to their problems.

Each year group has a Progress Leader who is also a teacher in the school, and they support their team of form tutors as well as leading and managing the year group. The Progress Leader helps with issues of overall academic performance as well as issues of behaviour, and they liaise with parents on a regular basis.

Additional support for the pupils comes from the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) as we seek to support those on the SEN Register. Outside agencies are used as necessary to help in specific areas.

Pastoral Structure:

Mr Walton (behaviour), Mrs Baggaley (attendance), Mrs Fletcher (SENCo)

Year 8

Mr Champ (Progress Leader)

Mrs Montifroy

Mr Jones

Miss Davies

Year 7

Mrs Perkin (Progress Leader)

Mrs Cooke

Mrs Cope/Mrs Hibbert

Mr Ahearn

Year 6

Mrs Finch (Assistant Head Teacher and Progress Leader)

Mrs Cox

Miss Roche

Mrs Jones

Year 5

Mrs Fletcher (Progress Leader)

Mr Birtles

Mrs Fletcher

Mr Shaw

Wellbeing

We have an internal well-being centre which provides 15 hours of support to our students through referrals. There are various interventions that are used to support students who may need to access, such as: ELSA, emotional coaching, nurture etc.

We are also proud to be part of the Trailblazer initiative, run by the NHS Foundation Trust. As part of the ‘Young Minds Matter’ scheme, Education Mental Health Practitioners are based in a number of Staffordshire schools, and we are very lucky to have NHS colleagues with us in school in order to help support our students.

We also have access to a school counsellor 1 day a week from Visyon to further support our students. Visyon helps students improve mental health so that they feel better about themselves and the things that happen in their day-to-day life.