"The Westgate School is a happy and vibrant community,
where pupils are encouraged to aim for excellence"
(Ofsted, September 2022)
Individual Inclusive Pupil Support | Year Leaders | Parent Support
It doesn't matter how big or how small your current challenge is, we're here to listen and offer guidance. We will find the right person and the right time to discretely come and speak to you. If it is an emergency and either yourself or another person is in danger, please call 999.
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Every Child
Supported
Pupil support includes many colleagues from across the school and some that support from outside agencies. The aim is to support all pupils with their journey through school whilst managing their own individual challenges. Alongside the difficulties that some may face are the celebrations of achievement, excellence and effort that are visible every day at The Westgate School. Supporting pupils is a collective responsibility and a team effort which is reflected in some of our interventions such as WTAC’s (Westgate Team Around the Child).
Individualised Support
Westgate Team Around the Child (WTAC)
Westgate Team Around the Child- A collaborative response by all adults to create a bespoke plan of support for a child. A WTAC would be called by a senior colleague where an individual pupil requires a more focused response.
Group (Student Assistance Programme)
Group has been running in the Westgate School since 2002. It is a six-week course which creates a safe place for pupils to share their thoughts, feelings and concerns. Our aim is to take every pupil in Year 7 through the course, which then gives them a firm foundation to continue through the rest of school and life.
Group looks at different aspects of their lives and allows them to simply share what’s going on. As we look at different themes such as feelings, control, defences, forgiveness and families, the individuals grow in confidence and self-esteem, as they start to share and listen to other members of the group. Barriers that may have been formed before group, are broken down, as pupils become more aware of people around them, who are facing different issues.
The six sessions are:
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Personal History
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Feeling
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Defences and Control
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Families and feedback
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Forgiveness
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Certificates and celebration
One to One Sessions
The Pupil Support Team and key outside agencies run 1:1 session with pupils. These are confidential and can run for a number of weeks. If you need support or would like to talk to somebody, please pop a note in Andy’s help box, outside of his office (just by the PE rooms). There are support rooms for primary phase pupils. The Den is situated in the foyer area of the primary phase, this creates an open space for lessons, one to work and food preparation. The Cave is situated in the foyer of the Lower School and is an area where the Support Team can take pupils who need a quiet space and a place to work with sensory items. The Nest is situated near Year R classrooms and is an ideal space to hold one to one sessions and creative arts.
Restorative sessions
Facilitated by a member of the Pupil Support Team, a restorative conversation is scheduled to provide pupils with an opportunity to reflect on behaviours, causes and to consider alternative choices. By ‘holding a mirror up’, pupils can reflect on the impact that their behaviours had on others and to consider the possible outcomes if they do not make the choice to change. A plan is jointly created during the session and pupils are supported, by the adults in school, to achieve the change they want. A restorative approach gives pupils choices, perspective and ownership of their actions and leads to better long-term outcomes.
The Thrive Approach
The Thrive Approach provides us with a simple web-based tool to profile children’s social and emotional needs, create a targeted action plan and measure progress. A straight- forward checklist enables us to identify needs in pupils’ emotional learning and devise a programme of activities to fill the gaps. By providing right time experiential learning through fun activities and relational play, children develop better emotional regulation skills, resilience and develop improved inter relational skills. The Thrive Approach is attachment informed and trauma aware; it is unpinned by latest research in neuroscience.
Thrive resources, linked below to the website: Download your free resources
The Gallery
The Gallery is our wellbeing room which is used for 1:1 sessions, intervention, time out and group work. It provides pupils with a quiet, calm space to support them with the challenges of everyday life. It is run by members of the Pupil Support Team who are on hand to have a chat and offer a listening ear. The Gallery is also open before school from 8.00am and after school.
Alternative Provision
At The Westgate School we have strong and effective partnerships with a number of alternative providers who offer full-time or supplementary support for children when specific needs arise. In some cases, a therapeutic approach is needed in order to help a child/young person to engage with mainstream education and in such cases, we are proud to be able to work in partnership with The Bridge Education Centre (Secondary School | Hampshire | The Bridge Education Centre (bec-hants.co.uk) and other providers, drawing on their expertise and support whether it be through outreach or indeed, a temporary placement. Provision in The Bridge Education Centre is accessed through a referral made by the school to Hampshire County Council's Inclusion Support Services. If accepted, the school retains full oversight of the child's education and works in close partnership with the provision, parents/carers and the child to review the impact of such provision and to plan for the future. Similarly, the School so far as possible is pleased to be able to draw on provision such as Bloom Ed.Bloom Education - Alternative Education provider for children aged 5 - 16 | Family Information and Services Hub (hants.gov.uk) and Equine Therapy where such provision is deemed to be of benefit for an individual. The provision for any child in receipt of alternative provision is reviewed at half-termly full governing body meetings.
Year Leaders, Assistant Year Leaders & Tutors
Each year group is made up of eight tutor groups two from each House. These tutor groups are led by a tutor who is the primary point of contact for parents, they remain with the tutor group from Year 7 through to Year 11.
Each new year group is welcomed into the school by the permanent Head of Year 7, Mrs C Fyvie-Rae and Mrs H Pearson her Assistant Year Leader. As they move to Year 8 they move onto a new Year Leader who is one of; Mrs M. Birtwistle, Mr C. Searle, Mr D. Howes and Mr C. Damant. This Year Leader will see them safety through to the end of Year 11.
Pupil Support Colleagues
Support for Parents & Carers
Partners in learning events
At The Westgate School we pride ourselves on excellent pupil support, for each and every pupil. We are also looking for more ways to support and connect with the parents and carers that care for our pupils. We offer a number of opportunities to come together, to challenge, inspire, encourage and share together. They will cover a different topic at each event and have an opportunity to ask questions, to share as parents and to pick up tips and strategies.
Preventing Exploitation: Information for Parents and carers
Family THRIVE
A six-week Family THRIVE programme introduces parents and carers to the fundamentals of Thrive and how it works in practise. Parents will learn how to understand the growth of their child’s brain though childhood and support their emotional development.
The course covers:
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How our brains develop
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How your right brain, talks to your left brain
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Why play and creativity are so important
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How to support your child at times of change and difficulty
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Keeping calm during every day trigger times
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How to understand behaviours and respond in the most appropriate ways
Partnerships
We work in partnership with a range of partners, including local and national charities, health professionals, trusts and more. We identify which partners may be able to support pupils and families and work together to ensure each pupil has the support they need. View our partnership list
COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pupil support
We are all encountering challenging times as the COVID-19 virus causes such disruption to our school community. However, we want to make sure that pupils and parents have the support they need. Pupils can access support by completing this form which will be sent to the Pupil Support Team. Contact the Support Team
Getting the right tone, when talking about COVID 19 with your child can be difficult. Here are some stories which have been created to be honest, factual but without being alarmist:
These links are more suitable for Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6:
There is a chance that pupils may experience loss and bereavement. Please find support for child bereavement here:
If you have any questions about the above, please contact: 'Andy Hider' at contact@westgate.hants.sch.uk
Your details will be passed on to the named colleague.