Individualised Support

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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The six sessions are:

1. Personal History

2. Feeling

3. Defences and Control

4. Families and feedback

5. Forgiveness 

6. Certificates and celebration

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Thrive resources, linked below to the website:  Download your free resources

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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.

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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.