Wellbeing and Pastoral Care

Horspath Church of England Primary School is committed to creating a happy, loving and nurturing environment. As well as developing a positive learning environment, the school has a supportive and inclusive ethos which assists children to thrive and achieve their personal best. We seek to work in partnership with parents in the best interests of their children.

The welfare of children is paramount in all the work we do and in all the decisions we take. Staff and governors recognise our collective responsibility for safeguarding and child protection.  Working in partnership with pupils, their parents, carers and external agencies is essential to promote and protect children’s welfare.

All staff recognise the importance of pupil wellbeing and provide appropriate pastoral care as required, whether applying a plaster and TLC or listening to why a pupil is feeling anxious or sad.  Children who experience adverse life events which may affect their emotional well-being are identified and supported by a fully trained Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) lead who offers regular 1:1 or small group nurture support.

Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) is a curriculum subject which supports wellbeing. The school follows the SCARF: Safety, Caring, Achievement, Resilience, Friendship programme. SCARF's whole-school approach promotes positive behaviour, mental health, wellbeing, resilience and achievement.

Many pupils come from homes of different faith backgrounds as well as from no faith backgrounds.  Our collective worship involves meeting, exploring, questioning, and responding to others and, for some, to God. It offers the opportunity to grow spiritually through the experiences of prayer, stillness, worship and reflection: prayer is always accompanied by the option to reflect. Worship supports wellbeing because it provides a period of calm reflection in an otherwise busy day of high expectation. Worship also encourages reflection on moral values such as compassion, gratitude, justice, humility, forgiveness and reconciliation; and helps develop virtues such as resilience, determination and creativity that develop character and contribute to academic progress.

We regularly encourage children to let their lights shine. Assemblies led and presented by children demonstrate their interests and celebrate their achievements both in and outside school, which helps to boost their motivation and self-esteem. Staff identify and celebrate inspiring behaviours, effort and achievement across the curriculum.