SAFEGUARDING & STUDENT WELLBEING
Welcome to Safeguarding & Student Wellbeing
Welcome to Tolworth Girls' School & Sixth Form. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff, governors, volunteers and visitors to share this commitment. We are aware that safeguarding incidents could happen anywhere and staff should be alerted to possible concerns raised at the Academy.
If you have a concern about a student’s wellbeing welfare or safety please report this immediately to a member of our safeguarding team.
Or call us: 0208 397 3854 / 07712 895 626
Helpful Resources
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What We Support:
At Tolworth, we support students who come to us with a range of different experiences and backgrounds. We therefore support students with a variety of problems, some of which include:
Anxiety
Low Mood & Depression
Bereavement & Loss
Confidence & Self-Esteem
Suicidal Ideation
Social Skills
Sensory sensitivities
Anger
LGBTQIA+
Sleep Difficulties
General Stress
Self-Harm
Trauma
Organisational & Time Management skills
How We Offer Support:
At Tolworth, we offer a variety of different interventions to help support student mental health. We recognize that every student is unique, and therefore offer a diverse range of support options:
Support Options include:
1-1 Support - Our Student Support Workers work one-to-one with students who need additional out of classroom support with conditions such as anxiety and low mood.
Group Work - A range of group work interventions are offered at different times throughout the year on topics such as Exam Anxiety, Social Skills Support, Emotional Resilience, and Behaviour Support.
Educational Wellbeing Practitioners - EWP’s work with students suffering with low mood and anxiety, and provide low intensity support for a specified duration of time.
Art Support - Our SSW’s can support student emotional wellbeing by engaging in specific art practices aimed at encouraging self-expression.
Health Link Worker - The HLW supports students with varying concerns, including eating disorders, gender dysmorphia, and healthy eating habits.
Chill Space - We have a quiet relaxation room, which can be made available to students who need a short break due to emotional reasons. Students require permission to come to this space, and may only use this space when a staff member is available to supervise.
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For further support and information, please see websites and charities below.
Abuse
Explanation of the Prevent Strategy
Forced Marriage and Honour Based Violence
General Wellbeing and Mental Health:
https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/
Anxiety:
App:
Self-Harm:
App:
Low Mood:
https://www.studentsagainstdepression.org/
Bipolar:
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD):
Suicide:
Eating Disorders:
https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/
Family Support:
https://www.careforthefamily.org.uk/
https://www.familylives.org.uk/
Parents support group of children and young people on the CAMHS waiting list for treatments
The Young Carers’ Project - Supporting young carers in the borough of Kingston
App:
Chat Hotlines:
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Self Help Worksheets:
Provided below are a selection of self-help tools that you may find useful when supporting your child *.
Anxiety:
General Wellbeing:
Low Mood & Self Harm:
Organisation:
Revision Strategies:
* Please be aware that these resources are not intended to replace support from a mental health professional, they are support tools. If you feel additional support is needed, please complete the form on the referral page or seek out your GP.
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Bereavement and other support organisations for contacting whilst the Saying Goodbye Project is currently closed to referrals.
Child Bereavement UK https://www.childbereavementuk.org/
0800 02 888 40 (Helpline weekdays 9am – 5pm) For parents, carers, professionals and young people.
CBUK work in collaboration with the London Grid for Learning and provide free resources and training for school staff https://www.childbereavementuk.org/online-learning-for-schools
Space2grieve
https://space2grieve.org.uk/
0751 937 6363
support@space2grieve.org.uk
Charity providing bereavement support for children, young people and adults living in Richmond. There is no charge for this service.
Kooth
On line mental health and well being support for young people, Includes links to crisis services
Anna Freud (national centre for children and families)
https://www.annafreud.org/ 0207 794 2313
info@annafreud.org
Useful information for parents and carers. Information and short training videos about traumatic bereavement specifically for schools and professionals
Rip Rap
Support for young people when a parent has cancer
Cruse Bereavement Support
0808 808 1677 (Helpline 7 days a week, times vary)
National bereavement organisation, offering support via email and chat and online for adults and children and young people. Lots of useful information on the website about bereavement
Hope Again https://www.hopeagain.org.uk/
The youth website of Cruse Bereavement Support
Our Specialist Safeguarding Team
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Mrs Botha-Smith
Headteacher
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Miss Thornley
Deputy Headteacher
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Miss Clements
Student Welfare Officer & Child Protection Lead
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Mrs Munro
Head of Inclusion & SENDCO
Robyn.Munro@tolworthgirlsschool.co.uk
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Brittany Begam
Mental Health & Student Support Lead
Ensuring the health and wellbeing of our students is an integral part of the work we do at Tolworth Girls’ School. We pride ourselves on ensuring we take exceptional care of our students mentally, physically, and academically. We recognize that students are more than their academic achievement, and we recognise and value our students as unique individuals. Therefore, we aim to ensure that every student feels cared for and looked after so they are happy to attend school and feel free to be themselves. We offer a wide range of support options for students, tailored around individual need, which has made our approach towards student wellbeing an award winning success.
News & Current Events
Upcoming Events:
Children's mental health week - 04/02/2023 - 11/02/2023
Time to talk day - 07/02/2023
Mental health awareness week - 13/05/2023 - 20/05/2023
World suicide prevention day - 10/09/2023
The Definition of Safeguarding
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined for the purposes of this guidance as:
• protecting children from maltreatment;
• preventing impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development;
• ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and
• taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.
Recognising Abuse
Children may not:
•realise they are being abused
•be ready to tell someone they’re being abused
•know how to tell someone that they’re being abused
Children may:
•feel embarrassed, humiliated or threatened by their experiences
Look out for changes in a child
Awards: The AcSeed Award
AcSEED promotes adoption of best practices in supporting the emotional wellbeing and mental health of young people in schools and colleges, and provides recognition for organisations that satisfy the AcSEED criteria for wellbeing support" said Charlotte Gatherer, founder of The AcSEED Initiative.
For more info, please click here
