safeguarding and pastoral care

Safeguarding

At St James, the safeguarding of all the children in our care is our priority.  As such, we have a Pastoral Team within school who can offer support and advice to children, parents and carers who are concerned or worried about a child.

Roles and responsibilities in the Pastoral team

Ben Caldicott: Headteacher and Safeguarding - bcaldicott@orchardmat.org 

Rebecca Coleman: Pastoral and Safeguarding Lead - rcoleman@orchardmat.org

Kesiah VanDenAkker: Pastoral and Attendance - Runs EHA and any other meetings involving parents and families

Sammy-Jo Evans:  Learning Mentor and Thrive Practitioner

We are all responsible for keeping children safe. If you are concerned about a pupil, please contact a member of staff by emailing admin@st-james.hereford.sch.uk or by speaking directly to a member of the Pastoral Team.

Please click on the links below to access more information.

• NSPCC
• https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/social-care-support/protect-someone 
• The Children’s Society
• Think U Know
• Trussell Trust – find a foodbank
• https://herefordfoodbank.co.uk/
• Women’s Aid
• Young Carers
• Young Minds

Further information on Safeguarding can also be found in the policies section of our website.  Online Safety is a concern for many parents and we work hard as a school to ensure that our parents and children are made aware of websites and how to keep safe online.  Our E-Safety page on the website gives more information, but the following links can also be used to inform and report your concerns

Where to go to report or talk about things which may have upset you or are a cause for concern:

Childline – A free, private and confidential service where you can talk about anything.

UK Safer Internet Centre – A place to report harmful online content.

Internet Watch Foundation – The UK’s hotline for reporting illegal content found on the internet.

True Vision – A website to report online content which incites hatred on the grounds of race, religion and sexual orientation.

 CEOP – A police agency where you can report worrying or unsafe online activity.

However, some children face many challenges, which means that some of their social and emotional needs may be greater than those of others. From time to time, some children may need support with behaviour or anxiety or friendships and our dedicated pastoral team will help, when worry will otherwise cloud a child's learning. 

Pastoral

Here at St James CE Primary, every child matters and all children need to feel safe, valued, special, appreciated and included. We want every child coming to our school to feel happy, content and confident, ready to embrace the day in our secure, caring and friendly environment. 

Thrive

Our aim at St James is to offer provision in school that supports pupils to succeed in all aspects of their learning   By using The Thrive Approach, we will help support and guide the children in our care, in a secure and friendly atmosphere, building on the element of trust and offering stability. By attuning to our children, we will be able to support children further. 

The Thrive Approach combines neuroscience and child development to provide a powerful way of working with children and young people that supports optimal social and emotional development.

In addition, the Thrive approach works in a targeted way with children and young people who may have struggled with difficult life events to help them re-engage with life and learning. 

We are pleased to have trained Thrive practitioners who support pupils within school and also provide guidance for families if there are issues at home that they need help with.

 https://www.thriveapproach.com/ offers more information about the Thrive approach but please don't hesitate to talk to a member of Pastoral Team if you have any questions.

Support for Families

As we are all aware, the cost of living has gone up significantly in the last year.    We know everyone is feeling the pinch this winter and we want to support those families in our school community who are impacted the most. If you’re struggling with your finances, please do get in touch to let us know, as there may be things we can suggest which will help. We want to do everything we can to help you and your child through this difficult time.

 Please get in touch with us to let us know if you’re struggling with your finances

Contact Rebecca Coleman – 01432 273961 or email admin for Ms Coleman to ring back.

There are also a number of places where you can obtain information about specific issues listed below:

Contact your local Citizen’s Advice Bureau or Family Hub

Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB)

You don’t have to be a UK citizen to get support from your local CAB, you just need to be
a resident of the local area. The CAB can help you with:

Getting benefits or other financial support organised

Accessing support for essential costs (food, bills, rent)

Visit the Citizens Advice’s website or contact your local branch to book an appointment https://www.herefordshirecab.org.uk/get-advice/

Family Hub

Contact your local Family Hub to get help accessing all the support you might need as a family. Find your local hub  https://familyhubsnetwork.com/hub/worcestershire-virtual-family-hub/

 Check you’re paying the right amount of tax

Make sure you’re on the right tax code. If you aren’t you might be due a refund. Use the Money Saving Expert’s free tax code calculator to find out.

Claim any benefits you’re entitled to

Use 1 of these benefits calculators to determine whether there are any benefits you could be claiming:

Turn2us

Policy in Practice

Support for migrant families – use this calculator if you are a migrant family, or if you have no recourse to public funds

You may be able to get benefits paid early if you’re already feeling the squeeze - this is known as ‘a short-term benefit advance’ - you will need to contact the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) office  https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/family-support/support-claiming-managing-benefits/3 that’s dealing with your claim.

 Check you’ve received all the government’s cost of living payments

The government’s cost of living payment is available for those receiving certain benefits or tax credits. You don’t need to apply for these – if you’re eligible the money should go straight into your account.

If you think you’re due a payment, but haven’t received one – report a missing payment to the government here.

Be aware of scams! If you receive any emails, texts or phone calls asking you to fill in an application form or asking for your bank details to receive a cost of living payment, do not talk to them or send a reply. Get more information on cost of living scams on the Money Saving Expert’s website

 
Find out what help you can get with your energy bills

Take a look at these resources from Simple Energy Advice, the British Gas Energy Trust and the Money Saving Expert website.

 
Let us know if your child is entitled to free school meals (FSM)

If your child is eligible for free school meals (FSM) you need to get them registered. This will allow them to get a free meal at school, and we’ll get extra funding to support your child’s learning. https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/schools-education/free-school-meals

See what other support you can get from your local authority

https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/news/article/1409/help-on-its-way-for-hardest-hit

Local authorities have lots of different schemes that you might be eligible for, including:

The holiday activities and food programme – access to food and activities over the school holidays

 Help with transport to school

Help with the cost of uniform

 Get free or low-cost food

If you’re worried about not having enough food to feed your family, you’re not alone. There are
a number of places offering support.

If you have a child under 4, and meet the eligibility criteria, you may be entitled to healthy start food vouchers

https://herefordfoodbank.co.uk/ Hereford Foodbank. Ms Coleman can help with a referral. Find a local foodbank with these websites: Bankuet, The Independent Food Aid Network, the Trussell Trust, or your local community fridge

Use food waste apps and websites like Olio (for free food and household items from your local community), Too Good To Go (for low cost food from local restaurants), or Low Price Foods (food that has passed its best before date, but is still safe to consume)