At Heathside, we encourage the development of the whole person. Our Pastoral Team works to ensure that all children are healthy and happy during their time at school so they can enjoy and benefit from the rich education on offer.

Pastoral Care

The wellbeing of all pupils at Heathside is of paramount importance. At Heathside, pupils are supported to develop healthy and happy friendships with their classmates and peers. Class teachers ensure that their pupils receive the support they need to make the most of opportunities on offer inside and outside the classroom. If a class teacher has any concerns about any pupil’s wellbeing, they will call on the experience and expertise of Heathside’s dedicated teams to provide the appropriate support.

Additional Support

At Heathside, we strive to provide the ideal learning environment so that children can fulfill their potential. Additional support is sometimes required to help pupils thrive academically and socially. Our focus is on developing pupils’ confidence and self-esteem as well as their learning skills, so that our pupils are motivated and develop a love of learning.

Mindfulness

We teach mindfulness in school using a specialist curriculum, Dots.

Dots is a classroom-based curriculum for children aged 3-6 years and is offered as a series of sessions which often sit well alongside other subjects and in the children’s everyday lives. During the course, children learn many things, including: ability to focus, make good choices, recognise when we need to steady ourselves when our body or mind is busy or out of balance, ways that mindfulness can support them in many day-to-day activities, including concentration and memory, behavioural self-management and in relationships with family, carers and friends, and ways to respond rather than react – and therefore make better choices and take best care of themselves and others. Dots will also be introduced to the older year groups, in Key Stages 2 and 3, using Dots age appropriate material.

We are delighted to announce that Heathside School has been awarded Mindfulness in Schools Status by the Mindfulness in Schools Project.

Place2Be

Place2Be is a children’s mental health charity with over 25 years’ experience working with pupils, families and staff in UK schools. As part of the pastoral care provision, Heathside has a qualified, in-school Place2Be counsellor who is able to provide mental health support to children and their families.  Find out more about Place2Be https://www.place2be.org.uk/