Pastoral Care
Students at West Kirby Grammar School are well cared for by a dedicated pastoral support team. Their primary needs are met on a daily basis by the form tutor, but a Head of Year also monitors progress and is there to offer support when required. Our Wellbeing Manager and Learning Mentor also support the pastoral team. The pastoral team make it a priority to get to know students individually and to support with academic progress and provide emotional support when required. This begins during transitional visits at students’ primary schools and a handover of information occurs when a student moves up to a new Head of Year.
The Year 7 students are integrated into life at West Kirby Grammar School through the help of Year 8 Buddies and Jigsaw Reps who are specially trained Sixth Form students whose job is to ensure everyone is welcomed, engaged in lunchtime activities and supported if any difficulties arise. Settling into a new school is exciting but can be a challenge for some, but we do all we can to alleviate any concerns during our induction day and in the first few weeks in September.
Heads of Year
Our Heads of Year are responsible for the care, guidance and support of approximately 180 girls in their respective year group as well as the monitoring the academic performance of their students. This includes the organisation of mentoring and working with the Wellbeing Manager to best support our students.
The Heads of Year are line managed by Mrs K Cliffe, Assistant Head (Pastoral) and a rotation between Years 8 and 11 means greater continuity for students and parents.
In 2021 - 22, the Heads of Year are:
|
Year 7 |
Mr D McKenna |
|
Year 8 |
Miss F Jones |
|
Year 9 |
Miss K Higham |
|
Year 10 |
Miss F Preedy |
|
Year 11 |
Mr P Robinson |
|
Year 12 |
Mrs A Duffey |
|
Year 13 |
Mr R Price |
|
Sixth Form (Overall) |
Mrs L Marley |
Learning Mentors
The role of the Learning Mentor is to assist teachers and pastoral staff by addressing the needs of students who require support to overcome barriers to learning and achieve their full potential.
We are fortunate at West Kirby Grammar School to have Learning Mentors who support Key Stage 4 & 5 students. The Learning Mentors work alongside our Wellbeing Manager and in partnership with parents and teaching staff to offer advice and practical support to individual students to enable them to cope with the responsibilities and challenges of school life.
Some students need a little help with organisational skills or they may be identified via our progress monitoring as under-achieving in certain areas. Some students may lack self-confidence, be overcoming a period of ill-health or have a particular barrier to learning in a certain subject. The KS4 mentor provides a high level of support throughout such situations either in lessons or in a dedicated Learning Support Centre in the main school building. The KS5 mentor is based in our Sixth Form Centre, Easedale. She is our Assistant Head of Sixth Form, but also provides students with support regarding how to study, careers advice and much more.
Wellbeing Manager
Debbie Lidgett
Debbie Lidgett joined West Kirby Grammar School in March 2015 as our Wellbeing Manager. She has specific responsibility for student counselling and supporting students and their families with all aspects of welfare provision.
Debbie has worked with young people in educational settings for over ten years and used the knowledged gained from studying Psychology & Counselling to ensure students are cared for inclusively. She has also worked voluntarily with mental health charities which has given her invaluable insight into the mental health and wellbeing of young people and the challenges day-to-day living can bring. She is passionate about listening to students and developing programmes and awareness campaigns to support their needs.
Agencies
The Pastoral Team sometimes seek the support of outside agencies. A referral may be made to the appropriate agency by a member of the pastoral team, the authority nurse or the youth worker or advice may be sought by students, parents or those with parental responsibility. These agencies include the following:
We also work with some of these agencies to provide a good programme of Personal, Social and Health Education.
Counselling Services
Counselling at West Kirby Grammar is available via a referral process and is offered on a weekly basis for a specific period of time. The Wellbeing Manager is a trained counsellor and is on site five days per week to offer support, she also co-ordinates the referrals for outside agencies and allocates sessions appropriately. Currently we have a Health Services in School, Action for Children Counsellor on site each Thursday to offer confidential support to students via the referral process. A youth worker and a local authority nurse also visit school on Monday lunchtimes to provide a confidential drop-in service for advice about health and wellbeing.
Other counselling services may be sought outside school if the need arises.