Wellbeing & Pastoral Care

National Mental Health & Wellbeing Accreditation

Safa Community School successfully achieved National Mental Health & Wellbeing Accreditation by The National College, showing our commitment to developing a whole-school approach towards supporting staff and pupils’ mental health and wellbeing.

Pastoral Care & Wellbeing

At Safa Community School, we understand the uniqueness of each student and their wellbeing journey and we aim to develop a thriving, inclusive learning culture. The school enables a wellbeing focused environment that recognises that every member of the school community is a facilitator and beneficiary of the wellbeing development process. The wellbeing and mental health of our students, families and staff have been at the core of our decision-making as a school, and this policy aims to embed this commitment to promoting and monitoring wellbeing within our culture. We, as a school, aim to foster a culture where all stakeholders are equipped with the knowledge, experiences and support to enable them to take care of their own wellbeing as well as support the wellbeing of others. We have a clear, stepped approach to supporting students and staff with their wellbeing. This is supported by our School Development plan to create wellbeing provisions for all members of the community which has a lasting impact.

Safa Community School staff work closely with one another to ensure our students’ wellbeing and individual physical and emotional needs are supported in close liaison with our parents. Our pastoral care team and understanding staff are supported, when needed, by our school counsellors who are available for students in a confidential forum. Our external links with KidsFirst offer bespoke Child psychology seminars for both parents and children alike.

Happy students make for positive learners. Our goal is to ensure that all students enjoy coming to school, embrace the challenges ahead of them and are fully prepared for what lies ahead of them in the future.

We have a number of comprehensive systems in place to ensure the wellbeing of our students whilst at our school.

What is wellbeing?

The notion of wellbeing as a catalyst for human development is common in every socio-economic, education and cultural context. Internationally, wellbeing is recognised and prioritised as a pre-requisite for the future success of humanity.

Wellbeing as the psychological, cognitive, social and physical functioning and capabilities that students need to live a happy and fulfilling life.

OECD

With enhanced wellbeing, we naturally become more emotionally literate and creative. In this, we become more agile and develop an enhanced capacity for problem-solving. We also become more resilient when facing challenges and are more likely to employ a growth mindset and persevere. Quite simply, the dedicated pursuance of wellbeing is a fundamental feature of successful human development.

Primary Pastoral Care

Rationale

At Safa Community School, our children’s social and emotional well being are at the heart of everything that we do. This policy outlines procedures related to rewards and positive behaviour management. Our pastoral care reflects a positive ethos that builds upon an intrinsic self motivation to learn as part of our Safa Learning Culture.

Aims

To value and appreciate one another irrespective of age, gender or race.
To acknowledge that everyone has a valued role within our school community.
To enable children to develop a sense of self worth.
To produce an environment in which all children feel safe, secure and respected.
To ensure that staff are clear about the behaviour expectations to help support the learning process effectively, including the school vision and ethos.
To ensure all pastoral practices are sensitive and supportive to individual circumstances during the current global pandemic.
To support the transition of all learners back into school-based learning after completing a Term of Distance Learning.

Purpose

To develop self-confidence and self-esteem, showing pride in our achievements and in our school.

To show sensitivity and consideration for others.

To develop respect and tolerance for other ways of life and different opinions.

To develop responsibility for our learning and our environment.

Positive Reinforcement

We use positive reinforcement in order to promote and support a safe and happy learning environment. Examples of positive reinforcement are:

Verbal praise and positive feedback.
Sharing good work with others, including the Head of Year, Assistant Head or Head of Primary.
House points.
Safa Stars Certificate is awarded weekly by the class teacher for following Safa values and class rules, helping others, progress, attainment and grit.
Music, Art, PE, Swimming, Islamic and Arabic Stars will be given to one child at the end of each lesson. This will award the child with three House Points.
The Learning Grit Badge is awarded to children who continuously demonstrate perseverance and determination within lessons.

Secondary Pastoral Care

Aims

To promote positive behaviour among our students
To encourage students to behave appropriately in a range of situations
To create an ethos and environment where students feel safe and happy
To encourage students to grow into responsible citizens
To ensure students act like positive role models
To appreciate and value all members of the community no matter of race, gender or ethnicity

Rationale

At Safa Community School (SCS) we seek to promote the highest standards of behaviour and self-discipline and are committed to rewarding good behaviour. Our aim is to promote a positive ethos throughout the school that creates an environment where students feel safe, secure and happy, thus maximising their learning opportunities. All members of staff are expected to encourage students to behave responsibly and to manage behaviour effectively using the procedures set out in this document. SCS seeks to ensure that staff use appropriate rewards and reflections in a consistent way so that students view the school’s policy as fair and non-discriminatory. At SCS we recognise that a student’s behaviour is closely linked to their social and emotional well-being. As such, rewards and reflections are always applied with this in mind, dependent on the needs of the individual student concerned. Support and training is given to staff when required to help them deal with particular individual students or situations. Strategies are most effective when there is a partnership between parents, the school and, where necessary, outside agencies. We aim to provide consistent support and guidance to ensure high standards are adhered to. This policy applies to all Secondary students and will be given to all staff as part of an induction process. Volunteers and those supervising extra-curricular activities or accompanying school trips are instructed to make themselves familiar with the Positive Behavior Management Policy. We have very high expectations of our students and a belief that every student is capable of meeting them. The Positive Behavior Management Policy exists to make sure learning can happen in the best possible conditions and therefore everyone has to follow the Policy so that the system works and everyone benefits. Within this Policy are the necessary consequences for not meeting our expectations – the expectations are clear and there is consistency to the consequences. Corporal punishment or the threat of corporal punishment of students is prohibited at SCS.

Behaviour

Promoting high standards of behaviour and self-discipline, committed to rewarding good behaviour. Good behaviour is at the heart of productive learning. Where teachers can form positive relationships with their students it will increase the likelihood of students flourishing.

Positive Behaviour

A simple 3 stage process to be implemented in the classroom.

Chance – The teacher is giving the student a chance to modify their behaviour
Choice – The student now has a choice to modify their behaviour
Consequences – Negative behaviour continues so there will now be a consequence

Positive Reinforcement

We seek to promote and reward good behaviour in a variety of ways including the following:

Individual teachers using their own classroom strategies to motivate and reward
Verbal praise, both private and public – student’s who produce work to an excellent standard will be praised by their teacher in class but also through contact with parents via email or telephone
House Points – awarded for positive behaviours and academic achievement, also extending beyond the classroom; recorded in student’s planner both as an individual award and towards a House total; totaled weekly by Form Tutors; students can accrue points and redeem them in the Safa Souk for various prizes
Subject Awards – awarded at the end of each term in a House assembly to a student who shows most improvement in their work (awarded to someone who isn’t necessarily an academic high achiever) or personal development (e.g. significant contribution to an activity, school society or event)
Attendance Awards – awarded monthly to individual students with outstanding attendance; weekly award to tutor groups with outstanding attendance
Monthly Key Stage House Prize – awarded by Key Stage Leaders for a student of their choice who has contributed greatly to school and consequently to their House across the month
Principal’s Praise – the practice of asking a student to report to the Head for special congratulations following an outstanding piece of work, special music, games, drama achievement; acknowledgement of this process to the student’s parent via email or telephone.

Counselling

Counselling contributes to tackling barriers to learning which may result from personal trauma, difficult home circumstances, stress, bullying or maybe even abuse. Our school counsellor Ms Hutchins and Mrs Allen work with a number of students from the Primary and Secondary school to ensure they are getting the appropriate level of support to help overcome any such barriers.

Komodo Wellbeing Platform

To further support our holistic approach here at Safa, we use the Komodo Wellbeing platform as an additional tool to help us monitor and nurture the wellbeing of our students. This innovative platform enhances the strong relationships we already have in place by allowing us to track student wellbeing trends and identify areas where support may be needed. Komodo does not replace the personal connections between staff and students but instead complements our efforts, helping us respond even more effectively to individual needs. With this data-driven insight, we can ensure that every child feels supported, valued, and heard.

Staff Wellbeing

At Safa Community School, we prioritise staff pastoral care because we recognize that a supportive and nurturing work environment is fundamental to retaining a high retention rate. By actively addressing staff wellbeing and providing consistent pastoral support, we ensure that our team feels valued, motivated, and engaged. This commitment to pastoral care creates a positive atmosphere where staff members can thrive professionally and personally, fostering a sense of loyalty and satisfaction that drives long-term commitment to the school.

What keeps our staff with us for over 3 years?

The staff and leadership team are suppportive

It feels like you are part of a family

It is a great school to work in

I'm happy with the overall environment

There are opportunities for growth

Pastoral Care & Wellbeing Team

Mathew Ashton

Deputy Headteacher Middle School & DSL

National Mental Health & Wellbeing Accreditation Safa Community School successfully achieved National Mental Health & Wellbeing Accreditation by The National College, showing our commitment to developing a whole-school approach towards supporting staff and pupils’ mental health and wellbeing. Pastoral Care & Wellbeing At Safa Community …