'Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.'

Acts 20:28

At St Joseph's we believe in developing the whole child- with this in mind we have a strong pastoral offer.  At St Joseph's this means all aspects of pastoral support are lead and managed by our Pastoral Lead, Mrs Dixon.  Mrs Dixon is also a HLTA- Higher Level teaching Assistant, Emotional Support Assistant and LBL- Learning Behaviours Lead- she also leads on various aspects of school life: healthy schools, the Archie Project, Young Carers, nurture provision and she has expertise in our SMILE curriculum, Attendance, Catholic RSE and a large and varied range of Safeguarding areas.  

If you have a concern, query or question or would like any further support with any aspect of your child's development outside of the academic classroom Mrs Dixon will be happy to meet with you.  She may be able to offer some reassurances, she may be able to signpost in the direction of some further early help or support or she may be able to initiate some additional support for your child in school.

Emotional Support

What is emotional support?

At St Joseph's we have two Emotional Support Assistants. They are specialist teaching assistants with a wealth of experience working with children. Our Emotional Support assistants have received training to support children with their emotional literacy.

We want your child to feel happy in school and reach their potential.

Our aim is to build your child's emotional development and help them cope with life's challenges, we help them find solutions to problems they may have.

At St Joseph's Catholic Primary School we have two fully trained Emotional Support Assistants - Mrs Campbell in KS1 and Mrs Dixon in KS2. Please speak to us if you would like to know more.

Nurture Club

Nurture Club is available during every lunch time encouraging and supporting our children to connect with others, build important relationships and develop their sense of self-worth - enabling them to thrive. Children can self-refer if they wish or may be invited by our Nurture Club Leader, Mrs Manley.

Zen Den

Zen Den is our nurture provision for KS2 children. They are invited to socialise together in a space that allows them to build and develop friendship skills with peers whilst they chat and access mindfulness activities, a calm oasis in a busy day. Children may self refer or are invited to attend.

Support for Families

If you are looking for support in these often difficult times, the information below might help:

Young Minds – Children & Young People’s Mental Health Charity:  https://www.youngminds.org.uk/

Kooth - Kooth.com – Offers 24/7 access to self-help materials and daily online counselling available.

The Source – Information, Advice and Sources of Support for young People (Suffolk based, but useful resources and information to support young people) -  https://thesource.me.uk/

Mental Health Crisis - https://eput.nhs.uk/contact/in-crisis/  Adults:  If you, a family member or friend are in crisis and need help, please dial 111 and select the option for mental health crisis. You will be connected to our contact centre where trained staff will provide appropriate support and advice 24 hours a day.  Under 18’s - If you are under the age of 18 or are the family member of someone under the age of 18 who is in crisis, please call North East London NHS Foundation Trust’s Southend, Essex and Thurrock Children’s and Adolescent Mental Health Services (SET CAMHS) 0800 953 0222 SET-CAMHS.referrals@nelft.nhs.uk

If you need urgent help or out of hours help please call Mental Health Direct 0800 995 1000

SERIOUS OR LIFE-THREATENING EMERGENCIESIf you or someone you know is in mental health crisis and requires serious or life threatening emergency mental or physical care, dial 999 immediately.

www.childline.org.uk – Childline, a free, private, and confidential service where you can talk about anything. Whatever your worry, whenever you need help, they are there for you online, on the phone, anytime. 0800 1111

If you are feeling suicidal, then you can also go to your local A&E department and ask for the duty Psychiatrist or call 999.

Bereavement Support

Eating Disorders

NSPCC Parent Guides

School Nurse

Our School Nurse- Nicola Youngman can be contacted on 0300 2470015.