We know that for children to thrive both inside and outside the classroom, they need to know they matter and that they are fully supported. At Unicorn, the pastoral care and wellbeing of the children is our utmost priority. We provide a warm and nurturing environment along with the excellent relationships between children and staff which means that every child has no doubt that any of the staff here will lend a safe and sympathetic ear whenever they may need it.
We are proud to have subscribed to become a ‘Tooled Up School’ which means parents and staff have access to a digital library containing the most up-to-date, evidence-based tips and advice to enable our children to thrive.
Our pastoral care initiatives start before your child’s first day at school. We have a series of ‘stay and play’ sessions in the year leading up to their entry, so they can get to know the space and parents can get to know us and each other. There is also a chance to join ‘Jitterbugs’, our pre-school music class run by Miss Gresson, Head of Music.
Each child is different and our skilled Early Years staff will guide children and parents through the settling in period. Most children will settle in straight away but others may need a little more time. This is perfectly normal and we are happy to do all we can to make the process calm and gentle.
We place an emphasis on the importance of building a sense of community, teaching children to appreciate diversity, and instilling values that promote kindness, empathy and respect, along with equipping them with the skills to be resilient and to cope when life gets difficult.
In the Early Years and Infants, we teach children about their personal, social and emotional growth, developing their resilience and thinking skills. The children learn methods to help them self-regulate when experiencing a range of emotions.
There are often times that children may need a little more support and we offer a variety of initiatives to help our children.
Mrs Young offers a variety of play and therapy techniques, designed to give children the space to explore their emotions in a safe and comfortable environment. Throughout the year, she runs a Lego club, boxercise sessions and drop in ‘Wellbeing Wednesdays’.
Children can ask (via the school listener box) to speak to Miss Botes, the school listener at any point. She will offer a friendly, sympathetic ear and can help negotiate friendship issues, worries or just be a shoulder to cry on if something has gone wrong.
We have three members of staff trained in this emotional support intervention that can offer some gentle, guided 1-1 time with an adult.
