Pastoral Support
Pastoral Care at St Michael’s is very important within our community and we hope that you find our Pastoral Manager to be:
- Friendly, helpful and welcoming to parents and others visiting making contact with the school.
- A good role model for students.
- Appropriate and professional in manner with pupils in an informal way
Our Pastoral Manager
My name is Mrs Fredericks. I am the Pastoral Manager/HSSW at St Michael’s RC Primary School.
My role in school involves working directly as a Pastoral Mentor with children and their families/carers in a ‘lead professional’ role and co-ordinate support programmes to promote positive engagement. I also work in partnership with parents/carers advising on practical childcare, the importance of good attendance and parenting skills to promote the self-esteem of family members helping them to develop personal and interpersonal skills, which will impact on their ability to communicate openly.
If you would like to book an appointment to see me please ask at the school office.
Pastoral and Therapeutic Care
At St. Michael's our pupils have access to a range of Pastoral and Therapeutic services to help develop positive mental health and well-being. Some sessions run within class however some children complete therapeutic 1:1 sessions out of class.
Please see some of the wellbeing services we offer below:
- Lego Therapy
- Drawing and Talking
-ELSA
-Play Therapy
- Meditation Through Prayer
- PSHE sessions
- Circle Time
- Trusted Adults
- Mindfulness Colouring
Things to do this Easter...
Take the hassle out of the holidays with MedwayGo. Choose from hundreds of fun activities for children from Reception to Year 11, including sport, dance, art, drama, and lots more! Children will have a great time making friends, keeping active and learning new skills plus each child receives a free balanced meal as part of their session.
Any child who currently receives benefits-related free school meals can attend for free and we can offer support with travel for children with additional needs. Multi-sports full day sessions can also be booked for children not receiving free school meals for just £17.95 per child
All staff and volunteers are experienced, and DBS checked, providing peace of mind for you and lots of fun for your kids!
Find put more and book activities here: https://go.medway.gov.uk/
Things to do this Winter...
Strive
CHRISTMAS ACTIVITY CAMP
Who for: Open to all children in Years 1-6 (Ages 5 – 11)
Dates: Wednesday 27th December and Thursday 28th December 2023
Location: Brompton Academy, Marlborough Road, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 5HT
Time: 8.30am – 4pm
Cost: £23 per day
Registration: Entrance to the back of the Sports Hall – Middle carpark. The entrance is left from the main reception
Brompton Academy’s excellent facilities, Swe can run high class activities where children can choose whether they take part in sport or alternative activities.
Activities include: Arts & Ccrafts, drawing, Colouring, Team Building, Puzzles, Board Games such as Connect 4 & Guess Who, watching Cartoons, Drama, Dance, Junk Modelling and more.
Sports activities include: Football, Basketball, Badminton, Table Tennis, Hockey, Netball, Bench Ball, Dodgeball & more.
Please registrater https://strivepeandsport.co.uk/holiday-camps/
FREE Food List
Please find attached a copy of a FREE Food List which has other organisations who offer Free Food help in Medway.
If any Parents who may need additional help during next week when School and Medway FoodBank are closed, please see the list.
It would be advisable contact Food Support Centres before turning up - just to check whether their timings remain the same over the Christmas period.
Hopefully this will give those in need another way to get help if you find yourselves in a crisis situation.
Places Where Kids Eat Free (Or For £1): Christmas Half Term 2023
Early Help for Families
There are organisations and services across Medway that can support you and your family and strengthen your relationship Medway provide support early on and as soon as it is needed to help families thrive and resolve any challenges you and your family may be facing before they become too difficult to manage. This newsletter provides the latest usual information direct from Medway Council.
THE FORGETTEN ILLNESS
YOUNGMINDS Mental Health charity for Children, Young People and their Parents
CALM Campaign Against Living Miserable
SHOUT Support people with their Mental Health
PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicides
SAMARITANS Every lost of life it a Tragedy
MIND MIND is a Mental Health charity in England and Wales.
SANE Mental Health charity improving quality of life for anyone affected by Mental illness
Setting Up Parental Controls on New Devices
Things to do this summer...
Child-Friendly Medway
Dear Parents and Carers,
Please see attached a leaflet which outlines some of the great, FREE sessions available for children, young people and families in Medway (https://www.medway.gov.uk/info/200540/child-friendly_medway_activities)
Child-Friendly Medway- A place where young people's voices are recognised, and they feel safe, valued, included, learn new skills and make the most of their talents. Providing the best start in life for children and young people helps them to aim high, reach their goals, hopes and dreams for their future (https://www.medway.gov.uk/childfriendly)
Please also find a link to the newsletter, Child-Friendly Medway January News and Events: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKMEDWAY/bulletins/33d4f2a
All Saints Community Hub
The All Saints Community Project Trust was set up in 2001 and became a registered charity in 2012 (Register Charity Number: 1170179)
The Community Project (also known as the Magpie Centre) provides a range of services for the local community to help support them through times of crisis, to offer a warm space and friendly faces and offer them some hope that the future will be brighter. Located in Magpie Hall Rd, Chatham we work with other charities, organisations, and community groups to provide a safe place for support, help and advice. Here’s what we offer:
- Advice Appointments – We offer free non-judgemental advice appointments, these are for clients to get guidance on Benefits, Budgeting, Debt, Signposting and form filling.
- Practical Support – We have Medway Foodbank operating from our community centre on a Monday & Friday. Our advisors can issue foodbank vouchers and Medway Foodbank can then put together their food parcel this all takes place in the same building. This is a drop-in service no appointment needed.
- Community Café – Our café is primarily run by volunteers; we offer low-cost food & drink and a warm welcoming place for people to come to. We have different organisations come to the café to offer support and services to our customers these include Medway Recycling Team, NHS Hep C Testing Team and Southern Water.
- Community Groups – We run a number of groups during the week these are: Coffee Morning, Depression & Anxiety, Uniform Swap Shop, Knitters & Stitchers and Have A Go craft group. These are open to all and help to reduce loneliness in the community.
- Computer Suite – We have 6 computers that are available for the public to use free of charge Monday – Friday. This helps people who don’t have access to the internet.
- Other organisations – We have a variety of other organisations that use the centre, including MVA & Riverside. We also have MEGAN CIC, the mental health charity, who have offices in our building and use our community space to host their coffee afternoon.
ESBA
Emotionally Based School Avoidance
Supporting children and young people return to school after lockdown.
Mental Health and Wellbeing Provision Map
The following provision map advises all staff on the advised route to signposting support for children. Please note that individual concerns may require a different or unique approach which will be assessed on an individual basis. Ultimately if you are concerned about a child, please seek advice from the DSL/ Pastoral Team/ SENCO/SLT.
DSLs
SLT
Operation Encompass
AI (ai) Virtual Friend
AI-based chatbots that stimulate human-like interactions, like Replika, constantly push people (and sometimes manipulate) to share more and more personal, intimate, sensitive data.
Kids, teens, and people with mental health issues will be especially vulnerable, although anyone can be a potential subject of harm.
Q. Is Replika AI safe?
If you are using Replika AI safely, it can be a helpful tool for learning, creativity and companionship. However, it is important to be aware of the risks before using the app.