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 Christmas 2024...

MedwayGo

Our next half term programme will be Christmas 2024.

We are planning a fun filled winter half term full of activities and entertainment.

Bookings for this will be open later in the year. You can check if you are eligible before the programme begins by registering below, any queries please email us at go@medway.gov.uk

To see more updates, events or photos of our fun packed holiday activities follow us on Facebook.

Please click here to create your account and register your children to book MedwayGo activities

All staff and volunteers are experienced. 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/book/

Things to do this October Half Term 2024...

Strive

strivepeandsport.co.uk

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.

Kids Eat Free

It's so hard to keep the kids entertained for long periods of time without spending a fortune. Here are all the restaurants and cafes which are offering 'Kids Eat Free' (or for £1) during every UK school holiday in 2024

Places where Kids Eat Free (or for £1) during

School Half Terms and Holiday in 2024

https://moneysavingcentral.co.uk/kids-eat-free

UK School Holidays

Schools in the UK have 6 Half Terms that last between one and six weeks. 

• February Half Term - This is a one-week school holiday, usually starting mid-Feb 
• Easter Holidays - This is a two-week school holiday that depends on which day Easter falls, which is either early or mid-April. 
• May Half Term - This is a one-week half term, which is usually the last week in May. 
• Summer Holidays - This is the longest half term, at a whopping 6 weeks and usually starts in late July and until the first week of September
• Autumn Half Term  - This always coincides with Halloween and begins in late October
• Christmas Holidays - This is a two-week half term, that usually starts the last Friday before Christmas week. 

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.

Early Help support

If you want to discuss Early Help, you can contact your local Children and Family Hubs.

You can contact the helplines Monday to Thursday from 8am to 5pm or on Fridays from 8am to 4.30pm. The helplines are closed during weekends.

• Chatham All Saints Children and Family Hub: 01634 338 833
• Gillingham Children and Family Hub: 01634 338 877
• Strood Children and Family Hub: 01634 335 533
• Wayfield Children and Family Hub: 01634 337 733.

Medway Child Health Team Parent

Workshops - New Recorded Sessions

A new set of recorded sessions for a parents YouTube Channel.

The Child Health Team conducted an online parent/carer survey to seek views on our current workshop offer and ways in which we can improve the offer.

Parents and Carers requested sessions for dads and supporting men’s mental health.

We are delighted to be working with Laura Burke Training on this new set of videos. The set of three session cover:

• Navigating Fatherhood
• Men’s Mental Health
• Managing Stress and Building Resilience for Men

The sessions can be accessed via our Child Health Parents YouTube Channel.

THE FORGETTEN ILLNESS

YOUNGMINDS   - Mental Health charity for Children, Young People and their Parents

TEXT 85258 24/7 / youngminds.org.uk 

CALM      - Campaign Against Living Miserable    

0800 585858 / thecalmzone.net

SHOUT  - Support people with their Mental Health                          

TEXT 85258 / giveusashout.org

 PAPYRUS  - Prevention of Young Suicides

0800 068 41 41 / papyrus-uk.org

SAMARITANS - Every lost of life is a Tragedy

116 123 / smaritans.org

MIND - MIND is a Mental Health charity in England and Wales.

0300 123 3393 / mind.org.uk

SANE - Mental Health charity improving quality of life for anyone affected by Mental illness

0300 304 7000 / sane.org.uk

DAD SPACE - Free Mental Health Support Group for DADS

07787 535598 / Info@DadSpace.co.uk / 

NELFT contact details:

If you are in a Mental Health Crisis or require out of hours support, please call 

                                        NHS 111 — Mental health help option 2

Alternatively, if you are looking for emotional support or just want to talk to someone, you can text “Kent” or “Medway” to 85258 for 24 hour mental health crisis support via text (provided by SHOUT) 

If your concerns escalate about your child or young person

                                           please call NHS 111 — Mental health help option 2

If it is an emergency, immediate danger to life/safety dial 999

or visit Accident and Emergency (A&E).

If you are deaf and are experiencing a mental health crisis, please call the 

                                                     SPA NHS 111 Deaf Line on 0300 555 1110

 (you will need a BSL translator or third-party service to assist with the call).

Out of hours is the same SPA number, this re-directs to Mental Health Direct. The SPA number is below but shouldn’t be used for crisis MH needs this would be NHS 111 option 2

Kent and Medway CYPMHS: Freephone 0800 011 3474

Setting Up Parental Controls on New Devices 

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.

https://www.allsaintscommunityproject.org.uk/

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.