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Pupil Support Service

The SEND Department and Pupil Support Service A group intervention has also been put in place to
have undergone some big developments this year. support pupils in their social and emotional devel-
opment, and area particularly affected by lockdown.
Differences in learning and thinking have been iden- These groups - the ‘Talkabout’ groups - have had a
tified in pupils across the school and teachers have fantastic start and pupils have made some amazing
begun to adapt their teaching to ensure these pu- contributions to discussions.
pils understand and improve their performance in
lessons to reach their potential. Conversations with The Pupil Support Room in Grammar underwent a
parents have been, and continue to be, a very impor- huge change to make it a more welcoming, nurturing
tant part of this process. Training has taken place for environment and we have had many positive com-
teaching staff to bring them up to date with current ments from pupils and parents alike. We aim to con-
thinking and practice around SEND. This is ongoing. tinue to work on the Pupil Support Room in Prep to
bring it up to the standard of the Grammar Support
It has been a priority of this department to speak to Room, which is high!
pupils that learn differently about their experiences
in the classroom. They have been open and honest Initiatives are beginning to be put in place to involve
with these experiences which has been key in getting the wider community again. Parents know their
them the support that they have needed, in order to children best and it is essential that there is a con-
begin to remove their barriers to learning and ex- stant and continuous dialogue with them if we want
plore their strengths within their differences. to continue to have the pupils best interests at the
centre of our practice. A parent’s evening workshop
The well-being of pupils has been paramount this on the importance of supporting pupils’ well being
year in terms of supporting them after the big dis- after COVID took place in May. Some productive
ruption to their education and development caused conversations happened that evening and it has be-
by COVID. The school has aimed to be proactive in come very clear, in various events, that parents are
light of research findings from eg UNICEF, amongst extremely keen to begin to contribute to school life
other organisations, and our own observations of the again, which is a fantastic resource to have and is of
impact that this disruption has had. There is data course going to benefit our pupils.
coming to light of the effects of lockdown period on
the general well being of children and young people. In summary, it has been a busy year for the depart-
At JPGS we have a solid pastoral system to support ment! We have enjoyed getting to know the pupils
with this. The Pupil Support Department has also and their families and look forward to developing
been developed as part of this provision to work with the work we are doing to make sure JPGS continues
pupils in a more personalised way, with the objective to be an inclusive learning environment for all.
of providing more targeted interventions to meet the
needs of those who have been referred by teachers or Ms Caroline Calleja
self-referred themselves. This has included, but not Inclusion Lead and SENDCo
limited to: support with friendships, exam anxiety
and better management of overwhelming emotions.

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