Brampton Road, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL1 4PR |
Student Wellbeing
How do we develop students’ confidence, resilience, and knowledge so that they can keep themselves mentally healthy?
The Pastoral system
At Verulam, our core values—Excellence, Character, Respect, and a Love of Learning are at the heart of everything we do. The pastoral system at Verulam is a vital part of school life. There are members of staff at every layer of our school community who are fully equipped to identify the signs of any student who may require support in overcoming the many hurdles that they may face on their Verulam journey.
All students from years 7-11 have a weekly PSHE lesson. These lessons are age appropriate and relevant to keeping our students safe and aware of potential risks online and offline which may affect their well-being. There is a programme of assemblies arranged across the year, linking to national events such as Black History Month, World Mental Health Day, Safer Internet Day and other inspiring and supportive events.
At Verulam, Form Tutors, Head of Years, Pastoral Support Assistants, Medical Assistant ,Wellbeing & Mental Health Leads, Safeguardng Leads and our Learing Support dept all form part of our experienced and deeply committed Pastoral Team. The aim is to create a supportive learning environment where all students, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexuality or academic ability, feel safe and secure.
For parents/carers, your first contact should always be your child's Form Tutor. Form Tutors see students daily and are often the best equipped person to deal with matters when they first arise. Any concern that a Form Tutor feels needs extra intervention will be brought to the attention of the Head of Year, who will coordinate the next steps necessary. Form tutors or Heads of Year can be contacted via the school switchboard or admin@ email address. Please bear in mind that tutors and heads of year are also teachers and will likely be with classes during the school day. Any urgent concerns should be made by telephone so that the school receptionist can direct to an available member of the Senior Leadership Team.
Wellbeing
Whilst we wish our students to thrive academically, this can only be achieved within a caring and tolerant environment where everybody is included and recognised as an individual.
At Verulam, we prioritise wellbeing and are committed to creating a supportive environment where every student feels valued, heard, and empowered to take care of their mental and emotional health. We believe that it is the foundation for success, both in and out of the classroom.
All students are encouraged to talk about any concerns or worries they have in a confidential and caring setting. If staff have any concerns or they feel a student may need additional support, they contact our Wellbeing Manager or Head of Year. Our Wellbeing Manager is also an experienced and qualified counsellor.
Our internal processes for recognising and supporting student wellbeing are designed to catch and address needs early. A fortnightly 'Team Around the Child' meeting of key professionals and pastoral leaders ensures that concerns are identified and a tiered system of support is available to help students.
All of our students are eligible for free counselling sessions (although there is usually a waiting list.) These sessions are designed to provide students with a safe, supportive, and confidential space to discuss issues that may be causing distress and personal struggle. We are fortunate enough to have our Inclusion Hub as a safe space within the school grounds that has dedicated counselling space and support always available from our Learning Support team. Some examples of common issues include:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Relationships
- Stress
- Loneliness
- Substance misuse
- Adjustment to new surroundings.
While our day-to-day internal systems ensure that every student is seen, heard, and supported by familiar faces, we recognize that some challenges benefit from specialist outside expertise.
Below are the core external agencies we work with at Verulam
- 2 Inhouse Counsellors who provide a specialist, targeted therapy two days a week.
- NHS Mental Health Support Team one day per week
- Vista St Albans Mentoring Support
- School Family Worker service provided by the Ambition Education Trust
- Links Academy Outreach Support
- Mentoring and SEND support services from Delivering Special Provision Locally, district 7 (DSPL7)
- Dan Gaze Support Services - Male Mentors through Sport for Self Regulation
- 6th Form Mentors and mental health first aiders (trained by the NHS Mental Health Support team)
- School Nurse service
- YouthTalk St Albans
- Specialist advisers provided by the local authority on a request basis (e.g. Educational Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists)
Mental health
Form tutors are the key members of staff when it comes to promoting positive well-being and will always be on hand to support students to develop into happy and healthy young adults.
At Verulam, our pastoral care system is designed to support students with a range of experiences that they may face. Sometimes, we may need to help students when they are suffering from poor wellbeing, whether that be emotionally, psychologically, physically or socially, and there are a number of ways both within the school and by utilising services outside of school that we can do this. Please contact the school to have a conversation with a member of the pastoral team should you want to find out more.
Safeguarding our students
Verulam School is committed to the safety and protection of all our pupils. Safeguarding underpins everything we do. All staff are trained regularly, clear procedures are followed, and children are taught how to speak up, seek help and keep themselves safe. Emotional support is provided in age-appropriate ways, whether through:
- one-to-one conversations
- small group support
- structured interventions
- or simply time, reassurance and consistency
Children are supported without being labelled, and help is provided sensitively, proportionately and promptly.
Our Deputy Headteacher, Mrs Thackray, is our Lead Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), who is supported by 7 other members of the Safeguarding team.
Our DSLs can be contacted by calling the school on 01727 766100 or by emailing DSL@verulam.aetrust.uk
Confidential advice and support can be sought from the agencies below
