NEW WEBSITE LINK HELPS ARTHUR TERRY STUDENTS REACH OUT FOR SUPPORT

Students at Arthur Terry with concerns over their wellbeing can now reach out online for support and help through an innovative new addition to the school’s website.

The school, which is part of the respected Arthur Terry Learning Partnership, has a comprehensive approach to student welfare, from a dedicated ‘Weekly Wellbeing’ day in each students’ tutor time to student voice panels to help identify topics to cover.

Now the school’s website has unveiled a function which will allow students to fill in an online form to alert key members of staff that they would like support.

Associate Assistant Headteacher MissGeillis, the school’s strategic lead for Wellbeing, said: “Safeguarding and supporting our students plays a pivotal role in everything we do at Arthur Terry.

“Clicking the link takes students to a form to be completed, in turn alerting key members of the pastoral team who can arrange a time to speak to the student.”

“When school is closed, we signpost students to other organisations who can support young people such as Forward Thinking Birmingham and Young Minds.”

“Our website offers an additional level of information, advice and guidance to supplement the wellbeing work done in school. As with any website it is a work in progress that continues to be developed over time.”

Providing a digital method of reaching out aims to help students who might not otherwise speak up.

Miss Geillis explained: “We have extremely robust safeguarding procedures in place at Arthur Terry; students are able to report in person to any adult in the school at any time during the school day.

“This is usually the form tutor who is the first point of contact on a daily basis. The ‘report it’ function on the website offers an additional method of asking for support. The form is not anonymous to ensure that when a student does reach out for support we are able to respond.”

“The website also provides parents the opportunity to explore our wellbeing provision in school as well as sharing resources from other providers.”

Each half term, Weekly Wellbeing sessions at Arthur Terry are devoted to different activities linking to the school ethos, events in society, charities and calendared awareness days.

Students also have a say in how wellbeing is promoted in the school through a wellbeing committee, student voice panels and surveys used to gather opinions and identify future topics.

Miss Geillis added: “The wellbeing of our students is incredibly important to us at Arthur Terry.

“Our students want to do well in their learning and hold high aspirations for themselves but the changes Covid has brought to education has had the potential to undermine that feeling of being in control.

“Helping students regain a sense of normality and supporting them to identify areas of control in their own lives is an important part of our wellbeing provision. 

“There is a plethora of strategies used at Arthur Terry to support students including subject curricula which are designed to build knowledge and skills across each key stage with individual lessons including discussion of learning and revision strategies to help students develop ownership over their learning.”

Caption:

A new function on the Arthur Terry School’s website allows students to reach out for support online.