Dear Parents and Carers,
These events have caused such a massive change in all our lives, and so much uncertainty is bound to take a toll on the emotional wellbeing of both adults and children. Similarly, lots of students who had daily face to face support from school staff have lost that very suddenly. However, staff are still here and working remotely. We have compiled an extensive list of students who had a significant amount of personal staff support whilst they were in school, and staff will be contacting these pupils regularly by phone or email to continue to offer that support. However, if your child is not receiving contact from staff and you feel they really need emotional support, please email jpowell@samuelward.co.uk and this can be put in place.
Any support at an academic level should go to the subject teacher or Head of Year. (Year 7 - Miss Bennett, tbennett@samuelward.co.uk, Year 8, Mrs Coote, htownshend@samuelward.co.uk, Year 9 Mrs Bevan gbevan@samuelward.co.uk, Year 10 Miss Bush jbush@samuelward.co.uk as Mrs Spiers is now on maternity leave, Year 11 Miss Ireland sireland@samuelward.co.uk)
As well as support from staff detailed above, there are also external websites and phone numbers offering support. These are all detailed on the attached poster, but are summarised below:
- Kooth.com - 1-1 online counselling service. Free, safe and anonymous support for young people. Counsellors are online Monday-Friday 12pm-10pm and weekends 6pm-10pm.
- School Counsellor - students who were previously accessing school counselling, or who were on the waiting list, will continue to receive remote contact if they want it. More details for those students will be sent from our counsellors directly.
- Emotional Wellbeing Hub - 0345 600 2090 - Available Monday to Friday, 8am to 7:30pm. Parents or carers can contact this service for emotional support and advice regarding their child, particularly if you are very concerned about your child or their behaviour has changed suddenly. They can also refer through to Mental Health Services in the same way a GP would.
- School nursing service - 07507 333356 - children or parents/carers can text this number for confidential help from a school nurse, Monday to Friday 9am-4.30pm.
- OM Health and Wellbeing - sueandannie@unitysp.co.uk. Sue and Annie are former school nurses who work with all schools in the Trust. They are able to offer support and advice to parents on this email.
- If you have safeguarding concerns regarding your child or any child, you can contact Children and Young People's Services on 0808 800 4005 (free from landlines and most mobiles and anonymous referrals are possible). Opening hours are usual office hours but they have 24/7 Emergency Duty Service on the same number.
With many adults struggling to cope with these sudden and drastic changes to our lives and routines, it is completely expected that children will struggle, but the support is still there. Please do not feel embarrassed to reach out for help if you need it. On this note, as an adult, if you are struggling with your own emotional heath and you live in Suffolk, you can self-refer to Suffolk Wellbeing for support. They can be contacted on 0300 123 1503 – lines open 9am-5pm or via https://www.wellbeingnands.co.uk/suffolk/.
Best Wishes,
Jenna Powell
Assistant Headteacher / Designated Safeguarding Lead
Dear Parents and Carers,
These events have caused such a massive change in all our lives, and so much uncertainty is bound to take a toll on the emotional wellbeing of both adults and children. Similarly, lots of students who had daily face to face support from school staff have lost that very suddenly. However, staff are still here and working remotely. We have compiled an extensive list of students who had a significant amount of personal staff support whilst they were in school, and staff will be contacting these pupils regularly by phone or email to continue to offer that support. However, if your child is not receiving contact from staff and you feel they really need emotional support, please email jpowell@samuelward.co.uk and this can be put in place.
Any support at an academic level should go to the subject teacher or Head of Year. (Year 7 - Miss Bennett, tbennett@samuelward.co.uk, Year 8, Mrs Coote, htownshend@samuelward.co.uk, Year 9 Mrs Bevan gbevan@samuelward.co.uk, Year 10 Miss Bush jbush@samuelward.co.uk as Mrs Spiers is now on maternity leave, Year 11 Miss Ireland sireland@samuelward.co.uk)
As well as support from staff detailed above, there are also external websites and phone numbers offering support. These are all detailed on the attached poster, but are summarised below:
- Kooth.com - 1-1 online counselling service. Free, safe and anonymous support for young people. Counsellors are online Monday-Friday 12pm-10pm and weekends 6pm-10pm.
- School Counsellor - students who were previously accessing school counselling, or who were on the waiting list, will continue to receive remote contact if they want it. More details for those students will be sent from our counsellors directly.
- Emotional Wellbeing Hub - 0345 600 2090 - Available Monday to Friday, 8am to 7:30pm. Parents or carers can contact this service for emotional support and advice regarding their child, particularly if you are very concerned about your child or their behaviour has changed suddenly. They can also refer through to Mental Health Services in the same way a GP would.
- School nursing service - 07507 333356 - children or parents/carers can text this number for confidential help from a school nurse, Monday to Friday 9am-4.30pm.
- OM Health and Wellbeing - sueandannie@unitysp.co.uk. Sue and Annie are former school nurses who work with all schools in the Trust. They are able to offer support and advice to parents on this email.
- If you have safeguarding concerns regarding your child or any child, you can contact Children and Young People's Services on 0808 800 4005 (free from landlines and most mobiles and anonymous referrals are possible). Opening hours are usual office hours but they have 24/7 Emergency Duty Service on the same number.
With many adults struggling to cope with these sudden and drastic changes to our lives and routines, it is completely expected that children will struggle, but the support is still there. Please do not feel embarrassed to reach out for help if you need it. On this note, as an adult, if you are struggling with your own emotional heath and you live in Suffolk, you can self-refer to Suffolk Wellbeing for support. They can be contacted on 0300 123 1503 – lines open 9am-5pm or via https://www.wellbeingnands.co.uk/suffolk/.
Best Wishes,
Jenna Powell
Assistant Headteacher / Designated Safeguarding Lead