Wellbeing and remote learning

At Horizon, we are very aware of the impact that lockdowns and periods of school or bubble closure can have on every member of the school community. We therefore keep this central in our thoughts and plans and offer the following:

Child wellbeing: 

As part of each class timetable, there is a weekly PSHE lesson. This usually has a wellbeing focus. These will either be live lessons, where children have an opportunity to share their feeling and thoughts or activities set, which proactively support positive mental health and wellbeing e.g. yoga, mindfullness activities or mood diaries.

Most members of the staff body make welfare calls to families, including, at times, direct conversations with children, with consent from parents/carers. The most vulnerable children will have call home very reguarly and we aim to contact all families at least twice a term.

Children who we have identified as a school as particularly vulnerable have also been invited to attend school, even during periods of partial closure.

 

Here are some helpful links for parents to use to support child wellbeing during school closures:

 

Short clips on supporting your child to have resilience and good mental health during this time:

https://kentresiliencehub.org.uk/resources/resilience-webinar-for-parents/

This website offers lots of advice on weight, fitness, sleep and screen time:

https://www.bybsurrey.org/resources-for-parents/other-health-topics

Support for parents around wellbeing for children aged 8 - 13:

https://youngminds.org.uk/youngminds-professionals/our-projects/a-million-and-me/

This website features a wide-range of resources and a section on covid, anxiety and stress:

http://www.safehandsthinkingminds.co.uk/covid-anxiety-stress-resources-links/

 

Staff wellbeing:

The senior leadership team take staff wellbeing very seriously and particualrly during periods of school or bubble closure. We therefore offer the following:

  • Wherever possible staff are encouraged to work from home
  • We limit the expectation on communicating with parents and children to 5pm on weekdays only
  • We allow teachers to deliver remote learning from school if the home environment is not conducive 
  • The headteacher sends out weekly messages to all staff, highlight the great work taking place, acknowleding the challenges and thanking every single staff member for their work
  • We provide flexible working options for those with childcare issues or other factors that impact on their ability to attend school
  • We carry out welfare check ins with staff, with each member of SLT taking responsility for groups of staff
  • We offer an open-door policy both physically and virtually which, includes the ability to message the headteacher 7 days a week
  • During periods of school closure, we limit the activities of staff to the delivery and betterment of an effective remote learning offer