Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Support
The following are all ways that we work to support our students with their emotional wellbeing and mental health here at RGS: | |
|---|---|
| Designated Student Wellbeing Manager | The school has a designated member of staff (Mrs Guerin-Hassett), who works with students and families to support students with their wellbeing and mental health. Mrs Guerin-Hassett also works closely with the school counsellor, the Emotional Wellbeing Practitioner team and external professionals; including NELFT and the Early Help Team. |
| School Counselling Service | The school has access to ten hours per week of designated counselling from a trained counsellor (Mrs Talbot). We also have access to a trainee counsellor who provides additional support to Year 13 students only. Counselling referrals can be made for a variety of factors and give students the access to one-hour of support each week for an initial period of six weeks. |
| Mental Health Training for Staff | Our key pastoral staff (Heads of Year, and Student Wellbeing Manager) have completed mental health awareness training. This ensures that those pastoral staff working directly with students have a thorough understanding of how best to support students with their emotional wellbeing and mental health. |
Mental Health First Aid
| The school has a dedicated Mental Health First Aider (Ms C Phillips) who has completed additional training to provide support to students. |
| Wellbeing Ambassador Support | In September 2026, the school will be training a number of students across Key Stage 3 and 4 to act as wellbeing mentors/ambassadors for the wider school. These students will receive bespoke training to equip them will the skills and knowledge to be able to best support their peers with a variety of school related issues. |
| Emotional Wellbeing Practitioner Team | The school has access to an Emotional Wellbeing Practitioner, who is allocated to the school through NELFT every week, and delivers support through group sessions to students around managing anxiety. This could be for general struggles around settling in and the transition to secondary school, struggling with anxiety or simply needing that additional person to talk about how they are feeling. |
| Wellbeing Hub | In April 2022, the school launched the new RGS Wellbeing Hub, a dedicated space within the school constructed to offer support to students for emotional and mental health. Mrs Guerin-Hassett (Student Wellbeing Manager) oversees this space, with the room being open every lunchtime for drop-ins, and for students to refer themselves to receive additional support where required. |
| MIND | Support delivered by a MIND practitioner to students on a one to one basis within school. |
| Kooth | Students have access to a free and anonymous counselling service delivered by trained counsellors through the app Kooth. The service is completely free to all young people and also offers support through the in-app features that are also available for all students to use. More information can be found by visiting www.kooth.com |
As well as the above methods of support, the school will actively promote positive mental health through its pastoral tutor programme, the PSHE curriculum and by taking part in events such as Children’s Mental Health Week.