There is a designated Welfare room in both Prep and Senior School where girls can be looked after by one of our three-person Welfare team. Our team consists of a Paediatric trained nurse and Welfare assistant based in the Prep School and a trained nurse in the Senior School.
Both of our nurses have worked in the community and hospitals for many years, are highly experienced and a great asset to our community.
Our welfare assistant who cares for the needs of the youngest pupils is always on hand with a plaster and a kind word for those little bumps and scrapes that happen as an inevitable part of exploring and developing in our wonderful playground area and wild natural areas.
The welfare team is on site throughout the school day; they meet with parents to discuss and produce care plans for any child who has a specific medical need.
Our nurses frequently review these care plans and are accustomed to working closely with parents, our pastoral team and, where relevant, outside agencies and specialists.
We have received Asthma Friendly Status for the 2023/23 academic year from the North West London Health and Care Partnership. View our certificate here.
We cater for a wide range of physical and learning needs and have a very pro-active Individual Needs department.
To avoid disruption to pupils’ education, our Head of Individual Needs can undertake many of the assessments required in school herself. The specialist team work closely with classroom teachers to make sure that the provision and support in the classroom is tailored to the requirements of each pupil with identified learning needs.
Pupils with identified learning needs have a bespoke Learning Profile which they and, for younger pupils, their parents, review and contribute to every year, in liaison with the Head of Individual Needs. Teachers use these Profiles to adapt their lesson planning and resources accordingly.
The team also liaises on behalf of pupils and parents with outside agencies and examination boards to make sure that every pupil can achieve their potential.
The Pastoral team at St Helen’s are the first port of call for pupil wellbeing and this is an important daily part of their work. In addition, girls have the opportunity to speak with a counsellor as part of our Wellbeing Service.
In Senior School, our Wellbeing Service is a confidential service subject to the usual safeguarding procedures.
In Prep School this is called the Listening Ear service and, at this age, rather than being confidential, the counsellor works closely with parents.