Pastoral Support Team

Meet the Pastoral Support Team

Mrs Michelle Fox: Pastoral team leader
Mrs Dawn Murphy: Pastoral support practitioner
Mrs Sue Keogh: Pastoral support practitioner

Children's mental health and wellbeing is Dovedale's number one priority. Our Pastoral Support Team provide skilled support and guidance to children who are experiencing difficulties in learning due to social difficulties, emotional or behavioural problems, bereavement and other areas of pastoral need.

The team support small groups and children on a 1:1 basis - dependent on their specific personal or social issues.

If a child requires pastoral support, a referral may be made by a parent, any member of staff, or the child themselves. Communication is vital for successful outcomes and the team liase regularly with parents and class teachers to ensure all stake-holders remain fully informed.

The Pastoral Team are prominent around the school, from welcoming children at the gate in the morning to monitoring and supporting at playtimes and lunchtimes.

Forest School Sessions

We worked in close collaboration with the local community business, Growing Sudley CIC, to offer children across KS2 the wonderful opportunity to join in with their Introduction to Forest School programme. Forest School is rooted in evidence-based research and offers a wealth of benefits, including increased confidence, social and communication skills, and improved mental and physical health. Sessions were both child-centred and child-led, and used the natural environment to facilitate a holistic learning journey of nurture and discovery. Our children benefitted so much from the sessions that we took the programme and developed our own Forest School!