St Bernard’s prides itself on the strong pastoral team that has developed and grown.
The following members of staff are Heads of Year:
Heads of Year are available to support all the students in the year group and have regular interactions with them.
St Bernard’s also has a team of learning mentors to support students for a range of issues. These can include for example time management, stress and anxiety and examination strategies when revising. Students can be referred to the learning mentor team via their Head of Year or self-refer to the Pastoral Support Manager. All students are assigned a learning mentor and will then take part in a programme which normally lasts about 6 sessions. If a student needs more sessions, this will always be accommodated.
Group sessions are also run by the learning mentor team and these include young carers and bereavement.
For those students who struggle with transition- whether that be from Year 6 or into the sixth form, the learning mentors can support that transition with a bespoke support plan addressing the needs of the students.
The following members of staff work in student services:
St Bernard’s also has a school counsellor Ms Richardson-Shii who works 4 days a week. She works for the Brentwood Catholic Children’s Society (BCCS) and students can be referred to her via the Heads of Year.
Safeguarding
The Designated Safeguarding Lead is Mrs Barnes. The team ensures all staff have had the relevant safeguarding training they need and will work with external agencies when appropriate.