Pastoral Support

• Form Tutors
• Mrs J Mitchell – Head of Year 7
• Mr L Holliday – Head of Year 8 (Temporary maternity cover)
• Mrs K Chapman-Dean – Head of Year 9
• Mr M Bolton – Head of Year 10
• Mrs H Waugh – Head of Year 11
• Mrs V McBride – Year 7 Pastoral Manager
• Mrs A Vernon – Year 8 and Year 9 Pastoral Manager
• Mr J Taylor – Year 10 and Year 11 Pastoral Manager
• Mr A Maltman – Attendance Officer
• Mrs E Dempsey – SENDCO
• Mrs L Walmsley – Chaplain

At Holy Cross, we offer four waves of support for our pupils.

Universal Provision

Pupil well-being is everyone’s responsibility. At Holy Cross, Form Tutors are your first point of contact if you feel your child may be struggling. They play a key role in your child’s secondary education. We are proud of the fact that Form Tutors remain the same for your child’s 5 years at Holy Cross. This ensures they develop strong, trusting relationships and become a safe person for your child. Our universal wellbeing provision includes:

• A strong Catholic ethos that promotes dignity, respect, compassion and inclusion.
• Daily opportunities for prayer, reflection and spiritual development.
• A dedicated form tutor who knows each student well and provides regular pastoral support.
• Access to Heads of Year and the wider pastoral team.
• A culture that celebrates achievement, effort and personal growth.
• A broad Personal Development and Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum that supports emotional wellbeing, resilience and healthy relationships.
• Opportunities for student leadership, service and participation in the life of the school.
• An inclusive curriculum that values diversity and encourages every student to achieve their potential.
• Clear safeguarding systems and trusted adults who students can approach for support.
• Anti-bullying education and restorative approaches to relationship building.
• Access to extra-curricular activities, clubs, sports and enrichment opportunities that promote belonging and positive mental health.
• Support during key transition points, including induction into Year 7 and preparation for post-16 education.
• Strong partnerships with parents / carers to support students’ wellbeing and development.
• Promotion of healthy lifestyles, including physical activity, sleep, nutrition and emotional self-care.

Should a pastoral issue be raised by anyone, parents/carers included, this will be shared with your child’s Head of Year. The Head of Year will make a Pastoral Referral which will be triaged by the Pastoral Team, who review referrals on a weekly basis to ensure early intervention. This highly skilled, dedicated team work collaboratively with a holistic approach to share information and review relevant history to create a detailed picture of the individual pupil’s difficulties. This information is used to ensure that suitable intervention is recommended.

At Holy Cross, we are extremely fortunate to have a large Pastoral Team who can offer a wide range of internal support, such as:

• Form Tutor check-ins / reporting systems
• Head of Year check-ins / reporting systems
• Chaplaincy
• Pastoral Manager mentoring
• Pastoral Manager check-ins
• ELSA
• Social communication interventions
• School Nurse intervention
• Specialist Teacher input
• Attendance support
• EBSA intervention
• Home visits
• Early Help Assessments
• Reintegration timetables

The Pastoral Team may identify the need for a higher level of support through the Pastoral Triage. This may include:

• Key charity interventions
• Barnardo’s Thrive
• Early Help Assessments
• Inclusion and Engagement support
• CAMHS
• Lancashire MIND
• Compass
• We Are With You
• NEST
• Preston North End Community and Education Trust – On the Ball, Champions and VAR

Some pupils may require intensive support, which may include a variety of services working in unison to support pupils at crisis point. It may require referrals to other agencies under the supervision of the Safeguarding Lead. Parents / Carers and young people will be involved in the decision-making process at all stages.