Safeguarding

At Reach Academy there is a vast range of support available to pupils during their time with us. We understand that children need to be in a place where they feel able and ready to learn in order to achieve their fullest potential. We strive to ensure all pupils are happy, healthy and safe and achieving their full potential.

A supportive practice is embedded throughout Reach Academy; our ethos and culture is to ensure every child is supported and encouraged to be the best they can be. At Reach Academy you will have a coach who will support with you academically on a day to day basis; whether it is about making sure you are organised for your lessons for the day ahead or supporting you in making sure you are taking the right options choices for Year 10.  Our pupil support provision offers and additional layer of support offering a number of interventions for pupils who are experiencing social, emotional or behavioural difficulties including the below:

• 1-1 support to help them overcome personal difficulties;
• Small group work sessions to proactively support and develop social skills, confidence and resilience; and
• An 'open door' service which allows you to discuss worries or difficulties they are experiencing.

We build strong relationships with pupils and their parents. This begins with a home visit, which enables us to have a breadth of information about every child in our school. These relationships, founded on trust, allow for open and honest dialogue and we make it clear with parents that we are a team, working together to have challenging conversations.  

• We train staff to a high standard and are consistently reflecting on what we do. 
• We offer a broad range of interventions and engage with external parties to do this e.g. Place2Be, School Family Group, Family Links.

Our Place2Be service provides mental health support through one -to-one counselling using tried and tested methods backed by research. A drop- in service is also available to you by self-referral. One-to-one sessions are allocated after an assessment of your needs.  Ad hoc drop-in sessions can be accessed by any pupil who would welcome support or a space to talk through any challenges they may be facing.

We use CPOMs to report concerns and we over-report to ensure nothing is missed. We track everything so as not to miss anything and we sweat the small stuff. 

We have employed a Family Support Worker since the school opened in 2012 and have been instrumental in initiating the SHEL programme (School-Home Engagement Leads) across the borough. We also designed and lead the CAPP (Community Action Partnership Panel) which brings together safeguarding teams and police to ensure better joined up working and problem-solving. 

Our SENDCos oversee provision for pupils who need additional support in order access the curriculum. Depending on you level of need, some pupils may require short-term support, whilst others may need support and intervention longer term. The SEN Team offer practical advice and support to you to ensure that the provision you need to be happy and successful is available to you. Where more specialist advice or intervention is needed, the SENDCos will refer to agencies outside of school for additional support. 

We currently work with Education Wellbeing Practitioners (EWP) from the tier 2 CAMHS service who provide in school support. They offer 8 weeks of guided self-help which is a mix of learning new practical, skills for coping, and putting these into practice in your day to day life to support you with feelings of anxiety, low mood or low self-esteem.

If you need additional support outside of school we would recommend getting in touch with one of the following services: