Pastoral

Pastoral Staff

  • Pastoral & Support Manager

    Amanda Clifton


    Pastoral & Support Manager

    Amanda Clifton has worked at Oswald Road since 2014. She is an Accredited Early Help Practitioner, Youth Mental Health First Aider and has a Diploma in Trauma and Mental Health Informed Schools and Communities, Practitioner Status ( Trauma Informed UK Schools). She is a third year BA(Hons) Social Work student at Manchester Metropolitan University.

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  • PSHE Lead

    Fiona Walker


    PSHE Lead
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  • PSHE Lead

    Jen Beech


    PSHE Lead

    Trained Mental Health First Aider

  • Pastoral Support

    Tracy Buckley


    Pastoral Support
  • Play Therapist

    Suzy Strange


    Play Therapist
  • Play Therapist

    Rebecca Roberts


    Play Therapist
  • School Counsellor

    Sahara Deville


    School Counsellor
  • Place2Be

    Cat Haynes


    Place2Be

Pastoral Support at Oswald Road

At Oswald Road Primary School we want everyone involved with our school to feel well supported. We believe that good pastoral support focuses on nurturing the individual needs of each child. We aim to build trusting and empathetic relationships with all our pupils and their families. We strive to fulfil the Nurture Group Network’s six principles of nurture:

  • Children’s learning is understood developmentally
  • The classroom offers a safe base
  • The importance of nurture for the development of wellbeing
  • Language is a vital means of communication
  • All behaviour is communication
  • The importance of transition in children’s lives

Our Pastoral Team also consists of 2 qualified Mental Health First Aiders.

"If I'm worried or sad I can put a note in the Bubble Box and I can tell my teacher. I also can have a chat with my friends."

"If I'm worried or sad I can put a note in the Bubble Box and I can tell my teacher. I also can have a chat with my friends."

Young Carers

At Oswald Road we are a community that is proud of all our children. We always champion those who do something special and we feel it is essential to be able to help and support Young Carers and their families in order to remove some of the additional pressures that they may be facing. If your child has any caring responsibilities at home that may fit into any of the categories outlined in this letter, please do not hesitate to contact Donna Wealleans or Amanda Clifton, our Young Carers Champions in school, so that we are able to fully support your son/daughter in their role.

Click on the image above to access Kooth, a free online counselling service for children age 10+. Alternatively, you can access their service for adults– Qwell.

Information and resources specifically for anxiety in children

Young Minds

NSPCC

NHS Choices

Anxiety Worksheets

“School makes me resilient because if I get something wrong I will always try again. The teachers teach us stuff we need in a nice way and our classmates always encourage us to have a go too.”

Noah, Year 6

“School makes me resilient because if I get something wrong I will always try again. The teachers teach us stuff we need in a nice way and our classmates always encourage us to have a go too.”

Noah, Year 6

Foster Carers/Adoptive Families

Supporting Foster Carers and Adoptive Parents Online – UK Safer Internet Centre

In England there are just over four thousand foster carers and two and a half thousand adoptive parents. Their needs are specific and often differ from that of parents with biological children. Their backgrounds can be traumatic, and the older they are the more they likely remember from their often difficult pasts and each memory and experience that’s unconsciously present within the child involved will contribute to their inner trauma. This can sometimes make caring for such children and young people immensely challenging. With this in mind the UK Safer Internet Centre has published guides and resources to help those bringing up children and young people with these needs, in the online space. To find out more please follow the link below:

https://saferinternet.org.uk/guide-and-resource/foster-carers-and-adoptive-parents

 

Specialist Organisations

Cost of Living Crisis

We understand that many of our families will be struggling financially at the moment and will be in need of help. The resources and links below should be of some use, but if you need to speak to anyone directly about your situation, please email a.clifton@oswaldroad.manchester.sch.uk  or d.wealleans@oswaldroad.manchester.sch.uk

 

Neighbourhood Winter Support Booklets

North Manchester
Ancoats, Beswick, Clayton and Openshaw
Higher Blackley, Harpurhey and Charlestown
Cheetham and Crumpsall
Moston, Newton Heath and Miles Platting

Central Manchester
Hulme, Moss Side and Rusholme
Gorton and Levenshulme
Chorlton, Whalley Range and Fallowfield
Ardwick and Longsight

South Manchester
Wythenshawe and Northenden
Didsbury, Chorlton Park and Burnage
Withington and Old Moat

Manchester City Councils Cost of Living Advice Line – 0800 023 2692, a free telephone line available between 9am and 4.30pm Monday to Friday, or via their online form at https://www.manchester.gov.uk/coladvice, offering Manchester residents support with benefits, debt, bills, food and support to access the internet.

Manchester City Council information about

Council support for those in financial difficulty 

Information on wider support –

Help with the cost of living crisis | Manchester City Council

Healthy Start Scheme

Early Help

There are times in life’s journey, when we can all benefit from additional information, advice/guidance, or maybe someone specialist to help get things back on track.

 

Sometimes children and their families might need some extra help, this might come from a range of different organisations, all working together.

An Early Help Assessment is a way of noting down what is going well in your family, what the worries are and what needs to happen to help things improve. Together you will then agree the best way to make this happen. Nothing is done to you.

You might need help in one or more of the following areas:

  • School, education or training
  • Home and life relationships
  • Health and emotional wellbeing
  • Work, finances or housing
  • Domestic violence or abuse
  • Crime or anti-social behaviour

If you have worries about your family, then ask for an Early Help assessment as a starting point to guide, help and support you.

 

The Manchester Early Help Assessment enables parents, to continue to meet the needs of their family in Five areas of life. Click here for more information.

 

You can access Early Help support, resources and information from Manchester City Council by clicking here.

USEFUL PASTORAL DOCUMENTS AND LINKS

Trauma Informed Schools

COMING SOON- Trauma Informed Community Hub, working in collaboration with Manchester Public Health Team, which is part of Manchester City Council.

We have received whole staff training on trauma and are working towards becoming a Trauma Informed School. Our Pastoral & Support Manager, Amanda Clifton, is also a merit-accredited Trauma Informed Practicioner with Trauma Informed Schools UK.

Manchester THRIVE is a single point of entry, a front door approach to Manchester’s Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health offer. A consistent diverse offer that supports the individual needs of children, young people and families to empower them to thrive within their own community. The M-Thrive Team will meet with any child or young person in the community to discuss ways in which community-based services can be accessed to help and alleviate some of the difficulties that may be being encountered and or support with any emotional health and wellbeing difficulties they may have.

How M Thrive can help you:

  • Professional, friendly, approachable team members who are here to listen to you and help you
  • A clear pathway into emotional, wellbeing & mental health support
  • Early Intervention, Self-Management & Prevention
  • Offer a route to intervention services should this be needed
  • Enable services that families currently access to provide the appropriate support, prevent escalation or the need for a further referral
  • Person Centred Approach
  • Shared Decision Making – making the right decision about what support is the right support for you
  • Access to community resources such as art, sports, entertainment clubs & Signposting
  • Access to your local hub

Safeguarding

Oswald Road Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our children. We require all staff, volunteers and visitors to share the commitment. For more information and resources, view our safeguarding page by clicking here.

Click here to read our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy

To contact our Safeguarding Team, please email d.wealleans@oswaldroad.manchester.sch.uk or a.clifton@oswaldroad.manchester.sch.uk

Our Safeguarding Page also features lots of useful resources on Online Safety, including information about the ‘Report Harmful Content’ button shown below.

SWGfL Report Harmful Content