Pre-Prep and Prep at Habs Boys are places where children can feel safe and happy. Yet for whatever reason, sometimes our young pupils need a little extra support.

We are always here to help. After all, we understand that even young children can have worries and concerns. Some of these are real and significant. Others less so, with your child just needing extra reassurance, care and attention.

Whatever may be going on

Whatever your child may be feeling, we want them to know that they can talk to us and we will do our best to help.

For example, sometimes children may struggle with worries such as:

  • Their self-esteem or emotional wellbeing
  • Problems with friendships
  • Their schoolwork
  • Health problems, their own or those of loved ones
  • Family breakdowns
  • Major changes in family circumstances
  • Bereavements
  • Anything else that matters to them

We take great pride in ensuring that our boys feel happy and safe at school. Because that’s when they can thrive in all areas, and really achieve the potential that we know that they have.

Your child can talk to us

Young children spend many of their waking hours in school, making it a major part of their life. So please let your child know that if they are struggling, they can ask us for help.

They may feel comfortable talking to a member of staff they trust. We can be surprisingly flexible in helping to manage situations, providing support with how your child feels and easing any pressure they may be under.

We also have dedicated staff responsible for pastoral care. Otherwise, you or your child can talk to:

  • Their class teacher or form tutor
  • Mrs Michelle Best (Head of Prep)
  • Ms Victoria Huggett (Head of Pre-Prep)
  • Mr P Swindell (Deputy Head of Prep, Pastoral)
  • Mr B Grufferty (School Counsellor)
  • Mrs Tessa Grossman, for any worries about schoolwork in Prep
  • Our counselling service (please see below)

Our counselling services

Whether their concerns are about life inside or outside of school, we offer counselling for students who would like to talk about what is worrying them.

You or your child can make an appointment by emailing or contacting:

  • The counsellor
  • Your child’s class teacher (Reception to Year 2)
  • Your child’s form tutor (Year 3 to Year 6)
  • The Deputy Head of Pastoral

Where appropriate, the counsellor will work closely with the extended pastoral team, and with you as parents.

Our buddy system

Your child will be paired with a ‘buddy’, who will support and help them in their first few days. After that, we arrange a series of exciting activities throughout the academic year, so newer children can get to know their buddy and have fun together.

In Pre-Prep, your child’s buddy will be from Year 2.

In Prep, their buddy will be from Year 6.

Individual needs

We do our very best to make sure every child enjoys personal and academic success. This means working closely with parents and guardians to provide the support they all need. Meanwhile, all our staff are expected to familiarise themselves with each student’s needs, on a need-to-know basis.

Support can occur at various levels in school life. This might be through your child’s class teacher, phase leader, a subject teacher, an individual needs teacher or in smaller group sessions.

Students with known medical conditions are on a special medical register, with the school nurse holding individual medical plans.

To best help your child, please let us know if any specific learning needs have been identified, whether they be sensory or physical, related to cognition or learning, social, emotional or mental health or communication and interaction needs.

If your child has an assessment report, it would be a huge help if you could share this with our Individual Needs team. That way, we can put any recommendations in place and provide the most appropriate support for your child.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR INDIVIDUAL NEEDS POLICY

Spirituality

Spirituality is important in many families, especially at Habs Boys.

We are fortunate that our pupils come from a diverse range of faith backgrounds. So whatever yours may be, please feel free to seek our support.

We make special provision for children who need to fast, or be absent from school for religious reasons. We also have a multi-faith room which all our children can use.

Confidentiality

For a young child, it can take a lot of courage to talk about their worries and concerns. For example, they may be afraid that other people will find out about their problem. So we respect that courage and their confidentiality.

Yet there may be times when we will need to talk to someone else. This would only ever be for your child’s ultimate benefit. Of course, we would always talk to your child about it first.

Please let your child know that if something is bothering them, they can talk to us. At Habs, they never need to struggle in silence.

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