Headlines 13June25 by Honywood School

James Saunders

MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING SUPPORT

Honywood has always been committed to supporting the whole child and although we appreciate the need to strive for excellent exam results we have always tried to balance this with the wellbeing of our learners. Keeping learners safe and striving for happiness and success both during their time with us and beyond into their lives ahead is essential. We are very proud of our staff and the caring nature of our school where meaningful relationships and personalisation are embedded into all aspects of school life. The current mental health picture highlights the need for these unique aspects of our school more than ever and we are confident that the ethos of Honywood will continue to support our learners moving forward into whatever challenges the following year brings.

Mental health and wellbeing of our learners is of the utmost importance and we are fully aware of the impact this has on a young person and how this can then have an effect on their learning. We recognise that all learners in our school deserve a universal offer to support their mental health and wellbeing. We are always looking at ways in which we can increase this offer to reach and impact on a greater number of learners across all cohorts.

Last year we launched the YouHQ app with all Cohorts to provide a way to flag issues earlier. Every time a learner logs into the app it asks for a snapshot of their mood. A low mood triggers a request for a check in with their learning group leader. The app is also able to signpost learners to courses that they can complete, which are gamified to pay out coins which the children can use to update their avatar.

Every two weeks the app requests a world health organisation designed survey. The survey asks learners to scale how they have felt around five areas of their wellbeing. The information from the app supports us to provide targeted wellbeing interventions and will provide data to assess the impact and effectiveness of these interventions. We are able to personalise the app with our own bespoke signposting to our in house pastoral care. There is a chat function that sends emails directly to safeguarding@honywoodschool.com. This is an email account monitored by both Mrs Nichols and Mr Smith, our designated Safeguarding Leaders.

We appreciate that day-to-day different things affect how a learner is feeling. The current snapshot of the ‘mood’ and wellbeing of our learners is as follows:

There are multiple reasons why a learner may not be feeling good and many of these can go unnoticed or be masked. Our aim is for this system to support learners to share how they are feeling in a non-judgmental way. Each low mood alert directs an email to the learning group leader to check in with any learner who has a low mood that day. The check in requests also go directly to safeguarding@honywoodschool.com

Here is a snapshot of WHO 5 wellbeing survey results for this academic year:

Issues surrounding sleep continue to be a common issue. Assemblies were held this year including advice on this issue, and we encourage families to focus on strategies for supporting this at home. It is recommended that all secondary age children should be sleeping for 8 to 10 hours a night.

A key component which forms the wellbeing support network for our learners is our pastoral care structure. The first layer of support begins with the Learning Group Leaders (LGLs) who have a key role in providing wellbeing support for the learners in their learning group. They are an important part of a learner’s life at school and provide a regular and friendly face at the start and end of each school day. In talking to parents visiting from primary school recently we have used the learning group leader as an example of how we retain the sense of belonging that you get in primary school by having that consistent daily member of staff who gets to know and understand you - the learning group leader should be the first to provide the psychological safety that all children need to support them to access learning in school.

Our learners also have the support of their Cohort Leader (CL) who adds an additional layer of support to their LGL. However, every adult in our school community has a duty to support the emotional wellbeing and the psychological safety of our learners and will offer support and guidance whenever needed. We certainly find that every interaction we have with a learner usually involves a bit of support for their wellbeing.

We would also like to take this opportunity to highlight our Honywood Wellbeing website/app which is also a great resource to support learners and families with a variety of areas which can have an impact on emotional and mental health. This site has been created to provide learners with relevant information, strategies for them to use and also signposts other support available. If you have not yet had a chance to look at the site I recommend that you do as this can also provide parents/carers with useful information to support their child.

https://sites.google.com/honywoodschool.com/learnerwellbeing/home

Below is an overview of some of the additional support we access to support young people:

Jemma Green, our headroom counsellor, is in school one day each week on a Wednesday. Jemma is a level 5 trained counsellor who supports issues such as self harm, controlled eating, bereavement and trauma. Jemma works with children for around 6-8 sessions, and is very supportive in making forward referrals for children who have higher needs.

Darrel Church is a boxing coach and owner of Church St Boxing in Maldon. He continues to provide 1 to 1 mentoring for children who are at risk of permanent exclusion, some children who are struggling to access school, children in care, and bereavement.

We have been receiving increased support from the Mental Health Support Team this term. New referrals to this service are being quickly processed and are leading to very effective, early intervention for children struggling with mental health concerns such as anxiety and low mood.

Every other Thursday, PC Daniel Parish comes into school to offer support and work with families and children directly as an early intervention strategy. PC Daniel Parrish also led the recent knife crime awareness stall in school as part of Operation Sceptre, a national campaign to generate awareness of the dangers of knife crime.

PARENT INFO

Having completed their recent mock exams, we look forward to our C10 parents evening on Wednesday 18th June. This is a crucial time for parents to understand the specific actions that our learners need to take to enable them to be successful. Previous parents evenings have been well attended and have produced a real sense of energy in the hall as our teachers engage with families and learners. Teachers love talking to parents about how learners are doing and how best to support them. I look forward to seeing C10 families in a few weeks time.

END OF TERM ASSESSMENTS

As we approach the end of the academic year we will be holding assessment day(s) for Cohorts 7, 8 and 9. For part of these, learners will sit some of their assessments in the examination hall. This is an opportunity to practise and rehearse examination routines in preparation for formal examinations later on their learning journey in Cohorts 10 and 11. Teaching and support staff will be on hand as these will take part during their usual timetabled lesson slots.

Dates

Cohort 7 Thursday 19th June

LS1 English (1 hour)

LS4 Maths (1 hour)

Cohort 8 Friday 20th June

LS1 English (1 hour)

LS4 Maths (1 hour)

Cohort 9 Monday 23rd June - Friday 4th July

During the week of Monday 23rd June, the following exams will take place in the examination hall with all other subject assessments taking place during usual timetabled lesson slots over the two week period. Times and Dates TBC.

English: - 2 x 1 hour papers

Maths: - 2 x 1 hour 30 minute papers

Science: - 1 x 1 hour paper for each of Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

James Saunders

We are delighted to share with families that Honywood School has been nominated and successfully shortlisted for an Essex Teaching Award 2025 in the Making a Difference - Secondary School of the Year category. The awards take place on Wednesday 18 June 2025 at The Grand Pavilion, Hylands House.

The criteria for the award: “A secondary school that changes lives and supports the whole community. It may face challenges, but it meets them with creativity and care. Known for a positive, professional environment, it’s a place where staff love to work and families feel confident and prou d to be part of the school community.”

The nomination Honywood received included praise for its strong support for students, always putting their best interests first and treating everyone with kindness and respect. Parents and the wider community feel genuinely supported by the school. There was a special mention of the Autism Hub and, specifically, SENCO - Mr Matthew Wood.

We look forward to hearing the outcome!