Student Support/Mentoring
Learning Mentor
The Learning Mentor provides support and guidance to help pupils who are experiencing difficulties in learning. Working on a one-to-one or small group basis with pupils from all year groups, provision is tailored to the needs of the child in order that every child can reach their full potential.
As a BACP Registered Counsellor and teaching professional, the Learning Mentor support may be via:
- 1:1 sessions
- Small Group work
- Art therapy sessions
- Counselling sessions
- Study skills sessions
- Self-esteem and self-confidence development
- Relaxation
- Life Skills
- Social skill board games programmes and games
- Behaviour management programmes
- Target setting/Meet at the end of the day to monitor
- Liaising with families to encourage support
- Drop in sessions
- Acting as pupil`s representatives
- Providing opportunities for children to talk in confidence
Counselling Services
The school has an onsite counsellor, funded by the EA, which pupils can avail of once a week on a Tuesday. Pupils are able to make appointments with Arno to discuss anything that may be concerning them in a quiet, confidential and safe space.
REACH Engagement
St. John's has built up a strong partnership with REACH Mentoring over the past number of years. REACH provide group workshops and one-on-one mentoring to pupils to build confidence and promote positive mental health. Pupils can be referred to REACH after careful consultation with their parents or guardians and that pupil is then assigned a REACH mentor. The mentor will meet with the pupil once a week in school to chat, play games and offer encouragement, advice and support as they work through their concerns and difficulties.
From the REACH website: "Partnering with local schools to empower young people to be the best version of themselves".
ASPIRE Programme
ASPIRE is a faith driven charity which seeks to bridge gaps in education by providing children from low-income families with the tools they need to take ownership of their own learning. Pupils who take part in the ASPIRE Programme attend meetings once a week and are provided with a laptop, stationery and a quiet place to work.
Student Mentoring
As well as having links with various outside mentoring agencies, SJBC also runs it's own mentoring system in school. Pupils participate in the 'buddy system' where Year 8 pupils are 'buddied' with an older pupil to help them navigate the school until they are settled in. We also have a 'Buddy Bench' system in place at breaktime and lunchtime for pupils who are struggling to make friends or who just want to meet new people outside of their friendship group. The buddy bench is clearly marked in the school playground and pupils can go there and speak to designated buddies.
In addition, our school council system ensures that each class has a prefect/class representative who pupils can approach with issues or problems that they would like to be addressed at the next student council meeting. Pupil voice is very important in SJBC and we want our pupils to know that they can make positive changes through the power of the student council.
Nurture Centre
The St. John the Baptist's College Nurture Centre is a unique structure within the school that caters to the needs of pupils who have emotional or social difficulties. Placement in the Nurture Centre ensures that a pupil will receive additional support with the transition from primary to post-primary and will be mentored and taught strategies to help them cope with any anxieties or issues they have. For more information on our Nurture Centre, please click here.
Spiritual Guidance
As a Catholic post-primary school, Saint John the Baptist’s College welcomes the support and assistance of our parish clergy Canon M Toner and Fr P Clarke. During the academic year our pupils join together in worship in St John the Baptist Church, both as a whole school and as participants in the Catholic Schools’ Week liturgy along with other primary and post primary schools throughout the Archdiocese.
We also appreciate the help and guidance given to our school by Fr Declan O’Loughlin the Diocesan Advisor for RE in the Archdiocese of Armagh.
In recent years Saint John the Baptist College has had the support of the Portadown Knights of Columbanus, and we hope to further develop these links in the years to come.
Sólas Programme
The vision of the Solás programme is to enrich and enhance the life outcomes and opportunities for school aged children and their families by providing a range of family support, interventions, and enrichment.
- To ensure that leadership and life skills are embedded across all areas of life with children and their families.
- Maintain accurate records to measure impact and outcomes.
Tasks and duties: Duties and Accountability:
- Developing home school links to encourage good communication between the school and families.
- Provide time-limited, responsive, and flexible support to family members within the home and the community, including some evenings, to promote better outcomes for children and parents.
- Work with pupils experiencing social, emotional and behaviour difficulties/or at risk of social exclusion/disaffection and their families so they can fully participate fully in home and school activities to achieve their full potential.
- Help to improve attendance by monitoring and helping prior to a need for referral to the EWO.
- Design, co-ordinate and evaluate small groups of children and/or parents and address the problems which have created disaffection with school.
- Be available to support groups of pupils to help them in resolving conflicts and developing personal, social, and emotional skills.
- Assist in active outreach to the most vulnerable families.
- Alongside the Safeguarding Team, identify and engage with vulnerable families to create a bespoke package of support.
- Act as a point of contact in school for families in need of support.
- Build effective relationships with families.
- When necessary, work with relevant agencies to ensure families are fully engaged and involved in setting achievable and realistic goals and deliver solution focussed interventions that address the families’ goals.
- Work in partnership with key agencies and families to increase their confidence and resilience to encourage positive family relationships and promote children’s development and health and wellbeing.
- Organise and run productive meetings between parent, pupils, and teachers which achieve positive ends.
- Report pupil achievement and progress as appropriate to the Head of Pastoral Care and Principal.
- Assist in maintaining high standards throughout the school.
- Record and report accurate and relevant information about pupil’s and/or families home situations, learning, attendance, and emotional wellbeing in confidential manner to help the Safeguarding Team.
Referral Process:
- A referral form will have been completed and forwarded to the Triage Team.
- A Core Group will be established within each school to discuss referrals. During the meeting the children who have been referred will be triaged to ensure referral to the appropriate key agency that will best suit their needs.
- The referral form will include information such as PASS data, Boxall Assessment, Attendance percentage, and Achievement/ Behaviour points. It will also include any key information about the child that may support the decision regarding how best to assist the child.
- It is proposed that the Core Group within each school will meet monthly.
Periods of Intervention:
- It is proposed that the team will work with the children who have been referred for an initial period of 6-8 weeks. Following this there will be reassessment to determine how best to move forward. If progress is being made, then interventions can continue for a minimum of 1 term (this is due to Nurture intervention needing to last for a minimum of one term).
- Should further intervention be required the team will liaise with the staff within the individual schools who are responsible for referrals to counselling, Behaviour Support, EWO, Ed Psych etc.
- Should a safeguarding disclosure be made, it will be passed on to the DT within the child’s school.
- In case of emergency support being requested, the team will work with the schools to support children and their families, if appropriate.
Link to referral form:
