We want all Queen Mary’s students to reach their potential and participate fully as valued members of our community irrespective of background or family circumstance. We have numerous support systems in place to help our students and families, centered in our Welfare Hub.
Who is based in the Welfare Hub?
Student Services Manager
Lost Property and First Aid
Mrs Hill is Students Services Manager and is the first person the students would see when they enter the Welfare Hub. This is where your child would come if they had lost something or felt unwell.
Mrs Hill oversees all the lost property that is found across the school site and will do her best to get it back to students. It is essential that all items of clothes and equipment are named to make it more likely that it is returned to their rightful owner.
If your child feels unwell or has sustained an injury in school, the main Welfare Hub reception is where they would head for first aid attention.
If your child needs to take any medication in school, this needs to be brought into the Welfare Hub for safe keeping and administering during the day. The medication must be clearly labeled with your child’s name and instructions.
The QMGS Healthcare policy can be found here.
The Safeguarding and Wellbeing (SEMH) Team
Queen Mary’s Grammar School is committed to ensuring the welfare, safety, and well-being of all our pupils.
At QMGS, we have a dedicated team that looks after the safety of children, which is led by Mr G. Collins (Assistant Head and Designated Safeguarding Lead).
SEMH (Social, Emotional Mental Health) pastoral support is offered to students through our team based in the Welfare Hub.
Mr Farnell and Mrs Young are the two SEMH mentors who are based in the Welfare Hub and are available for both drop ins sessions and scheduled, regular SEMH support sessions.
Follow us on Twitter at @QMGSWelfare
Mental Health additional avenues of support
Kooth is an online mental health and wellbeing community for children and young people aged between 11 and 24. It offers emotional and mental health support through chat-based messaging via drop-in or booked sessions with qualified counsellors who are online seven days a week.
Walsall School Nurses
Parents and carers can contact a School Nurse using our Parent ChatHealth service on 07520 634909. A qualified nurse will respond to text messages and provide information on a wider range of health and wellbeing issues.
Young people, usually in secondary school might wish to contact the School Nurse independently to ask questions about health and wellbeing. They can text a School Nurse using the ChatHealth service on 07480 635 363. This a safe and confidential service designed by young people for young people.
More ideas for support can be found through QMGS PADLET – Information for students and families
The SEND Team – Special Educational Needs and Disability
Vision: SEND students and families at QMGS know that they are accepted, included, understood and supported.
The SEND Team:
Assistant Head Teacher and SENDCo: Mrs N Youngman
Assistant SENDCo: Mrs S Swain
Learning Support Assistants: Mrs Dooley and Miss Mierczynska
SEND/PP and Careers Admin Support: Mrs Kang
At Queen Mary’s Grammar School all students are encouraged and supported to pursue excellence and to study to the best of their ability. We want all students to be able to experience a feeling of success and achievement.
At QMGS we have introduced a framework to support high quality teaching (QFT) in lessons as follows:
- Inclusivity
- Structures and routines
- High quality teacher instruction
- Activating prior knowledge / retrieval
- Cognitive load
For your child this would mean:
- that the teacher has the highest possible expectations for all students in their class.
- the teacher using the 5 points of the framework mentioned above to build QFT
- that all teaching is based on building on what a student already knows they can do and can understand.
- different ways of teaching are in place so that a student is fully involved in learning in class. This may involve things like using practical learning.
- specific strategies (which may be suggested by the SEND team) are in place to support student learning.
- the teacher will carefully check a student’s progress and will have decided that the student has gaps in their understanding/learning and needs some extra support to help them make the best possible progress.
The performance of all students is monitored on a regular basis, both within departments and across all subjects and the SEND team liaises closely with the Pastoral team and Subject Departments. Appropriate support is identified for specific learning needs.
Where a student’s learning requires a specific programme of support, parents are consulted, and the student is placed on our SEND Register.
The SEND Register at QMGS
- The student may be on the SEND register as a “E” code indicating they have an EHCP, Education and Health Care Plan. This means the student has been awarded an EHC plan by the local authority which is a legal document that outlines the extra level of support and provision required for that student. Each student with an Education, Health and Care Plan has a programme devised in liaison with support services and parents, and the programme is reviewed annually. It is our policy that students with an Education, Health and Care Plan should be supported to at least the level of the financial grant received.
- The student may be put onto the SEND register as a “K” code indicating they are on School Support. This means the student requires provision which is “additional to and different from”.
- The student may be put onto the SEND register as an “R” Code which means the student is being monitored but at this time does not need any provision which is “additional to or different from”.
- A student may move “up” and “down” the register depending on their needs. The student can go on and off the register depending on their current needs.
- Parents/carers will be informed if their child is on the SEND register.
- The SEND Team will work hard to develop positive relationships with families and student and ensure clear communication channels.
Our Special Educational Needs Information Report further outlines information with regards to implementation of our approach.
PADLET Information for student and families
Follow us on Twitter at @QmgsSend