Pastoral Support & Wellbeing

Safeguarding, supporting, and encouraging our performers is the absolute top priority for everyone at The Hammond. It is fundamental to our mission as we strive to create a happy, inclusive, and caring community. This is under-pinned by high quality pastoral care and a clear focus on both mental and physical health. Here is a flavour of how we achieve this.

Student welfare is the responsibility of all staff at The Hammond. But we also have a team of specialists who have the passion and expertise to support performers under all manner of circumstances. This team is led by our Vice Principal (Director of Student Support) who oversees the provision and has extensive experience as a Pastoral Leader in a variety of educational settings including many years as a Designated Safeguarding Lead.

The Vice Principal is supported in College by an Assistant Principal who looks after all aspects of operational pastoral care including accommodation, independent living, and liaison with outside agencies. In School, the performers can access our Pastoral Support Manager who provides support, guidance, and education on all manner of welfare issues. These roles are supported by an extensive team of Tutors. All performers are allocated a Tutor who is their first point of contact for those day-to-day troubles, worries or concerns. They also monitor attendance, punctuality and general well-being.

In boarding, we have a dedicated Head of Boarding and an Assistant Head of Boarding. They are resident 24/7 in their houses and are supported by a team of resident Pastoral Boarding Assistants and energetic Graduate Boarding Assistants. In addition, there are some non-residential Assistant House Parents who are available to support in all areas of boarding life.

Medical matters are overseen by our own School Nurse, and, in addition to dealing with many things in our wellbeing Centre, they can access and signpost to a range of specialist services that can help treat all manner of mental or physical conditions.

These might include:

• Asthma monitoring
• Informal teaching regarding health and hygiene
• Minor injuries assessment and treatment
• Minor illnesses assessment and treatment
• Health promotion
• Informal counselling
• Nutritional advice
• Sexual health advice

There are many First Aiders at The Hammond, covering all areas and departments, and this includes several Mental Health First Aiders and specialist Vocal First Aiders.

Many problems can be solved through talking to friends and family, or to any of our in-house Pastoral Team. However, there times performers may need to seek assistance from specialists away from The Hammond environment. This is not a problem, and we have access to many external agencies or experts to provide specialist support. These include, but are not limited to:

• Counsellors & Psychotherapists
• Doctors
• Physiotherapists
• CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services)
• CHEDS (Cheshire and Merseyside Adolescent Eating Disorder Service)
• Dieticians
• Chiropodists
• Dentists & Orthodontists
• Speech therapists

Given the demands and challenges faced by young people today, we believe wellbeing is a vital aspect of The Hammond way of life. It is promoted through a variety of ways. Throughout the year, for example, we calendar dedicated weeks to wellbeing events. These link with national schemes such as Anti-Bullying Week in November and Mental Health Awareness Week in May. These Wellbeing Weeks provide an opportunity to highlight key messages and often include visits from performers and theatre companies who deliver information in a way that engages our student body. Wellbeing is also promoted through drop-down PHSCE/RSE Days, when the timetable is collapsed to focus on topics such as cultural diversity and identity, financial health and careers, and relationships and sexual health.